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Why would you think de-westernization of archeology has anything to do with it or is even relevant? He won 2 awards for his research, 1 in 2019 from Antiquity.

Why would you think de-westernization of archeology has anything to do with it or is even relevant? He won 2 awards for his research, 1 in 2019 from Antiquity. Which is from the UK and so western. I think most people want to find out the truth and that's it. The problem was that there was not much similar evidence for this architecture to buy build nearby, so some archeologists had wrong conclusions. It don't think anyone benefits from pushing a false dogma. At least, i don't see how they could benefit x centuries afterwards. On the contrary, the named archeologists could have had more success by acknowledging it's history ( even though they didn't acknowledged it) and helping investigation.

boffinAudio 5y ago
> Why would you think de-westernization of archeology has anything to do with it or is even relevant? Because it was mentioned in the article that the original discovering western archeologists, who were incredulous that such advanced construction could have come from the 'races' in the era, completely overlooked the fact that these buildings could have been constructed by the local indigenous people, for decades, until a non-western-indoctrinated archeologist came along and provided the counter argument. It was a wealth of information made unavailable to the local culture because of prejudice and bigotry, plain and simple - and this has been seen time and again in western archeology, which is not innocent in the "racist prejudice" department. >I think most people want to find out the truth and that's it. I think it depends whether the truth aligns with your funders goals and purposes or not. Certainly in the 19th and 20th centuries there are countless examples of 'archeology' degrading itself for the purposes of the institutions from where the funds are derived. And even today we still have the heinous situation that cultural artifacts are still 'being protected' in predominantly white european institutions (museums) due to the prejudices of the institutions towards the people from where the artifacts were stolen.
- NicoJuicy 5y ago
  1) That's not what is says The article doesn't say they are doing it on purpose. Some archeologists didn't align with his thinking because 1) other similar locations aren't there and 2) not understanding of the Shona culture. 2) Those institutions actually awarded him 2 times for his discoveries, making him the only person to win it twice. Do you have an indication of something factual except a disagreement on interpreting findings? 3) As far as I know, a lot of those artifacts are bought by museums because of a seller or given in custody by a private collector. I don't know the circumstances of those transactions, but i don't even see how that's related to the article... ? May I ask if this is a "close to heart" article?

boffinAudio 5y ago

> Why would you think de-westernization of archeology has anything to do with it or is even relevant? Because it was mentioned in the article that the original discovering western archeologists, who were incredulous that such advanced construction could have come from the 'races' in the era, completely overlooked the fact that these buildings could have been constructed by the local indigenous people, for decades, until a non-western-indoctrinated archeologist came along and provided the counter argument. It was a wealth of information made unavailable to the local culture because of prejudice and bigotry, plain and simple - and this has been seen time and again in western archeology, which is not innocent in the "racist prejudice" department. >I think most people want to find out the truth and that's it. I think it depends whether the truth aligns with your funders goals and purposes or not. Certainly in the 19th and 20th centuries there are countless examples of 'archeology' degrading itself for the purposes of the institutions from where the funds are derived. And even today we still have the heinous situation that cultural artifacts are still 'being protected' in predominantly white european institutions (museums) due to the prejudices of the institutions towards the people from where the artifacts were stolen.

NicoJuicy 5y ago
1) That's not what is says The article doesn't say they are doing it on purpose. Some archeologists didn't align with his thinking because 1) other similar locations aren't there and 2) not understanding of the Shona culture. 2) Those institutions actually awarded him 2 times for his discoveries, making him the only person to win it twice. Do you have an indication of something factual except a disagreement on interpreting findings? 3) As far as I know, a lot of those artifacts are bought by museums because of a seller or given in custody by a private collector. I don't know the circumstances of those transactions, but i don't even see how that's related to the article... ? May I ask if this is a "close to heart" article?