Handbook of Space Engineering, Archaeology, and Heritage

Darrin, M. Ann Garrison; O’Leary, Beth Laura

doi:10.1201/9781420084320

Cited by 22 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…I would claim that archaeology is one of these disciplines (next to anthropology and geography) that have particular predispositions to bridge disciplines and play an important role in cross-epistemological dialogue, connecting and integrating the humanities and social sciences as well as the life and natural sciences(Parikh and Hall 2012, 3) with indigenous knowledges. While dealing with the problem of the past, contemporary pasts as well as cosmic heritage, variously understood Earth and space archaeologies(Darrin and O'Leary 2009) are already being affected by a change of consciousness and becoming transformative knowledge (helping to transform the current type of Western science and consciousness) useful for Humans as well as for Terrans.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropocene in the Solar System

Gorman

2014

JCA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

So far archaeologists have considered the implications of the anthropocene for heritage and conservation issues , and some discussion of how archaeology might be used to date the start of the proposed new epoch (Balter 2013). But the role of archaeology may yet prove to be much wider and more substantial than that. Up to now we have perhaps underestimated the value of the formations of the anthropogenic layers, cuts, features, fills, stratigraphic sequences and artifact assemblages that make up the archaeological record, for other disciplines as well as our own (see Edgeworth 2013).The anthropocene brings with it a convergence of planetary and human timescales, and the folding of the human into the geological and vice-versa-a "crease in time" as Dibley (2012) puts it. A corresponding folding together and convergence of attention of natural scientists and scholars from the social sciences and humanities on matters anthropocene would seem to be a necessary step. As a mark of its entry into social science discourse, Bruno Latour devoted much of his 2013 Gifford Lectures in Edinburgh to exploring connections between the concept of the anthropocene and the Earth-systems approach of "Gaian" scientists like James Lovelock (Latour 2013). And an important new book by Timothy Morton takes the anthropocene as a framing concept for a groundbreaking discussion on the emergence of hyperobjects (Morton 2013). This engagement is important. The anthropocene has political, economic and social dimensions that can never be fully apprehended by methods of the natural sciences alone, any more than data from ice-cores and climate measurements can be fully evaluated by social scientists. Working together is the way forward, and archaeology can be a meeting-ground of sorts between quantitative and qualitative methods of investigation, playing its part in building a global science of sustainability (Hudson 2013).No-one is suggesting that archaeology should tie its flag to the anthropocene mast, uncritically accept the assumptions it presently enshrines, or wholly agree with ideas put forward by its proponents. But there is a growing sense that archaeology has something substantial and important to contribute here-not only in terms of ideas and arguments (whether in support or in critique), but also in terms of a large body of material evidence, in the form of the archaeological record, against which specific arguments can be checked and evaluated, along with a tried and trusted methodology for doing so. Collaboration with other disciplines has the potential to lead to new forms of knowledge that transcend disciplinary divisions, opening up as yet unimagined spaces for further research which could prove to be of some benefit to future generations as well as our own. That in itself is a good reason for embarking on an interdisciplinary adventure with the idea of the anthropocene.The forum started out as a session entitled "Archaeology in the Anthropocene" in the Theoretical Archaeology Group (TAG) Conference at the University of Chicago in ...

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%