Toward a just and inclusive environmental archaeology of southwest Madagascar

Abstract

In this paper, we advocate a collaborative approach to investigating past human–environment interactions in southwest Madagascar. We do so by critically reflecting as a team on the development of the Morombe Archaeological Project, initiated in 2011 as a collaboration between an American archaeologist and the Vezo communities of the Velondriake Marine Protected Area. Our objectives are to assess our trajectory in building collaborative partnerships with diverse local, indigenous, and descendent communities and to provide concrete suggestions for the development of new collaborative projects in environmental archaeology. Through our Madagascar case study, we argue that contemporary environmental and economic challenges create an urgency to articulate and practice an inclusive environmental archaeology, and we propose that environmental archaeologists must make particular efforts to include local, indigenous, and descendent communities. Finally, we assert that full collaboration involves equal power sharing and mutual knowledge exchange and suggest an approach for critical self-evaluation of collaborative projects.

Geographic Disparity in Machine Intelligence Approaches for Archaeological Remote Sensing Research

“…While many of these suggestions are not novel, they have been effective when applied in different places around the world [78,89,90]. One recent example stems from my work in Madagascar.…”

“…One recent example stems from my work in Madagascar. In collaboration with a large team of local archaeologists, the Morombe Archaeological Project (MAP) [90], we were able to formulate a research program focused around semi-automated remote sensing archaeology in Southwest Madagascar. Collaborators from MAP and the nearby University of Toliara assisted in planning the research, carrying out fieldwork operations, analyzing materials recovered, and publishing the results [55].…”

“…Additionally, funding being sought for the continuation of this project includes local Malagasy collaborators on grant applications (either as project members or co-investigators). This helps to ensure that research conducted is as collaborative as possible at all stages of investigation [90].…”

Decolonizing the Anthropocene

“…The most important part of these research trends is community engagement and training to enhance the research product and to cultivate a new generation of indigenous scholars (Douglass et al 2019). Given the nuances of local knowledge and the necessity of buy-in from local stakeholders in ensuring the success of conservation activities, the best solution to the problem is to engage with, support, and equip indigenous scholars with the tools they need.…”

Atlantic Slavery and the Making of the Modern World: Experiences, Representations, and Legacies

“…Building on Paulo Freire (1970), we would like to emphasize education as a practice of freedom and reconciliation rather than domination. The African Caribbean Reparations and Resettlement Alliance (ACCRA), for instance, bet on education, notably at the "client community" level, to reassess our shared history and a commitment to truth telling for more balanced reparative memorialization (Andersen 2018; see also Blakey 2020; Douglass et al 2019;Lima 2020). Thus, encounter is reimagined with a new sense of mutual affective and ethical responsibility that endorses other people's lingering pain and demands for accountability across generations (see also Deloria 1995).…”