Description
Presenter.Archaeology has had a varied relationship with Indigenous people. Initially an agent of imperial and colonial dominance, archaeology has more recently tried to reconcile both this history and to seek meaningful engagements with the people whose histories it presumes to study. Burdened still by neo-liberal and similar apparatus, archaeology’s ability to manufacture ‘dates’ is a particularly productive node to negotiate to understand different conceptions of time, agency and being; as well as looking forward to consider what the temporality of collective human futures might look like. For example, in Australia, the ‘discovery’ of a 65,000 year-old date for ‘first colonisation’ of Australia/Sahul is almost instantaneously mobilized by Indigenous media, corporations and individuals. But it also contradicts many Indigenous views of a sui generis Aboriginality that always has been. Indeed, archaeology has an impressive array of techno-scientific methods of dating, but lacks adequate theorization of time and change. Only by meaningfully engaging with Indigenous origin and other narratives can this change. Ultimately, archaeology is really a translation exercise for non-Indigenous people to understand what Indigenous people have always known. I will use case studies from Western Australia’s Kimberley and southern Africa to illustrate how time is negotiated.
| Period | 5 Dec 2025 |
|---|---|
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Walyalup / Fremantle, Australia, Western AustraliaShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | National |
Keywords
- Archaeology
- Australia
- Heritage
- Aboriginal
- Indigenous