JIA 2014

A common discourse existing in current Archaeology is to affirm the state of crisis in which the disciple is immersed to the rhythm of the economic and social crisis that the current Western capitalism is suffering (GONZÁLEZ RUIBAL, 2012; HERNANDO, 2012). A crisis state in Archaeology that, in a theoretical and epistemological level, this must be remembered, has been continuous since the great criticism of the postmodernism and the first moments of the postprocesualism, at the end of the 80’ (FERNÁNDEZ MARTÍNEZ, 2006; HODDER, 1988; ROSENAU, 1992; SHANKS and TILLEY, 1992). In last year JIA at Barcelona (and in other previous editions of the conferences), we had the opportunity to think about what is really real of the crisis in Archaeology, and it is the critical situation in which its material conditions are and the situation of the professionals, a very affected sector by the destruction and job insecurity at the commercial area (MOYA MALENO, 2010; PARGA-DANS, 2010) and at the academic and social institutions (universities, OPIS, museums, etc.). Therefore, a wide agreement exists about the existence of a serious crisis which deeply affects to Archaeology in every ranges and that threatens to inevitably transform and dismantle it.

It is time, in our opinion, to make a qualitative leap and pass from the reaction to the action, from reflection to proposal. For all these reasons, the slogan of the VII JIA that will be held at Vitoria-Gasteiz will be “SOCIAL ARCHAEOLOGIES, ARCHAEOLOGY IN SOCIETY”. The proposal of this congress and this reflection frame has two main objectives. On one hand, and considering that Archaeology searches to understand “through the archaeological register, the integration of the material culture in the social processes of reality construction” (CRIADO BOADO, 2012), it is about to go deeper in the interpretation of the materiality in social terms beyond the naïve “description” and empiricism, predominant in the discipline although more discussed every time (GONZÁLEZ RUIBAL, 2012; JOHNSON, 2010 [2ª ed]). This idea, to link the materiality of the societies which produced it, has been a common theme in the archaeological reflection since it “lost its (first) innocence” (CLARKE, 1973). A idea, therefore, that has been present in every archaeological school, from the procesualism to the most contemporary symmetric archaeology, from the most remote of the political field to those more activist and closer to the political commitment, as the Feminist Archaeology, Postcolonial Archaeology or the Marxist Archaeology. We suggest to develop discourses and debates which analyse what is (or should be) the main objective of the Archaeology as a main axis, that is, understand, define and explain the social processes of identity and inequality creation through the materiality, or, in other words, to make Archaeology increasing the horizons of interpretation of the societies from the present and past (CRIADO BOADO, 2012; HERNANDO, 2012).

The other axis of the JIA will be the analysis and development of the existing and possible links between Archaeology and society in their most instrument and practical aspects. In a moment of crisis in which Archaeology, and social sciences in general, seem to be less “useful” every time in terms of profit, we bring up the necessity to reinforce our positions as social scientists. A positioning by means of the social sciences in general, and Archaeology in particular, from the point of view of its own social necessity and its capacity to give an own point of view to themes of current social interest producing a greater “value use” for the heritage, the materiality and the societies which live it at present (GONZÁLEZ RUIBAL, 2012). Therefore, it is necessary to make a deep self-reflection exercise and depose the “ivory towers” in which we are involved and that normalize our acting forms and ways of studying the past, claiming the social space of the Archaeology in every possible sphere, from the Public Archaeology as well as from the heritage management, the recovery of the Historical Memory or the institutional and political fields.

These two thematic axis, the study of the materiality and the link between Archaeology and society, allow to open a wide range of possibilities of debate and suggestions that generate a real archaeological praxis which afford to make Archaeology and professionals who work about it not only passive agents of the crisis, but active elements in its solution.

In this way, there will be stressed the sessions aimed to:

• The analysis in social terms of the material culture in different historical moments.
• New methodological proposals about the social analysis of the material culture.
• The proposal of theoretical and conceptual frames that consider about the social link of the material culture.
• The materiality as a reflection of the social, gender or age inequality.
• The materiality as a reflection of the economic exploitation and the inequality distribution of the resources.
• Public Archaeology as renovation of Archaeology in periods of crisis.
• Management Archaeology and its link with the society.
• The political, economic and ideological constrictions in Archaeology.

We hope that young researches may contribute in our small way, our point of view and our proposals to this subject. So we claim the JIA as the suitable frame for this, and encourage everybody to take part in the VII JIA hold at Vitoria-Gasteiz.

  

REFERENCES:

• CLARKE, D. (1973): "Archaeology: the loss of innocence". Antiquity, 47 (185): 6-18.
• CRIADO BOADO, F. (2012): Arqueológicas. La razón perdida. Bellaterra. Barcelona.
• FERNÁNDEZ MARTÍNEZ, V. (2006): Una Arqueología crítica. Ciencia, ética y política en la construcción del pasado. Crítica. Barcelona. 
• GONZÁLEZ RUIBAL, A. (2012): "Hacia otra arqueología: diez propuestas". Complutum, 23 (2): 103-116. 
• HERNANDO, A. (2012): "Teoría arqueológica y crisis social". Complutum, 23 (2): 127-145. 
• HODDER, I. (1988): Interpretación en Arqueología: corrientes actuales. Crítica. Barcelona. 
• JOHNSON, M. (2010 [2ª ed.]): Archaeological Theory: an introduction. Wiley-Blackwell. Oxford. 
• MOYA MALENO, P.R. (2010): "Grandezas y miserias de la arqueología de empresa en la España del siglo XXI". Complutum (21): 9-26. 
• PARGA-DANS, E. (2010): "Commercial archaeology in Spain: its growth, development, and the impact of the global economic crisis". En SCHLANGER, N. y AITCHISON, K. (Eds.), Archaeology and the global economic crisis. Multiple impacts, possible solutions. Culture Lab Editions. Tervuren: 45-54. 
• ROSENAU, P.M. (1992): Post-modernism and the social sciences. Princeton University Press. New Jersey.  
• SHANKS, M. and TILLEY, C. (1992): Re-Constructing Archaeology. Theory and practice. Routledge. New York.