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Today's #Archaeology31 theme is #decolonise and I want to talk a bit about #Malta again and about the #Mediterranean more broadly. First up, the definition of the Med has consistently ignored #NorthAfrica in #archaeology.
This is ridiculous and baseless, sort of how some #Egyptologists forget that #Egypt is in #Africa. And when you consider where #Malta is located, it's even more ridiculous to exclude #NorthAfrica from the narrative. #Archaeology31
Most narratives of Malta focus on #Sicily which is indeed our closest neighbour and there are many links. But that's problematic in many ways. Public full text here if you want to catch up: https://bit.ly/3oqBWGD
But let's focus on #NorthAfrica a bit. The topic is brilliantly discussed here: 10.1558/jma.40581 (£) and here https://doi.org/10.1007/s10437-020-09411-9 (open access). #Archaeology31
Malta's r/ship with its North African identity has been uneasy for years, and it's embroiled in ugly politics. We speak a form of Arabic written in the Romance script and we have a complex political history. We gained independence from the British Empire in 1964 #Archaeology31
But #archaeology is a long way from being decolonized. For years, the Faculty of Arts (and thus archaeology) was shut down. Long story. Things only started again in 1986 (at uni). And I suppose the natural reaction was to turn to the UK. This isn't inherently bad btw, not at all.
But the narrative of Maltese archaeology has been dominated by the Anglo academic narrative for over 200 years. It wasn't always so, there used to be a dominance of the Italian narrative. Point is, both do a disservice to archaeology #Archaeology31 #decolonise
We could talk about archaeology during British rule. Here for a refresher: https://twitter.com/I_VG/status/1271399886181863425?s=20 but I'd like to focus a bit about how colonialism is still visible in the landscape #Archaeology31 #decolonise
If you look at Neolithic 'temples' you'll see they are boxed in rather nicely. There is no wider landscape context. When they were eventually scheduled, it was done accor to British principles - find boundaries and draw a line. #Archaeology31 #decolonise
But this doesn't quite work in Malta where the history of land parcelling is a lot more complex (ask any long-suffering notary). So the result of this is that even today, we lack the broader landscape context and a lot of it is lost. #Archaeology31 #decolonise
Here's the kicker. Since 1986, the archaeology dept at the uni of Malta has, against the odds, producing a number of good people. And yet, if you take a look at published outputs, Maltese names are in a minority. This isn't b/c we're dumb or incapable.
The unsung heroes of heritage are out there, working against the odds. But we have yet to #decolonise the narrative and spread that beyond our shores. #Archaeology31
So the stinking spectre of colonialism lingers everywhere. To #decolonise #archaeology is to open up the world, it's about gaining valuable perspectives, because when you open the doors, people WILL come and that's true value #Archaeology31
One final thing - archaeologists everywhere, do read @PriyamvadaGopal Insurgent Empire. You need to. https://www.versobooks.com/books/3155-insurgent-empire #Archaeology31
