Abstract
Fifty years ago, Australian archaeology was a young discipline operating under a sympathetic Whitlam Government, during a period of significant Aboriginal rights activism and heritage protection (Murray Citation1998). In August 1974, the World Heritage Convention was ratified and in the following year the Australian Heritage Commission and Register of the National Estate were created, raising the profile of historical and Indigenous heritage across the nation. Increased momentum in Indigenous archaeology propelled it further into public consciousness (Wallis Citation2020). A number of disciplinary histories have explored this early period in detail (Griffiths Citation2018; Moser Citation1995, Citation2007; Murray Citation1998; Spriggs Citation2020) and commentaries have also drawn attention to a number of significant issues including ownership of the past (e.g. Langford Citation1983), gender and archaeology (e.g. Moser Citation2007; Smith and Burke Citation2006; Smith et al. Citation2023), the impacts of neoliberalism (e.g. Wallis Citation2020). Several ‘state of the discipline’ overviews have also contributed to this dialogue (e.g. Mate and Ulm Citation2016, Citation2021; Ulm et al. Citation2005, Citation2013).
I wanted to take this opportunity to offer a short comment on a specific area of understudied research—intercultural encounters (‘contact’) and their affiliated material culture classes in Australian archaeology...
I wanted to take this opportunity to offer a short comment on a specific area of understudied research—intercultural encounters (‘contact’) and their affiliated material culture classes in Australian archaeology...
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 66-68 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Australian Archaeology |
Volume | 90 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2024 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Archaeololgy
- Australia