Archaeology, Government and Heritage - Social Studies Network

Spain’s Move to Decolonize Its Museums Must Continue

Sapiens

DECEMBER 4, 2024

In Asia and Oceania, Spanish rule for over 300 years introduced Catholicism and centralized governance in places like present-day Guam , the Philippines, and Taiwan, deeply altering the identity and languages of these regions. Without a clear understanding of what lies within their vaults, museums cannot fulfill this duty.

Museum

Museum Archaeology Artifacts Heritage

When Wartime Plunder Comes to Campus

Sapiens

MAY 7, 2025

ROBBING IRAQS HERITAGE Many of the worlds known firsts occurred on the lands that are now Iraq and once were part of Mesopotamia. The global importance of Iraqs heritage makes its destruction more tragic. Archaeological sites were also targeted and destroyed, with as much as 80 percent of their surfaces covered in looters pits.

Museum

Museum Archaeology Heritage Archiving

How Colonialism Invented Food Insecurity in West Africa

Sapiens

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

Archaeological evidence and Oral Histories show people in what is today Ghana lived sustainably for millennia—until European colonial powers and the widespread trade of enslaved people changed everything. I felt compelled to share this story as an example of the power of archaeology to shift perspectives. It’s the year 2065.

Oral History

Oral History Archaeology Heritage History

Digging Into an Ancient Apocalypse Controversy From a Hopi Perspective

Sapiens

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024

In a memo sent to tribes in the region in March, government administrators expressed concern but said they were unable to deny the permit request. In fact, it is because of the ancestors of the Hopi and Zuni people, and the Pai Tribes, that archaeological sites exist in the Grand Canyon. Tribal officials objected.

Archaeology

Archaeology Heritage Government Cultures

A Remarkable Discovery of a 450,000-Year-Old Tooth in Iran

Anthropology.net

MAY 24, 2024

Introduction: A Landmark Discovery in Qaleh Kurd Cave In a momentous archaeological breakthrough, French and Iranian researchers have unearthed compelling evidence of early human habitation in Iran's Central Plateau, pushing back the known timeline of human settlement in the region by an astonishing 300,000 years.

Heritage

Heritage Archaeology Artifacts Humanities

Ancient Human Habitation: New Discoveries from East Timor’s Laili Rock Shelter

Anthropology.net

OCTOBER 14, 2024

Archaeological discoveries in East Timor’s Laili rock shelter have unveiled evidence 1 of ancient human habitation dating back approximately 44,000 years. Archaeological evidence in Australia dates back at least 60,000 years, highlighting the ancient roots of Aboriginal cultures.

Humanities

Humanities Heritage Artifacts Archaeology

Tracing Modern Blackfoot People to Ice Age Lineages

Anthropology.net

APRIL 8, 2024

The Blackfoot Confederacy, steadfast guardians of their ancestral territories and water resources, has long navigated the complexities of protecting their cultural heritage amidst encroachments from modern society.

Heritage

Heritage Archaeology Tradition Community Engagement

Four Trailblazing Native American Scientists

Studies Weekly

NOVEMBER 7, 2023

He implemented the American Indian Telecommunications Satellite Demonstration Project, linking the All-Indian Pueblo Council and the Crow Indian Reservation with the federal government at Washington, D.C. His testimony before Congress culminated in the establishment of the First Americans Commission for Telecommunications.

Oral History

Oral History Museum Heritage Archaeology

How Virtual Reality Is Restoring Liberia’s Culture

Sapiens

APRIL 23, 2025

Traveling Treasures is a new project led by a team of anthropologists that puts Liberians directly in touch with their dispersed cultural heritage through immersive technologies designed to bridge continents and histories. government supported organization founded to repatriate freeborn and formerly enslaved Black families and individuals.

Cultures

Cultures Museum Heritage Archaeology

Unearthing the Origins of Plantation Slavery on São Tomé

Sapiens

MARCH 19, 2024

To uncover this past, a team launched the country’s first archaeological research. The Praia Melão engenho and estate is the first archaeological site identified in São Tomé. But this can be challenging in a country where no archaeology has been done before. Ruins of a sugar mill do not fit the government’s notion of heritage.

Heritage

Heritage Archaeology History Government

Seeking Ever-Elusive Treasures: Reflections on Collective Memory and Spectrality of the Past

Anthropology News

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

Treasure hunting often defaces or even destroys archaeological and environmental heritage. This potential harm to tangible heritage raises the ire of conservationists across government agencies, museums, universities, and other non-profit organizations.

Artifacts

Artifacts Heritage Archaeology Cultures

On the Tracks to Translating Indigenous Knowledge

Sapiens

JUNE 25, 2024

For knowledge of the area’s history, O utsider researchers naturally draw on ethnographic, historic, and archaeological data—but their knowledge of the details is patchy. 3 in 1874 with the Canadian government. This increased tensions with Outsiders. The Nation understood the Treaty as existing between the U.K.’s

History

History Cultures Archaeology Tradition

Mongolia’s “Forbidden Zone” is guarding an 800-year-old secret

Strange Maps

JUNE 26, 2023

Drawn in by the enduring mystery of the Khan’s missing grave, foreign archaeological expeditions started exploring the area. However, it is unlikely that the Mongolian government would ever allow actual excavations to prove or disprove these theories.

Heritage

Heritage History Archaeology Tradition

The Battle to Protect Archaeological Sites in the West Bank

Sapiens

JANUARY 22, 2025

An archaeologist from Palestine is urgently working to assess archaeological sites in the West Bank devastated by destruction and looting amid Israels ongoing war in the region. SIGNS OF LOOTING appear everywhere at archaeological sites across the West Bank. to 10 meters wide and 0.4 to 7 meters deep.

Archaeology

Archaeology Heritage Cultures Artifacts

Social Studies Network

Spain’s Move to Decolonize Its Museums Must Continue

When Wartime Plunder Comes to Campus

Trending Sources

How Colonialism Invented Food Insecurity in West Africa

Digging Into an Ancient Apocalypse Controversy From a Hopi Perspective

A Remarkable Discovery of a 450,000-Year-Old Tooth in Iran

Ancient Human Habitation: New Discoveries from East Timor’s Laili Rock Shelter

Tracing Modern Blackfoot People to Ice Age Lineages

Four Trailblazing Native American Scientists

How Virtual Reality Is Restoring Liberia’s Culture

Unearthing the Origins of Plantation Slavery on São Tomé

Seeking Ever-Elusive Treasures: Reflections on Collective Memory and Spectrality of the Past

On the Tracks to Translating Indigenous Knowledge

Mongolia’s “Forbidden Zone” is guarding an 800-year-old secret

The Battle to Protect Archaeological Sites in the West Bank

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