Evaluating Participatory Practice In archaeology: Proposal for a standardized approach

ABSTRACT

In this paper we present a proposal for the creation of a standardized evaluation model for participatory/public/community archaeology and heritage initiatives. The proposal is the result of discussions during a Spring School that the University of Padua and the MAG Museum of Alto Garda, Italy, organized between 9 and 15 April 2018. The Spring School brought together international practitioners to compare experiences and share visions for the sustainable future of archaeology and heritage management. We reflect on the process of bringing together our thoughts and views into one place, and on the theoretical and practitioner contexts that inform our proposed model. The model is intended for researchers and practitioners planning to carry out archaeological and heritage projects with communities. We invite readers to try using some or all of the sections of the model in their own work and to contribute to further refinement of the approach.

KEYWORDS:

• evaluation
• community archaeology
• participatory heritage
• archaeological heritage management
• sustainable archaeology

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Alexandra Chavarria for organizing the Spring School in Canale di Tenno and Riva del Garda in April 2018, and for publishing its outcomes. We would also like to thank the University of Padua (WinterSummerschool call 2017) and the PRIN Project ‘Archeologia al futuro’ (prot. 2015ZKTL5) for funding the Spring School.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gemma Tully

Gemma Tully teaches Museum Studies at the University of Bergamo (Italy). She works to enhance mutual understandings of heritage between diverse stakeholders in Europe and North Africa.

Lara Delgado Anés

Lara Delgado Anés is a Geography and History Teacher in the Department of Education in the Regional Government of Andalusia (Granada, Spain), specializing in Public and Community Archaeology.

Suzie Thomas

Suzie Thomas is a Professor of Heritage Studies at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and a Docent in Museum Studies at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Adrian Olivier

Adrian Olivier has worked as a lead expert for the Council of Europe and he continues to work closely with international organizations on the protection and promotion of the historic environment.

Francesca Benetti

Francesca Benetti is a Historic Environment Forum Manager with a PhD from the University of Padova (Italy). She co-chairs the Public Archaeology Community of the European Association of Archaeologists.

Alicia Castillo Mena

Alicia Castillo Mena is Professor at Complutense University and Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain) She specializes in Cultural Heritage Management and is Director of the Cultural Heritage Management Research Group.

Alexandra Chavarria Arnau

Alexandra Chavarria Arnau is Professor of medieval Archaeology at the University of Padova. She is the Italian coordinator of ICAHM and leads a series of projects on community archaeology in northern Italy.

Mia Rizner

Mia Rizner works as senior advisor at Conservation department in Rijeka, Croatia and holds an MA from the University of Zagreb (Croatia) and a PhD from the University of Padova (Italy).

Katharina Möller

Katharina Möller is a PhD student at Bangor University (Wales, UK). Her research focuses on public participation in archaeology in Germany and the UK.

Raimund Karl

Raimund Karl teaches archaeology and heritage at the University of Vienna (Austria) and is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology and Heritage at Bangor University (Wales, UK).

Akira Matsuda

Dr Akira Matsuda is an Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo. He investigates the meaning, representation and use of the past in the contemporary world.

José María Martín Civantos

José María Martín Civantos is Associated professor in Medieval History and Archaeology at the University of Granada (Spain) and coordinator of the MEMOLab, Biocultural Archaeology Laboratory.

Gian Pietro Brogiolo

Gian Pietro Brogiolo is professor of Medieval Archaeology at the University of Padova. His research focuses on urban, landscape and community archaeology.

Nekbet Corpas Cívicos

Nekbet Corpas Cívicos has recently completed her PhD in conflict analysis and resolution in archaeological heritage management at the Complutense University Madrid (Spain).

Francesco Ripanti

Francesco Ripanti holds a PhD from the University of Pisa, Italy, with a project focusing on the study of public participation in Italian archaeology.

Julia Sarabia Bautista

Julia Sarabia-Bautista is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Alicante (Spain) and researcher at the UA Institute for Archaeology and Heritage Research (INAPH).

Sonia Schivo

Sonia Schivo recently completed her PhD at the University of Padova on the value and perception of cultural heritage for local communities.