Resistance and Care in the Time of COVID‐19: Archaeology in 2020

Abstract

The COVID‐19 pandemic offered humanity a portal through which we could break with the past and imagine our world anew. This article reviews how over the course of 2020, a series of intersecting crises at the nexus of racism, settler colonialism, climate change, and sexual harassment have prompted acts of resistance and care in the field of archaeology. Throughout the article, we provide concrete suggestions as to how we can continue the work of movements begun over the course of the past year to improve dynamics within our field and use the lessons from our field to improve life for all people in the world and for our planet. [ resistance, care, COVID‐19, 2020, climate change, #MeToo, restorative justice ]

We Are Displaced, But We Are More Than That: Using Anarchist Principles to Materialize Capitalism’s Cracks at Sites of Contemporary Forced Displacement in Europe

“…Often defined as “mutual aid” groups, there was more than a tinge of anarchism about how such groups evolved through people caring for one another in a crisis (cf. d’Alpoim Guedes et al 2021 ). Care is an attribute that capitalism has often dismissed and shoved in a box marked “Women’s Work” (Hester 2018 ).…”

Introduction

“…Lastly, even though this is not the focus of any of the articles herein, we think it's important to also address the fact that the “cowboy culture” of archaeology (Wade, 2020), steeped as it is in its relationship to whiteness and male dominance, has supported not only racism but also a sociality based on alcohol overconsumption and widespread harassment that continues to push people out of the field (d'Alpoim Guedes, Gonzalez, and Rivera‐Collazo, 2021, 902–5; Hodgetts and Supernant, 2020; Leighton, 2020; Voss, 2021a, 2021b). These internal violences have been left unaddressed for too long.…”

“…At the same time, there was a startling spike in anti‐Asian violence, as people began to place undue blame for the pandemic on China (Coloma et al., 2021). As the pandemic wreaked havoc on the world, people seemed suddenly to have sufficient time to notice the disturbing state of racialized violence specifically (d'Alpoim Guedes, Gonzalez, and Rivera‐Collazo, 2021; Buchanan, Bui, and Patel, 2020). And they reacted furiously.…”

Recommendations for Sustainable Ancient DNA Research in the Global South: Voices From a New Generation of Paleogenomicists

“…Historically unequal power relations can also shape heritage management in ways that have consequences for aDNA research as seen in Puerto Rico, which as a U.S. territory without federally recognized Indigenous nations, is excluded from NAGPRA ( Rodríguez López, 2009b ; d’Alpoim Guedes et al, 2021 ). While artifacts and human bodies recovered from archaeological contexts are considered the patrimony of all Puerto Ricans under local legislation, such laws are superseded by federal regulations ( Pagán-Jiménezand Rodriguez Ramos, 2008 ; Rodríguez López, 2009a ;, 2009b ; Llorens-Liboy and Núñez, 2011 ).…”