A World History of Nineteenth-Century Archaeology: Nationalism, Colonialism, and the Past (Oxford Studies in the History of Archaeology)

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Conclusions

THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE WORLD HISTORY OF

NINETEENTH-CENTURY ARCHAEOLOGY

In this book explanations have operated at various levels, of which two will be
highlighted here: top-down and bottom-up approaches. Regarding theWrst
approach, it has been argued that archaeology’s emergence as a professional
discipline needs to be understood within the framework of the appearance of
nationalism as the political ideology that changed the way in which states
were characterized, leading to their deWnition as self-governed nations. An
overview of how nationalism, and, connected to it, imperialism and colonial-
ism, aVected the development and institutionalization of archaeology
throughout the world in the nineteenth century has been provided in the
introduction. In thisWnal chapter I do not intend to repeat arguments put
forward there. Instead, the following pages will further elaborate on the
bottom-up approach, utilized throughout the work but not explicitly formu-
lated. This concerns archaeologists’ role in the changes that led to the growing
acceptance of nationalism and imperialism, and the increasing success
of archaeology as a scholarly discipline. Nation, colony, empire, and state are
abstract concepts that, in fact, represent communities of individuals whose
agency is fundamental in the events that mark the history of these institu-
tions. People successfully instil—or otherwise—the belief in the existence of a
nation, an empire or a colony. Explorers, amateurs, and professionals played a
vital part in the organization of the search for antiquities, claiming their
undertakings were useful from a political point of view, and popularizing this
vision through exhibitions, speeches, teaching, and publications.

The scholar and the nation

To understand correctly the mechanisms by which nineteenth-century
archaeology related to nationalism it is important to stress that the political
role played by most individuals involved in the study of antiquities was not
the result of an imposition. On the contrary, free choice motivated them. The