On the Case: Method in Public and Community Archaeology

Abstract

This paper seeks to initiate a conversation about methodology in public and community archaeology through an examination of the use of case studies. Case studies enable the exploration of situations that are, by their nature, not easily reduced to statistical data. The challenge is that unless they are carefully structured, case studies may contribute little beyond anecdote to the field. Other disciplines that rely on case studies have addressed the methodological challenges aggressively. This paper explores these issues in four sections: First, the rationale for methodology in public archaeology is examined. Second, actual practice—through analysis of papers published in Public Archaeology and, to a limited degree, in the ‘grey literature’—is reviewed. Third, alternative case study methods, gleaned from diverse disciplines, are presented. Finally, the potential for method-based case study research is illustrated through an example of the use of one such method.

Keywords:

• public archaeology
• community archaeology
• methodology
• case studies
• project evaluation

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to acknowledge the comments of Richard Hodges, Paul Burtenshaw, and several anonymous reviewers whose insights and critiques of earlier drafts improved this paper. Responsibility for the contents remains with the author.

ORCiD

Peter G. Gould http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5654-4128

Notes on contributor

Peter G. Gould is a Consulting Scholar with the Penn Cultural Heritage Center of the University of Pennsylvania's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and also an adjunct professor of archaeology in the Masters in Sustainable Cultural Heritage program at the American University of Rome. He holds a PhD from the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, where his research focused on economic development projects associated with archaeological and heritage sites. He is the author of several articles on archaeology and economic development, co-editor with Paul Burtenshaw of the special issue of Public Archaeology (Vol. 13, 1–3) on Archaeology and Economic Development, and co-editor with K. Anne Pyburn of the forthcoming volume, Collision or Collaboration: Archaeology Encounters Economic Development (Springer, One World Archaeology). Originally trained as an economist, he worked for many years in government, business, and finance before turning to academia. He is an Overseer of the Penn Museum and a Director of the Sustainable Preservation Initiative among other board affiliations.