Understanding ‘the community’ before community archaeology: A case study from Sudan

Abstract

Since 2014, UCL Qatar has undertaken a diverse programme of community engagement as part of an archaeometallurgical research project at the Royal City of Meroe, Sudan. We present initial analyses of anonymous questionnaires conducted as part of this programme. We designed the questionnaires to evaluate qualitatively residents' knowledge about, outlook on, and experience with local archaeological sites, to generate an understanding of the social fabric within which archaeology is situated. Additionally, we collected quantitative demographic data to assess critically the local community composition. Statistical analyses of the questionnaire have highlighted the heterogeneous nature of the local communities, and how their often-divergent knowledge, outlooks, and experiences with archaeology are influenced by numerous social, economic, historical, and political factors: an idealized audience for 'community archaeology' does not exist in our context. Nevertheless, community engagement, leading to community archaeology, should form an integral part of an archaeological research programme from inception to completion.

Exploring attitudes towards the archaeological past: Two case studies from majority Muslim communities in the Nile valley

“…But I suggest that stimulating curiosity and providing new experiences as well as emotional satisfaction are legitimate aims of engagement. Past research has acknowledged that communities are not uniform bodies, but vary in terms of age, ethnic affiliations, economic capacities and social positions (for Sudan see Bradshaw, 2017;Humphris and Bradshaw, 2017). Moreover, biographical situations change, and so do entrance narratives and motivations to engage with the past.…”

The second season of excavations at Jebel Moya (south-central Sudan)

“…She argues that community engagement needs to go beyond creating economic opportunities and, as outlined in her study, people are very much engaged with pre-Islamic heritage but they do so on their own terms. Work by Humphris and Bradshaw (2017) demonstrates that communities see the benefits of archaeology in terms of historical information and that this does not need to be separate from any economic benefits (see also Bradshaw 2018). Ultimately, as Näser (2019) points out, it is up to archaeologists to provide open-ended collaboration rooted in the present.…”

Architecture and Gender: Lessons from Building Archaeology in Africa

“…By reevaluating the archaeological data through these lenses, we can better understand the role of diverse individuals in architecture, especially women (Blier 1981;Dalton 2017;Elcheikh 2018). Such an undertaking is particularly relevant at the current socio-cultural moment, as there is an urgent need for a more gender-inclusive narrative in creating and managing archaeological projects that can positively impact local communities (Elcheikh 2018;Humphris and Bradshaw 2017).…”