Archaeology on the Limit: A Phenomenological Perspective on the Ontological Turn.

Abstract

Emerging ontological approaches in archaeology have been seeking to provide a new basis for the future orientation of the discipline. This inspired us to problematise one of the metaphysical assumptions of the field—the phenomenon of prejudice. Owing to the modern origins of archaeology, prejudice may still be perceived as a negative element that we should, ideally, eliminate. Our interpretative phenomenological research inquired into how prejudice is experienced by archaeologists, aiming to reveal its ontological significance. This means that archaeologists themselves, from diverse national and personal contexts, have become the source of our data. We uncovered the phenomenon in interviews, focus group discussions, and during field observations. In an effort to promote interdisciplinary dialogue in the humanities, this article also provides individual scholarly and professional perspectives of each author on the phenomenon under question. Finally descending deep into the metaphysical origins of the field suggested a possible applied direction for future archaeological–ontological research.