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Archaeologies of whiteness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2022

Matthew C. Reilly
Matthew C. Reilly*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Gender Studies, and International Studies, the City College of New York, USA Email: mreilly@ccny.cuny.edu
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Abstract

In the midst of ardent calls for decolonizing and building a more anti-racist archaeology, whiteness has gone largely unacknowledged in the history of disciplinary thought and practice. As a point of departure, this article asks: why are there so many White archaeologists? In addressing this question, I suggest that the development of early archaeological method and thought was deeply affected by White supremacy. In presenting the two case studies of Montroville Dickson and Flinders Petrie, I suggest that a radical new history of archaeology is needed if we are to build a more equitable, anti-racist field in the future. Central to this process to recognizing the role that whiteness has played and continues to play in archaeological practice and pedagogy.

Keywords

WhitenessWhite supremacyarchaeological historyanti-racismpedagogydecolonization

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Articles
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Archaeological Dialogues , Volume 29 , Issue 1 , June 2022 , pp. 51 - 66
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© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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