Reflection #11

Archeology is one of the most interesting things. Uncovering old civilizations and people, learning about things that have been forgotten for thousands of years. And sometimes, even finding a new language or culture that doesn't have any backing by other historical documents. One major problem in archeology though is racism, especially in the Americas. Archeology, especially in its beginning years, was mainly run by the European elite. It was a way to show their superiority when researching the greeks and Romans, and a way of showing their superiority when researching the "savages" of anywhere else. The major point of racism in archeology I would like to look to is in the Americas and their civilizations.

Until 1492, the Americas have never formally been discovered, other people may have come before, but none until Columbus had a real impact on the rest of the world. The Americas therefore, were a completely new land, with people they had never seen before, with their own histories and cultures. When Archeology really came forward in the Americas, it was already decided even before the real digging began, that the Native Americans were inferior, simply because they weren't "white". Anytime new information was found by these archeologists, even if it showed proof that the people of the land were intelligent and not savages, it was shot down.

One of the more interesting ways to see this is to look at the cradles of civilizations. Only recently have two more been added. The "main" ones are Egypt, Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, and China. However, we know two more, Mesoamerica and Inka. These are recognized as the cradles of civilization, yet it wasn't always so. I didn't even know about the last two until I read a book on it.

This type of racism is getting better, but this just shows how prevalent racism in archeology was and still is. The only way to go forth in this is to research with an open mind, and not to think that anyone's race or country is superior to another. Cultures develop differently based on the resources they have, one isn't superior to another. Research with an open mind.

Thank you for listening to my strange rant,
- Eli