Archaeology

Archaeologists for Global Justice

Background

Archaeologists for Global Justice arose as a response to the widespread and ever increasing injustice affecting our world. It was conceived and put into motion by archaeologists at the University of Sheffield (UK), and inspired by the actions of Archaeologists Against the War in opposing British involvement in the Iraq conflict. The idea of forming AGJ was initially voiced to a wider audience during a session entitled `An eternal conflict? Archaeology and social responsibility in the post-Iraq world´, convened at the conference of the Theoretical Archaeological Group (TAG), held in Sheffield in December 2005. The group is a culmination of numerous discussions and interactions, and represents a desire to give voice to our opposition to injustice.

Image reproduced with kind permission of Indymedia

Manifesto

Image reproduced with kind permission of Rachel Pope

The aim of archaeology is to use the material traces of past human activities as the basis for interpretations of human behaviour and society. Our focus on past human societies provides us with a privileged perspective on our shared human past and on the problems of the present, whether these are of a social, political or environmental nature.

The discipline of archaeology is defined both by the object of our study and by the principles and practices which we use to investigate that object. The principles of context, consistency and coherency in argument and justification through reasoned debate are inseparable from our discipline.

We assert that, as archaeologists, we have a responsibility to employ the understandings that we have gained of the nature and potential of human life in ways that go beyond a simple description of the past. As active participants in and observers, critics and analysts of human society we feel that we have an obligation to oppose those forces that are anti-humanitarian, unsustainable or destructive of human life and society.

We propose the following principles as the basis for an alliance of Archaeologists for Global Justice.

Image reproduced with kind permission of Quentin Drew

Principles

1. We are inspired by the principles of the Global Justice Movement and believe in active participation of archaeologists in issues of social and political relevance;
2. We are actively against any form of racial, ethnic, religious, age, sex or sexuality discrimination;
3. We believe in the right of the individuals to express themselves free from any form of harassment or intimidation, and as long as these opinions do not constitute incitement to violence and are respectful of the dignity of others;
4. We believe in world peace and as archaeologists we will not provide any direct or indirect support to armed interventions, whether led by governments or other organisations, unless this is justified by extreme cases of self defence;
5. We believe that in the world there is potential wealth for everybody and we will not support or endorse organisations which promote and/or instigate inequality in the distribution of resources;
6. We are concerned about the impact of the human race on our planet and will not collaborate with development plans which are not based upon principles of sustainability or which have the potential to cause major damage to the environment;
7. We accept that the formation of conservative establishments is in some sense inherent in human society, but we believe that there is a constant need to challenge the social and political status quo through peaceful argument, critique and open debate. We understand that the nature of our discipline renders us obliged to participate in such debate and to contribute to it;
8. We believe that research, the basis of our discipline, thrives in a climate of cooperation rather than competition between individuals and organisations, and we therefore refuse any action or language that is incompatible with this principle;
9. We believe that professionalism arises from a research culture founded on a spirit of enquiry and open debate. This culture encompasses those who practice archaeology as paid professionals or as unpaid amateurs or volunteers. We reject a notion of professionalism that is founded on the principles of commercialism and competition;
10. We believe that as archaeology is a social practice, intended for the benefit of all through the creation and dissemination of knowledge and understanding, its practitioners deserve to be treated as productive members of society with all the employment and other rights appropriate to their position as cultural creators and members of a recognised profession.

The views expressed on this web page are those of the promoters of this group and are not necessarily endorsed by the Department of Archaeology of the University of Sheffield or shared by its other members.