In an effort to decolonize the field, archaeologists, particularly historical archaeologists, have used post-colonial notions of hybridity to interpret past (and present) colonialism and especially the experiences of indigenous people therein. Archaeologists also have countered the colonialist tendencies of the discipline through repatriation efforts and Indigenous participation. This paper blends these two trends as a way of exploring the possibilities of archaeology as a hybrid practice. I refer in particular to the collaborative and indigenous archaeologies of recent years and the complex ways that identities and practices interface therein. In this complex post-colonial (or neocolonial) world, it is worth considering how archaeological hybridity can serve as a social and political strategy to blur borders, to unsettle method and theory, to acknowledge colonial legacies but not be consumed by them, and to insure that histories created through archaeology remain grounded and relevant.
- historical archaeology,
- colonialization,
- Native Americans
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/stephen_silliman/26/