Professional archaeologists firmly control the prehistory of British Columbia (more commonly referred to today as "pre-contact" history). This has been the case since Dr. Charles E. Borden, a German professor at the University of British Columbia, professionalized the archaeological discipline between
1945 and 1960. The purpose of this paper is to critically examine and explain
the process by which this monopolization occurred, and to suggest the massive
ramifications that have followed.
Relevant approaches to the history of archaeology are reviewed, and a
"contextual" strategy is adopted as the best way to unravel, but preserve, the
richness of the local history of archaeology in B.C. A mixture of narrative
and analytical style is employed in explaining the rise Borden and professional
archaeology in the 1950s. It is argued that Borden produced knowledge by
drawing on an existing network of North American archaeology to create, and
substantiate, his authoritative position. In the context of archaeological
site destruction, during the 1950s, Borden was able to pull unrelated members
of the B.C. populous to his cause, including provincial officials, through the
passing of the "Archaeological and Historic Sites Protection Act," in 1960.
Amateur archaeologists and Aboriginal people lacked the means to amass the
powerful alliances that Borden did, and therefore amateurs and Natives were
unable to offer a persuasive alternative to Borden's authority.
It is concluded that because of the professional encapsulation of B.C.
archaeology, we, as non-specialists, have to put our faith in archaeologists,
and assume that the knowledge they produce is truthful and valid It is
suggested that professional archaeologists have joined other human scientists
in a rapidly spiralling scientification of humanity. This is significant
because specialists inform the State about who we are as citizens, and impose
identities on us which partly dicate how the State regulates our access to
resources. The example of Natives in B.C., who have recently appropriated professional archaeology to their own cause of settling land-claim disputes, is offered to show how alienated components of our identities can be returned to us through political action.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/3865 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | West, Robert Gerard |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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