Bending Archaeology toward Social Justice: Transformational Action for Positive Peace

By Barbara J. Little

Introduces an analytic model for how archaeologists can work toward social justice

In this time of Black Lives Matter, the demands of NAGPRA, and climate crises, the field of American archaeology needs a radical transformation. It has been largely a white, male, privileged domain that replicates an entrenched patriarchal, colonial, and capitalist system. In Bending Archaeology toward Social Justice, Barbara J. Little explores the concepts and actions required for such a change, looking to peace studies, anthropology, sociology, social justice activism, and the achievements of community-based archaeology for helpful approaches in keeping with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. She introduces an analytic model that uses the strengths of archaeology to destabilize violence and build peace.

As Little explains, the Diachronic Transformational Action model and the peace/violence triad of interconnected personal, cultural, and structural domains of power can help disrupt the injustice of all forms of violence. Diachronic connects the past to the present to understand how power worked in the past and works now. Transformational influences power now by disrupting the stability of the violence triad. Action refers to collaborative work to diagnose power relations and transform toward social justice.

Using this framework, Little confronts the country’s founding and myth of liberty and justice for all, as well as the American Dream. She also examines whiteness, antiracism, privilege, and intergenerational trauma, and offers white archaeologists concepts to grapple with their own racialized identities and to consider how to relinquish white supremacy. Archaeological case studies examine cultural violence and violent direct actions against women, Indigenous peoples, African Americans, and Japanese Americans, while archaeologies of poverty, precarity, and labor are used to show how archaeologists have helped expose the roots of these injustices. Because climate justice is integral to social justice, Little showcases insights that archaeology can bring to bear on the climate crisis and how lessons from the past can inform direct actions today. Finally, Little invites archaeologists to embrace inquiry and imagination so that they can both imagine and achieve the positive peace of social justice.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: University Alabama Press
• Release date: Jul 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9780817394578

Book preview

Bending Archaeology toward Social Justice

ARCHAEOLOGIES OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

SERIES EDITORS

Edward González-Tennant

Ben Ford

Bending Archaeology toward Social Justice

TRANSFORMATIONAL ACTION FOR POSITIVE PEACE

BARBARA J. LITTLE

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA PRESS

Tuscaloosa

PUBLISHED IN COOPERATION WITH THE SOCIETY

FOR HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY

The University of Alabama Press

Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35487-0380

uapress.ua.edu

Copyright © 2023 by the Society for Historical Archaeology

All rights reserved.

Inquiries about reproducing material from this work should be addressed to the University of Alabama Press.

Typeface: Arno Pro

Cover design: Lori Lynch

Cataloging-in-Publication data is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-0-8173-2163-5 (cloth)

ISBN: 978-0-8173-6093-1 (paper)

E-ISBN: 978-0-8173-9457-8

To Paul, whose presence is pure joy

Contents

List of Illustrations

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Archaeology and Social Justice

Chapter 1. Violence, Peace, and Social Justice as Positive Peace

Chapter 2. Cultural Domain of Power

Chapter 3. Direct Interpersonal Domain of Power

Chapter 4. Structural and Disciplinary Domain of Power

Chapter 5. Climate Justice

Chapter 6. Reality, Hope, Imagination

Notes

References Cited

Index

Illustrations

FIGURES

1.1. Galtung’s mutually reinforcing peace/violence triad

1.2. Galtung’s and Collins’s elements combined in the stabilizing peace/violence triad

1.3. Collins’s structural domain of power

1.4. Farmer’s linkage between historical and ethnographic contexts

2.1. Cover illustration from the Declaration of the Rights of American Youth, 1935

3.1. Soil collected from lynching sites in Alabama, National Memorial for Peace and Justice

TABLE

5.1. National Park Service Concept Framework for Cultural Resources and Climate Change

Foreword

Welcome to the first book in the Archaeologies of Restorative Justice series! Copublished by the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) and the University of Alabama Press, this series champions the work of archaeologists who are rethinking archaeology of racial equity while uncovering and decolonizing representations of diasporic African, Asian, Indigenous, Pacific Islander, and other communities in settler societies. Drawing on decades of scholarly, public, and activist work by members, the SHA revised its Ethics Principles to include antiracism in 2015. Striving to be an antiracist organization, the SHA, under the leadership of the Gender and Minority Affairs Committee and board of directors, has expanded previous efforts to address racism within the organization and in the places where SHA members work. The SHA has also begun to address other related issues, such as sexual discrimination and violence. This book series is another step in the direction of restorative justice through, and within, archaeology.

