Teaching
Archaeology
-
Unit 7
Indigenous Archaeologies
In this unit, students will learn about archaeology being conducted by, for, and with Indigenous peoples. They will read about ethical practices and viewpoints in Indigenous archaeologies that are reshaping the possibilities for collaborative work and the potential for archaeological projects to be driven by the needs of the communities it impacts.
Sapiens articles
Why the Myth of the “Savage Indian” Persists
Iconic children’s books and popular media that Gen Xers grew up with are riddled with damaging Native stereotypes—but things may finally be shifting.
Raising Up African Paleoanthropologists
Generations of scholars from around the world have converged to study human evolution in East Africa. Now a new training program seeks to bring more African students into the field.
Keywords
View All in Indigenous
![A large, tan cardboard box sits on a shelf with a label that reads “C2” below it. On two small pieces of black tape on the box’s front side, white letters read “Infant” and “Name Once Known.”]()
![In a wooden structure without walls, three people wearing loincloths and no shirts, and two individuals wearing T-shirts surround and point to spots on a large tan and green map.]()
![Taken from an upward angle, a photograph features a shirtless person wearing a red, blue, yellow, and black feathered headdress, colorful bracelet, and several beaded necklaces. They are holding a yellow and green flag.]()
![Between tall wooden walls, a child peers over a short wooden door. A pitch-black background is behind her.]()
![On a paved city street fenced off and lined with people, three people wearing colorful clothing stand and hold signs. These read: “Monogamy is not for everyone,” “I love my girlfriend’s boyfriend,” and “Sharing is Caring.”]()
![A pair of hands arrange two placards covered with images of two different people’s faces on a table covered with a black tablecloth.]()
Infant, Name Once Known
A poet-anthropologist of the Chickasaw Nation honors infant remains historically used in teaching collections at the University of Illinois.
Finding Footprints Laid at the Dawn of Time
In the Brazilian Amazon, a university-trained archaeologist and Wajãpi Indigenous people understand traces from the past differently—but their partnership bears fruit for both.
Reading the Future of an Amazonian Mine
In Ecuador, Shuar people, an Indigenous group in the region, face increasing threats to their ways of life from industrial mining. But some find strength and courage to resist through knowledge gained by using hallucinogenic plants.
A Mausoleum of Our Everydays/Nai nsang negu herouki
A humanities and social science doctoral student from Manipur, India, takes readers on a journey through ordinary moments interwoven with violence.
What Is “Natural” for Human Sexual Relationships?
A biological and anthropological researcher explains how humans' diverse ways of mating might have evolved.
Restoring Faces and Dignity to Skeletal Remains
An anthropologist explains how a South African university used community-driven research to honor human remains acquired unethically.
View All in Archaeology
![A stone figure with the body of a seated lion and the head of a person wearing a headdress sits in the foreground with a large stone pyramid towering in the distance.]()
![The toppled steeple of a church lies on the ground among other pieces of collapsed metal. A large blue and white building with a gold object on its roof towers in the background.]()
![Two side-by-side graphics depict skulls, one facing forward and the other in profile. Both images are outlined in blue and have sections shaded in yellow. The profile image has three red lines spanning across it in two V shapes.]()
![In a pitch-black environment, a person with black smudges on their face wears a fur pelt and holds a lit torch.]()
![A group of people stand on an emptied dirt plot around a square hole. The one in the center, with lighter skin than the rest, holds the end of a shovel in the hole.]()
![A person with short gray hair wearing a blue shirt holds a black camera up to their face and points it at a figure that looks like a hairy unclothed person with one hand on their lap and the other on its chin.]()
Why I Talked to Pseudoarchaeologist Graham Hancock on Joe Rogan
An archaeologist explains his motivations and strategies for appearing on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast with a purveyor of misinformation about the ancient past.
Spotlighting War’s Cultural Destruction in Ukraine
An archaeologist, anthropologist, and film expert examine the staggering amount of damage to cultural heritage caused by Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Learning From Snapshots of Lost Fossils
Not all fossil discoveries happen in the field. In museum archives, researchers found photos of remains from Paleolithic children who had belonged to a group of early Homo sapiens in Eurasia.
How Accurate Is the Stone Age Thriller Out of Darkness?
An archaeologist with expertise in human origins assesses the accuracy of a 2022 film about Homo sapiens who encounter Neanderthals.
Unearthing the Origins of Plantation Slavery on São Tomé
The African island nation played a central—but little-known—role in the rise of the global sugar trade based on enslaved labor. To uncover this past, a team launched the country’s first archaeological research.
What’s Behind the Evolution of Neanderthal Portraits
Since the 1800s, Neanderthal depictions have evolved not only with changing science but also due to social views. An archaeologist explains why visualizations of our evolutionary cousins matter.
