Archaeological archives – A deconstruction
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 08/02/2017

In this paper, I propose a critical examination of the archaeological archive. Using my personal experience as an archaeologist working in the archives at the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo as a point of departure and a case study, I intend to explore the concept of the archaeological archive from two different angles:
1. In archaeological research, archaeological contexts are always being interpreted with a conscious and reflective view on past research paradigms and history of science. Archaeological practice however, is very rarely subject to the same meta-archaeological scrutiny. Nevertheless, archaeological archives are historical artefacts with complex conditions of production, which, in the same way that archaeological artefacts can be read and interpreted as remnants from prehistory, can be read and interpreted, both as a historical source for the context and provenience of archaeological artefacts, as well as remnants of the theoretical and societal circumstances and conditions that have, in different ways, influenced the archaeological processes.
2. What has and has not been documented and kept in the archaeological archives is a product of changing paradigms and selective memory, whether conscious or unconscious. Even so, because of the destruction and displacement caused by an archaeological excavation, the original documentation is the closest we will ever get to the original situation, and archaeological archives, in general, will offer a description of how and why it came into being. From the point of view of research, an archaeological archive will also be the least biased source of information, as every re-interpretation from previous research adds a new layer of preconceptions.

Author - Frydenberg, Hilde Sofie, Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway (Presenting author)