We recognize that the term restorative justice may be unfamiliar to historical archaeologists. Restorative justice moves beyond simplistic notions of punishment and endeavors to understand the perspectives of individuals and communities impacted by injustice. Restorative justice seeks to heal wounds, some of which have been accumulating for centuries. Restorative justice calls on offenders and perpetrators to not only acknowledge their wrongdoing but actively work toward reconciliation. This includes creating opportunities for redemption and combating further harm. Many archaeologists, trained in programs dominated by white, Euro-American, upper-class, male, and hetero individuals, are more familiar with retributive justice. This focuses on defining supposedly adequate punishments for breaking laws. In the United States of America, the emphasis on punishment produces grotesque disparities, with minority communities policed at far higher rates and greater numbers of these groups incarcerated for relatively minor crimes (e.g., possession of cannabis). While legal scholars increasingly adopt the language of restorative justice, we find its clearest expression among Indigenous justice systems.

We began this series after recognizing that many collaborative archaeology projects implicitly address the goals of restorative justice. In seeking to center community concerns at each stage of a research project, collaborative archaeology opens spaces for individuals and communities to articulate how they have been wronged in the past. This guides the construction of expanded narratives, which in turn provides new material for expanding public conversations.

We are proud to welcome Barbara J. Little as our first contributor to the Archaeologies of Restorative Justice series. Little’s corpus of work continues to inspire those who seek to responsibly and sensitively construct historical knowledge about the past and its relation to the present (and future). Bending Archaeology toward Social Justice provides readers of—and prospective authors for—this series with a cogent introduction to social justice and adjacent topics. As Little states in the introduction, archaeology and, indeed, the entire world seem beset with renewed attempts to restrict or deny basic rights to entire populations. Little’s response to this renewed turn toward authoritarianism is to bend archaeology toward social justice. Little accomplishes this by surveying a broad literature drawing on numerous fields and assembling a cohesive view of archaeology’s contribution to social justice. This includes acknowledging the intersection of multiple forms of violence as well as archaeology’s role in sustaining disparity. Little skillfully articulates archaeology’s unique role in addressing social justice issues, including interpersonal violence, structural racism, and climate change. Ultimately, it is through expanding the community of archaeologists that we can realize our greatest strength in building a better tomorrow. Although the focus of this book is the United States of America, we are confident that global readers will find inspiration as well.

Archaeologies of Restorative Justice draws on the past to look toward the future. Archaeology is a potent means to recover histories that have been concealed by dominant cultures. The material culture produced and interpreted by archaeologists forms a powerful and tangible truth to help shape the future. We humans across the globe define ourselves in part in relation to our pasts; what we know about those pasts and how we interpret them guide our future decisions. Books such as Bending Archaeology toward Social Justice provide an understanding of that past that will guide us toward more just futures.

The Archaeologies of Restorative Justice book series provides an outlet for archaeological restorative justice research. It is promoted to the entire SHA and broader global audience through the combined SHA and University of Alabama Press networks. Royalties from this series are directed to SHA’s antiracism fund. This supports our entire community as we continue our work against racism, sexism, and injustice within and through historical archaeology. To expand the circle of support for restorative justice within the SHA, the SHA and SHA members Thomas Layton and David Hurst Thomas have dedicated funds for Archaeologies of Restorative Justice writing stipends. These funds will bring new and underrepresented voices into the discussion of restorative justice in archaeology. As you read this first title in our series, consider how you might join the conversation and realize archaeology’s unique potential for building a better future.

EDWARD GONZÁLEZ-TENNANT

Edinburg, Texas, USA

BEN FORD

Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA

Preface

When I started thinking about this book, it was as an overview of how historical archaeologists in the United States researched people who were suffering and resisting injustices of modernity, and how archaeology, through such research, could further social justice goals today. That idea quickly became both too much and not enough.

It was too much because there seemed no obvious way to narrow the field: Who was studying anyone who had not been both oppressed and resisting oppression? And how to select which types of injustice to explore? Even limiting the case studies to those projects explicitly engaged in archaeology for liberation and justice was a little overwhelming, requiring many books.

