Encountering the past on the suspicious terrain of the present

dsc_0046-copy

Theoretical polemics, discussions and researches on democratizing cultural heritage are central to contemporary cultural resource management or cultural heritage management. These debates hinge around the theme like, public participation and access to heritage sites and monuments, contestation of monopolizing expert knowledge on heritage issues, community engagement in heritage management projects, awareness raising programmes regarding protection and preservation of cultural heritage, etc. The circumstances, within which archaeologists like us in the margin of the ‘third world’ state work, particularly, during the fieldwork, compel us to rethink these polemics and discourses. In this short note, I will be referring to archaeological heritage as cultural heritage, excluding the intangible components.

READ MORE AT ALAL-O-DULAL