View All in Colonialism
![Several people wearing matching brown jumpsuits sit on a long brown bench, holding landline phones and facing a large clear wall. On the other side of the first window, a person with a white headscarf on cries while holding a phone.]()
![A header image on a cellphone of several people wearing military uniforms and holding hands is above a yellow logo and white text that reads, “Israel Defense Forces.” White text underneath reads, “Official IDF Twitter account. We tweet real-time information and updates in 7 languages—choose yours.”]()
![A group of people stand on an emptied dirt plot around a square hole. The one in the center, with lighter skin than the rest, holds the end of a shovel in the hole.]()
![A large, tan cardboard box sits on a shelf with a label that reads “C2” below it. On two small pieces of black tape on the box’s front side, white letters read “Infant” and “Name Once Known.”]()
![An older person wearing a black headscarf and embroidered skirt sits on the ground, resting against a concrete wall.]()
![A crowd of adults and children wearing T-shirts, flip-flops, and denim shorts or sarongs looks at a water tap with the word “Italy” stamped on its side and a giant silver lock on it.]()
How Israeli Prisons Terrorize Palestinians—Inside and Outside Their Walls
An anthropologist in the West Bank explains how Israel’s prison regime dehumanizes Palestinians, who nevertheless dream of freedom and resist erasure.
The Viral Atrocities Posted by Israeli Soldiers
Tracing 75 years of Israeli war photography, an anthropologist explains how images that reframe disproportionate violence as proof of victory have intensified in the war on Gaza that erupted in 2023.
Unearthing the Origins of Plantation Slavery on São Tomé
The African island nation played a central—but little-known—role in the rise of the global sugar trade based on enslaved labor. To uncover this past, a team launched the country’s first archaeological research.
Infant, Name Once Known
A poet-anthropologist of the Chickasaw Nation honors infant remains historically used in teaching collections at the University of Illinois.
Living as Stateless Palestinians in Jordan
Israel’s war on Gaza that erupted in 2023 continues a long history of systemic displacement of Palestinians. Over 2 million Palestinian refugees currently live in Jordan in indefinite exile, tens of thousands without citizenship in any country.
Strange Future
A Nigerian eco-activist and poet wonders what future lies ahead in the face of climate change impacts and resistance to large-scale emission reductions.
Professor Talking Points
- There is no one Indigenous archaeology but rather a plurality of approaches conducted by, for, and with Indigenous peoples.
- Explore the ways that Indigenous archaeologies challenge “traditional” processual archaeology in terms of topics, participatory methods, and commitments to using the field to advance justice, reconciliation, and healing.
- Consider how Indigenous archaeologies are a means of decolonizing scientific and heritage practices. What does “decolonization” (a process) mean and how does it differ from being “postcolonial” (a state)?
Academic Articles
-
Acabado, Stephen, Marlon Martin, and Francisco Datar. 2017. “Ifugao Archaeology: Collaborative and Indigenous Archaeology in the Northern Philippines.” Advances in Archaeological Practice 5: 1–11.
-
Atalay, Sonya. 2006. “Indigenous Archaeology as Decolonizing Practice.” American Indian Quarterly 30 (3 & 4): 280–310.
-
Laluk, Nicholas C. 2020. “Changing How Archaeology Is Done in Native American Contexts: An Ndee (Apache) Case Study.” Journal of Social Archaeology 21 (1): 53–73.
-
Two Bears, Davina. 2006. “Navajo Archaeologist Is Not an Oxymoron: A Tribal Archaeologist’s Experience.” American Indian Quarterly 30 (3 & 4): 381–387.
Student Discussion Questions
- What is the relationship between archaeology and colonialism?
- According to Acabado et al. (2017), what is the difference between seeing Indigenous peoples as contributors and viewing them as co-investigators or collaborators in archaeological research?
- What kinds of changes in ethics does Indigenous archaeology require?
- How do key viewpoints of Indigenous archaeology differ from older approaches?
- What kinds of changes might come about when more Indigenous people becoming trained archaeologists?
Activities
- Draw up a list of best practices for archaeologists working with Indigenous communities or on ancestral Indigenous lands based on the articles.
- Listen to an episode of season 4 of the SAPIENS podcast and take note of the general themes. Pick one and write a one-page response about how it relates to the content of the articles in this unit.
- Have each student pick a topic they would be interested in studying and have them explain how they would incorporate the principles of Indigenous archaeological practice into their proposal.
- Have students select a topic mentioned in the readings and create a theory map like the one featured below. Possible topics include: an introduction to archaeology terms, Indigenous archaeologies’ foundational principles, artifacts versus belongings, and how to do community-led archaeology.
Additional Resources
-
Article: Smithsonian magazine’s “The Archaeologist Who Helped Mexico Find Glory in Its Indigenous Past”
-
Podcast: SAPIENS Season 4 Black and Indigenous Archaeologies
-
Statement: The Australian Indigenous Archaeologists Association
-
Webinar: Wenner-Gren Foundation’s “Reclaiming the Ancestors: Indigenous and Black Perspectives on Repatriation, Human Rights, and Justice”
-
Webinar: Wenner-Gren Foundation’s “‘For the Welfare of the Whole People’: Heritage Stewardship in Indigenous and Black Communities”
-
Webinar: Wenner-Gren Foundation’s “Black and Indigenous Futures”
Unit By
Eshe Lewis (2021)
Teaching
Linguistic Anthropology
-
Unit 1
Language and Identity
