Archaeological Praxis

I just received an email from my professor explaining that the SAA (Society for American Anthropology) is going to re-evaluate the principles of archaeological ethics this year. The principles of archaeological praxis my public archaeology class put together last semester is going to be used and consulted by the committee in order to re-assess the society's statement on ethics. This is really cool! This also shows that something that is put together by a class of under-grads and grad students can be beneficial. I cannot wait to see how the SAA's principles of archaeological ethics change.

The GSU Collective

In the Archaeology class today, we were asked to make up our own list of ethics we think archaeologists should follow when conducting fieldwork. Here's what we came up with:

1. Maintain a reflexive research protocol.

2. Foster collaboration, multi-vocality, and partnerships with local communities.

3. Consider the consequences, including unintended consequences, of practicing and publishing research.

4. Promote integrity by maintaining responsible and honest research practices, including obtaining consent from all affected parties (i.e., community members, local governments, etc.).

5. Make results available to local communities.

6. Understand the contemporary relevance and historical context of archaeological research for living communities.

7. Foster educational outreach locally and extra-locally.

8. Avoid the commercialization of research.