It was not enough for many reasons. If I were going to look at social justice goals today, I had no choice but to discuss the climate crisis, and that would require that I look further than the modern era to an archaeology of the deeper past. It was also not enough because the devotion to social justice had motivated significant subsets of archaeologists for generations, and there had not been, as far as I could tell, much in the way of deep change.

The Indigenous movement to change the ways that archaeology treated human remains took generations and a great deal of persistent pressure from outside of the profession. For many years, moral authority and the appeal to human rights were not enough to persuade white archaeologists, who were convinced of what they perceived as their sacred right to science on their own terms. It was, however, foundational to the passage and implementation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), which changed the legal structure and stimulated ongoing collaboration and the emergence of an Indigenous archaeology. The impact of Indigenous archaeologists and their allies has been transformative, and yet the calls for transformation and justice continue. Is it enough? Are we yet remade into the practice we imagine is possible?

Black archaeologists are demanding structural changes to the field to create an antiracist archaeology, finding reason for optimism in the strength of the Black Lives Matter movement. Queer archaeologists and archaeologists with disabilities are creating coalitions within the discipline, insisting that archaeology as a practice take social justice seriously.

When I, as a young feminist, decided to pursue archaeology as a career, I entered a male-dominated field where women in the past—when their presence was acknowledged—were interpreted through androcentric and patriarchal lenses. There are many more women in the field now, and feminist archaeology has had some real impact, yet gender stereotypes in archaeology persist. Sexual harassment persists. Inequities persist. Why is this?

And so I wanted to understand something about how things actually can change. Because I am impatient with theory that is not gained or honed from practice, I looked to practitioners. I had been interested in peace studies for some time, and in other types of research about social change. I had the good fortune to learn about radical transformation directly from Monica Sharma, whose consistent caution is Don’t play small.

I am trying to take that advice to heart and think past what we are already doing to what we can do. So writing this book became an exploration of the concepts and actions required for radical transformation. I was intrigued by how much resonance I found among different approaches from different fields. It seemed there were many people with some parts of an elusive puzzle. I have attempted to put that puzzle together to describe an effective model for change that uses the strengths of archaeology.

In addition to heeding Sharma’s advice to not play small, I want to also heed my mother’s advice: Don’t play mean. I don’t buy into the attack culture of academia (which is also the attack culture and logic of patriarchy, colonialism, and capitalism). I reject that unnecessary violence.

One of the things that has resonated with me most powerfully in working on this book is how simple yet elusive it is to treat other people as human. We are in serious and constant danger of losing our humanity, our sense of belonging, and the grace of hospitality and welcome.

Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel shows us one way in which this happens:

They [the Germans] did not come from the underworld; some came from some of the best and most prestigious Universities in Germany: they had degrees and even doctorates in medicine, philosophy, jurisprudence and theology. In other words: they were not shielded by their education. What was wrong with it? It emphasized theories instead of values, concepts rather than human beings, abstractions rather than consciousness, answers instead of questions, ideology and efficiency rather than conscience. Thus in the name of a theory based on conquest and domination, multitudes of men and women, and—woe unto us—children too, were reduced and diminished only to be seen as tools; their lives used as instruments. The sacredness of the human being, the uniqueness of the person, the right of every individual to immortality were negated and discarded at the whim of those who possessed power—either political or intellectual. (quoted in Viederman 2005:ix–x)

I believe that we have to ask what is archaeology’s role in recognizing and lifting up the sacredness of humans, the living things with whom we share this world, and the earth itself. I can pose that question, but I cannot answer it; I can only explore it and join my colleagues who also are intrigued and inspired by it.

