Micro-Climate Blog: Building Care and Knowledge of Place through Community Archaeology

Community archaeology gathering on Xwe’etay, or Lasqueti Island, British Columbia (photo by Grant Callegari, published at link above)

By Marcy Rockman, Lifting Rocks Climate and Heritage Consulting, for the SHA Climate Heritage Initiative

On the coast of British Columbia north of Vancouver, a community archaeology project is bringing together First Nations members and non-Indigenous residents around a shared care for the history of the place in which they live. 

As Tla’amin Elder Betty Wilson says, settling land claims and territorial recognition are important to First Nations, but projects such as the Xwe’etay/Lasqueti Archaeology Project (XLAP) are vital for helping others gain understanding of the land, who has lived there, and how. “‘It’s a part of your history,’ Wilson says. ‘It’s part of everybody’s history. It’s human history. And if you choose to live here then you need to know that history.’”

While many common conceptions of archaeology focus on finding objects and data about the past, community archaeology brings benefits to the present through the practice of archaeology and the ways in which the doing and sharing of this practice builds links between people and place. As described in this featured article (link below), community archaeology has been used as means of reconciliation in conflict zones, such as in Cyprus and in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. 

Looking at current conditions and into the future, the changes of climate change are contributing to increases in disaster displacement, migration, economic transitions, more conflicts, and transformation of environments around those who stay in place. With these, there will be more need to connect and reconnect, learn and relearn, the places in which we live and to build and rebuild relationships with others who live there too. With a model such as XLAP, community archaeology can be a powerful tool to do these things. 

Sources for finding community archaeology where you live include: Archaeology in the Community, Partners for Archaeological Site Stewardship, Florida Public Archaeology Network (Florida), Midden Minders (Maine), and Diving with a Purpose (underwater/coastal).

Featured Link: https://hakaimagazine.com/features/neighborhood-digs/

For a listing of all blog posts in this series, visit our Climate Heritage Initiative page.