Stories

Christine Finn's likening of journalists to archaeologists -- and her analysis of how they differ -- exposes the shortcomings of archaeologists vis-a-vis the presentation of findings and telling of narratives for public audiences. Some "borrowing" is in order, she says; archaeologists, typically concerned with communicating with colleagues in the academy, are not so good at the laymen stuff. If archeologists could tell more engaging stories -- the kind that journalists are known for -- they might be able to gain a mainstream following that not only popularizes archeology but popularizes the true archaeology. As last week's readings demonstrate, the archaeologists of popular media are typically not the real deal. Sabloff's article echoes Finn's assertion that better storytelling can help develop a more accurate and instructive understanding of archaeology among the public. Archeologists have important roles to play in the business of looking back to look forward. But as the National Geographic piece warns, attempts to bring archeology into mainstream culture (well-intentioned attempts as they may be) can carry underlying social, political and nationalistic biases. While the National Geographic article is perhaps overly admonishing, it does present some of the dangers of formulating images and stories of the past from a single point of view. Gero and Root argue that National Geographic portrays archeology "...as an enterprise [that] legitimizes the hegemony of Western culture and Western imperialism and imposes a congruent view onto the past" (p. 35); like in Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, the protagonists of the stories, the settings, the background actors, and the props construct a certain image of the past. Journalists, movie directors, photographers and the archeologists themselves must avoid imposing ethnocentric or biased points of view and, as Pyburn calls for, maintain strict ethical standards. Clarity of method, acknowledgment of baggage and the shade of one's spectacles, and careful outlining of goals help make a responsible archaeologist. It all comes down to stories: what makes the cut and what doesn't, how they're told, for whom they're told, where they're told and when.