Preface to special series: Postindustrial landscapes, communities, and heritage

In this final instalment of our special series, we introduce two articles that explore how historical archaeologists co-construct and expand discourse around post-industrial places.

Zada Komara’s research in Appalachia challenges popular narratives that characterize the region as a ‘backwoods,’ homogenous, white region defined by poverty, addiction, religious zealotry, bigotry, and a stubborn refusal and inability to progress socially, morally, and economically.’ After realizing that ‘no one gives a shit about ceramic teawares’ in the former coal company towns in which she was working, Komara instead focused on using her position and privilege as an academic researcher to address the real concerns and challenges of present-day community members, such as food insecurity, decaying built environments, waste disposal, and isolation. She concludes that ‘forging new ways in the post-industrial region involves reviving or adapting some of the old,’ and notes that Appalachians already draw on historically-rooted practices like creative reuse of food containers and communal food production to navigate the region’s post-industrial present and future.

Francisco Rivera, Paula González, Rodrigo Lorca, and Wilfredo Faundes interviewed and surveyed former and current residents of the former sulphur mining community of Ollagüe, Chile, to identify significant historical events, topics of interest, and important places on the landscape for members of this community, Understandings of the past to evaluate the future of these sites. Their analysis reveals the multi-temporal, multi-sited memory that contrasts with linear understandings of the region’s recent past as defined by the state. People in Ollagüe associate events of the recent past with artefacts and ruins on the landscape, and the authors note that ‘this association is an ongoing process that must be constantly evaluated.’ While critical of the way ‘official’ heritage institutions and practitioners have engaged with, and in some instances destroyed, the region’s history and material culture, many community members think that ‘official’ recognition of the region’s industrial heritage and the revitalization of certain historical practices (such as traditional weaving) could help preserve the region’s history and provide economic pathways for Ollagüe moving forward.

Both articles discuss discrepancies between the way industrial heritage is conceptualized and valued within the top-down narratives crafted through ‘traditional’ academic research and/or popular culture, and the way heritage and memory function ‘on the ground’ in post-industrial communities. Working with community members to identify important historical places, events, and practices, the authors argue, archaeologists of the recent industrial past must synthesize many voices and make viable suggestions (and contributions) towards change, even when that means working outside of their comfort zone.

Our thanks once again to all our contributors and to April Beisaw and Melissa Baird, who provided invaluable feedback on the conference session where this series began.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).