Links: going beyond cultural property

Taking as its start-point a radical intervention in the field of archaeology
and heritage—one that laid down a direct challenge to the unspoken
discourse of property relations inherent in our management of cultural
resources—this article considers how much has changed since that
intervention. In particular, the article considers developments in the manner
of legal regulation of archaeological heritage, the adoption of ideas from
economics, and relations with communities that have taken place in
archaeology. It identifies differences between the rhetoric of commentators
and practitioners and their actual practice that we need to address if we
seek truly to turn our field into one that serves the wider community rather
than merely telling others how to be.