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to write this book and to be able to offer it with the hope that it is useful to the common good. Credit may be due to an author, but nothing is accomplished by any individual alone. The writings of many different people inform this work, as the lengthy reference section attests. I have had to choose a limited number of case studies to highlight and, except for the chapter on the climate crisis, I focus on the projects of the recent rather than ancient past. I quote and cite extensively, naming some of the people whose work and words have inspired and educated me. There are many more, and there are many whose names I may never know, who have kept alive the potential for peace, for social justice, for the beloved community. I am especially grateful to the following people for helping me in various ways over the several years this took, with apologies to anyone I’ve inadvertently left out. Thank you for reviewing, discussing, sharing references and/or ideas, or pointing out gaps or mistakes or highlights, etc.: Katie Crawford-Lackey, Maria Franklin, Edward González-Tennant, Rebecca Graff, Kat Hayes, George Hambrecht, Jeff Hantman, Chris Matthews, Carol McDavid, Alicia Odewale, Beth Pruitt, Matthew Reeves, Krysta Ryzewski, Paul A. Shackel, Megan Springate, and Kirsti Uunila. Thanks to Lisa Williams for her fine copyediting and to Lori Lynch for her amazing cover design. Special thanks to Wendi Schnaufer, University of Alabama Press, and to Ed González-Tennant and Ben Ford, and to the Society for Historical Archaeology. I am so pleased that the proceeds will go to the SHA’s anti-racism efforts.

Introduction

Archaeology and Social Justice

Ain’t You Got a Right to the Tree of Life?

GULLAH SPIRITUAL

What does archaeology have to do with social justice when we’re facing the climate crisis, a global pandemic, pervasive bigotries, surging white nationalist terrorism, and the near-death experience of American democracy? Climate disasters around the world are taking lives, homes, and livelihoods. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten us with new and deadlier variants, and new pandemics are expected. Deeply embedded racism is breaking out with increasing frequency and in increasingly violent ways, demanding a reckoning for racial justice. Violence against women, gender and sexual minorities, and immigrants continues to rise. There is no guarantee that protects democracy against authoritarianism.

Archaeology offers no refuge in the past. The archaeology of social justice is a contemporary practice and applied social science and humanity intersecting with social justice scholarship and activism, including environmental activism. As a subdiscipline of anthropology, archaeology shares its colonial and capitalist roots and has justified injustice. Archaeologists must constantly examine and overcome our discipline’s history and practice of supporting all of the -isms recognized by social justice activists: the injustices and intersections of racism, sexism, heterosexism, ethnocentrism, ageism, classism, ableism, sectarianism, and more. Archaeology is relevant and necessary, not only for the study of social justice struggles in the past, but also for how we use the past in those struggles today and work for a more just and viable future.

In part this book is an overview and celebration of how historical archaeologists¹ in the United States collaborate with communities to research people who suffered and resisted injustice and how archaeology, through such work, can further social justice goals today. But an overview is not enough. Archaeologists have been writing about aspects of social justice for a long time. While there has been some forward motion, much of that writing is still aspirational. If we are to achieve our lofty goals to change the world for the better, then we need to keep digging into the concepts and actions required for radical transformation.

In this book I look for help to peace studies, anthropology, sociology, social justice activism, and more for effective approaches. While I found a great deal of resonance and alignment, I didn’t find an approach that pulled all of the pieces together in a clear and comprehensive way. Some are remarkably robust in analyzing a current social system, some in describing how to stabilize or disrupt, and some in seeing how crucial the historical past is for transforming the future. The archaeological case studies of collaborative community-based work provided critical additional insights. I’ve combined the essential pieces into a comprehensive approach that describes effective action. I describe this Diachronic Transformational Action model in chapter 2.

At its core this book is about love. Adrian Parr, professor of environmental politics and cultural criticism, argues that love is the glue uniting struggles against oppression, violence, and environmental degradation: the struggle is necessarily continual and manifold, occurring in multiple ways and across numerous platforms. What unites them is a struggle premised upon love. A love of life, diversity, and openness. A love that works to defy hatred, oppression, and intolerance, and the violence this perpetuates (Lennard and Parr 2016). This is the kind of love that James Baldwin (1963) argues for: love that is a state of being, or state of grace—not in the infantile American sense of being made happy but in the tough and universal sense of quest and daring and growth. This book asks archaeologists to cultivate that love and bring it to the power of archaeology to join the struggles for healing, justice, and a thriving world.

Because social justice is tied to specific legal and political contexts, this book focuses on practice in the United States. However, because we live in a world unified by the contradictions of American imperial power (Hart 2015:212), a global context for social justice is needed to clarify challenges, potentials, and responsibilities. At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development covering 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and specific targets to guide global and national development (United Nations 2015). The SDGs are the following:

Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries

Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all