Archaeology and the management of sensitive cultural heritage: trends and directions

Archaeology, as a systematic scientific and applied discipline, is grounded in Western modern society and linked to colonialist and nationalist ideology. Due to its innate ability to produce discourses on past societies, integrating physical form, time and space concepts embedded in postcolonial theories, Archaeology poses certain challenges to contemporary society regarding the management of archaeological material of highly symbolical value for diverse social groups and which are defined as “sensitive heritage”. Nowadays, human remains and looted ritual objects exhibited in museums are cultural goods strongly and dramatically disputed regarding the authority and legitimacy in the constructing of narratives about these objects, as well as their possession and repatriation. How can we in our studies adequately confront a past marked by violence, seeking a more horizontal approach to the construction on knowledge on the things of peoples from the past and present? The objective of this session is to gather and share experiences in which such efforts acted towards these goals and human dignity amongst requesting groups.