Communication with the population of the area being excavated is key when working on a project as an archaeologist. If the community is not served properly, then the end product is generally bad for everybody involved. Community based archaeology is based on the indigenous peoples’ experiences with archaeology. A partnership must be formed with the community; its needs and goals must be met. If I were to formulate a community based archaeology platform, the needs of the community would outweigh the needs of the archaeologists. I would form goals that line up with the goals of the community and allow the community full access the the archaeological site.
When engaging the public, it is important to remember that it will not always be a positive experience. People will disagree and there may be arguments that could turn into larger problems. To best avoid situations like these, the first public engagement method I would use would be a committee dedicated to sorting artifacts, presenting them to the public, and deciding where and to whom they should go. This would serve to avoid unwanted conflict upon discovering artifacts that may be claimed by more than one member of the community. Beyond this, as archaeologists, we could make sure the names of the members of the community are carried on throughout the project. When an important discovery is made, or a new artifact discovered, then the names linked to that artifact would be acknowledged.
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