Reflections on the Pedagogy of Archaeological Field Schools within Indigenous Community Archaeology Programmes in Australia

Abstract

In this paper we investigate the pedagogy of archaeological field schools. Specifically, we explore the combination of tertiary level field schools and Indigenous community (or community-based) archaeology. Using a detailed case study of a rock art field school in Arnhem Land, Australia, we explore the processes and outcomes of combining archaeological field training with the ideas and methods of community archaeology. We discuss the relationship and unique challenges faced by such community archaeology field schools, particularly that of balancing the priorities of competing stakeholders. Our discussion illustrates the complexities of training students to work in an environment where cultural belief systems are still strongly linked to sites and landscapes. While the challenges are numerous, the outcomes, particularly for students, provide an unparalleled educational experience, one that cannot be obtained in any other learning format.

keywords:

• rock art
• teaching
• field school
• Australia
• Indigenous
• Arnhem Land
• community
• pedagogy

Acknowledgements

We thank the artists and staff at Injalak Arts for their partnership in running these field schools and their ongoing support and friendship. In particular, we would like to thank D. Gumurdul, J. Nayinggul, T. Yulidjirri, W. Nawirridj, Gabriel Maralngurra, G. Djorlom, Heather Nawirridj, C. Nganjmirra, R. Nayilibidj, D. Djorlom, W. Djorlom, S. Badari, Benson (Isaiah) Nagurrgurrba, T. Nganjmirra, Joey Nganjmirra, Anthony Murphy, the Kunbarllanjnja Community Government Council (West Arnhem Shire Council), the Kunbarllanjnja Community Government School, and the Department of Archaeology, Flinders University. From the Barunga community, we thank Victor Hood, Guy Rankin, Trevor Atkinson, Melva Brinjin, Sybil Ranch, Margaret Katherine, Nell Brown, Ester Bulumbarra, Jeannie Tiati, and Joslyn McCartney, as well as former teachers who have now passed away, Peter Manabaru, Lilly Willika, Phyllis Wioynjorroc, Jimmy Wesan, and Glen Wesan. Claire Smith’s field school, now called the Community Archaeology Fieldschool, runs in July each year. Over the past fifteen years, 280 students of archaeology have been trained by the Barunga community. Our thanks to all the students who have been part of both field schools since 2004. Finally, we wish to thank all the visiting researchers who have been part of the journey and helped to challenge our theories and methods for teaching and working with local communities.

ORCID

Sally K. May http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2805-023X

Notes on contributors

Sally K. May is an archaeologist and anthropologist specializing in Australian Aboriginal rock art. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow with the Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit at Griffith University. Sally has worked on a range of rock art, museum, heritage, and oral history projects both within Australia and overseas. Currently, her work focuses on western and north-western Arnhem Land, including Kakadu National Park, and she has a particular interest in the archaeology of ‘contact’. Sally is the author of Collecting Cultures: Myth, Politics and Collaboration in the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition (Altamira, 2009) and editor of a number of volumes, including the recently released The Archaeology of Portable Art: Southeast Asian, Pacific, and Australian Perspectives (2018, with M. Langley, D. Wright, and M. Litster).

Melissa Marshall is a researcher with the Nulungu Research Institute, University of Notre Dame Australia (Broome campus). Melissa specializes in Indigenous archaeology, particularly rock art research and working alongside communities for tangible outcomes in conservation and management. She is currently completing doctoral research at the Australian National University, working with Indigenous communities and ranger groups in Northern Australia to investigate rock art conservation and management methods in response to contemporary issues. Melissa has strong ties to the West Kimberley region, where she has worked as an archaeological and GIS consultant for close to twenty years. She continues to work extensively in western Arnhem Land and Kakadu National Park, supporting rock art research activities.

Inés Domingo Sanz graduated with a PhD in History (Prehistory and Archaeology) from the University of Valencia in 2005. In 2006 she was awarded a PhD Distinction (Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado) for her research on Levantine rock art. She joined ICREA as a Research Professor in 2010, and she is based at the Department of History and Archaeology, Universitat de Barcelona. She has been an honorary Associate Researcher with the Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, Australia, since 2009. Inés’ work explores the ‘Archaeologies’ of rock art from a multidisciplinary and multi-scale approach, including an ethnoarchaeological perspective. She is Vice-president of the World Archaeological Congress.

Claire Smith is Professor of Archaeology at Flinders University, South Australia. She was President of the World Archaeological Congress from 2003 to 2014. She specializes in rock art research and the ethics of working with Indigenous communities. She has conducted research with Aboriginal communities in the Barunga region of the Northern Territory, Australia, since 1990.

Notes

1 For Gunbalanya, only an initial and surname are used where the individual has passed away.

2 Since 2004 the visiting researchers have included: Prof. Martin Wobst, Prof. Robert Paynter, Prof. Joe Watkins, Prof. Paul Faulstich, Prof. Paul S. C. Taçon, Carol J. Ellick, Prof. Alejandro Haber, Dr Sven Ouzman, Dr Liam Brady, Dr Noel Hidalgo Tran, and Dr Duncan Wright.