Contemporary archaeology

This article is about the archaeological investigation of 20th- and 21st-century remains. For the archaeological investigation of the historic past, see Historical archaeology. For archaeological practices in the modern era, see Modern archaeology.

Contemporary archaeology is a field of archaeological research that focuses on the most recent (20th and 21st century) past, and also increasingly explores the application of archaeological thinking to the contemporary world. It has also been referred to as the archaeology of the 'contemporary past'.[1] The use of this term in the United Kingdom is particularly associated with the Contemporary and Historical Archaeology in Theory (CHAT) conference group.[2] The field forms part of historical archaeology, or the archaeology of the modern period. Unlike ethnoarchaeology, contemporary archaeology studies the recent and contemporary past in its own right, rather than to develop models that can inform the study of the more distant past.

  1. ^ Buchli, Victor; Lucas, Gavin (4 January 2002). Archaeologies of the Contemporary Past. London: Routledge. p. 208. ISBN 9781134571383. JSTOR 3527092.
  2. ^ "CHAT ACT: Agency, Action and Advocacy Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus University, Denmark Friday 26 – Sunday 28 October 2018". Contemporary and Historical Archaeology in Theory. Retrieved 13 November 2018.