The August 6th issue of the New Scientist includes an interview with Sada Mire, the only working archaeologist in Somalia. Her insights are fascinating, but I was particularly struck with her answer to the question “Why should archaeology be a priority when there are so many problems facing the Horn of Africa, including famine?” In her answer, she stated her belief that “cultural heritage, including archaeological heritage” was “a basic human right. Even people who are refugees or internally displaced need not only food and security, but also a cultural heritage to understand their situation and to preserve their identity and dignity.”
This is something to keep in mind as Ohio and other states face our own, trivial by comparison, economic problems. Archaeology is not a luxury, it is a basic human right!
Mire has a website devoted to Somali Heritage and Archaeology:
http://www.somaliheritage.org/index.php
Check it out!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
I'm not so sure about defining archaeology as a "basic human right," but I might come at it from a slightly different tangent.
It is widely acknowledged that the best ethical judgment on a culture is how it treats the least in status and the most defenseless, generally defined as "the widow and the orphan" in Biblical language, or "the homeless and dispossessed" in more modern terms.
The dead, and the traces of their lives now ended, are in some sense the most defenseless, the least able to speak for themselves, the best example of where their dependence on us, the living, to do justice on their behalf. How we tend and protect graveyards is one way communities can show their respect and affirmation of the voiceless past.
In that sense, archaeology is the *expression* of a basic human right, that of the most vulnerable to expect the enabled and capable to represent justice and their best interests. Framed that way, I cannot but agree!
Well said! I also believe archaeology is a basic human right. As human beings we have a right, nay, a necessity to know our past and consider how it may influence our future. We have a responsibility and obligation to ourselves, to those who have passed on before us and to future generations to be aware of the extraordinary part of human heritage that only archaeology can tell us.
If we can recognize the relational and behavioral connections we might have to those who came before us, we may understand our cultural differences and how we can relate to the rest of the world.
Not only does archaeology promote cultural awareness and consideration, it leads to an understanding of multicultural perspectives. Certainly, there is a value in recognition and empathy toward others. Studying the past also allows one to examine and project the consequence of human behavior and decision making.
In a world where there is a shortage of love and compassion toward others, it is our right as human beings to be aware of how the past can show us the way to understand one another in the present and archaeology can certainly lead us in this direction. Ergo, it is a basic human right.
Post a Comment