Archaeology and Change

Archaeology can, and perhaps should, deconstruct many of the ideas that we have historically given as certain, as absolute truths. Thoughts that are firmly established in the minds of most people and that scientists and intellectuals must subject to meticulous questioning.

The wide temporal scale of reflection that archaeologists typically possess when analyzing social change call for the generating transformative discourses addressing the conditions under which the most vulnerable inhabit.

People who have historically been affected by principles that still guide modern societies, based on power, greed, alienation, and selfishness should deserve our attention. Perhaps by studying inequality we can promote visions of society governed by respect, sympathy, solidarity, and compassion.

Even though this approach may sound naive, it is important to remember that naïve approaches drove the most important changes in the history of humanity, the ones that pointed towards social justice. They were all adopted gradually, but they arrived never to leave.

One of the first tasks that we must set ourselves as archaeologists is the deconstruction of ourselves as researchers, scientists, intellectuals, and humanists. Rethinking what our discipline, focused on our specific case towards the study of the historical relationship of human beings with bodies of water, can do for the world and those who inhabit it.

Surely the first step is social criticism, which is achieved when we guarantee that our past is not forgotten, since any event of the present has deep roots in the past. It is there where memory is born, a collective memory.

In our view, archeology has a tremendous job in preventing amnesia, not only about events of millennia ago, but also about recent ones. Hence the importance of a deep analysis of the 20th century and its direct influence on the present.

Without a clear reflection on the role of archeology in the world, perhaps it would not be fair to expect it to be practiced only to satisfy our curiosity about the ancient. Our field of study (a maritime, underwater, and/or nautical archeology) must aim towards the same objectives as the other social sciences: to change the complex world in which we live.