The Ethics of Archaeology: Philisophical Perspectives on Archaeological Practice

Edited by C. Scarre and G. Scarre (2006)

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Table of Contents 

1.         Introduction
            Chris Scarre and Geoffrey Scarre      

PART I: THE OWNERSHIP OF CULTURAL OBJECTS 

2.         Cultures and the ownership of archaeological finds
            James O. Young

3.         Who guards the guardians?
            Oliver Leaman

4.         Is culture a commodity?
            Robert Layton and Gillian Wallace

5.         Moral arguments on subsistence digging
            Julie Hollowell

PART II: ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND THE LIVING 

6.         Human subjects review and archaeology: a view from Indian country
            Jeffrey C. Bendremer and Kenneth A. Richman

7.         Trust and archaeological practice: towards a framework of Virtue Ethics
            Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh and T. J. Ferguson

8.         Truthfulness and `inclusion' in archaeology
            David E. Cooper

9.         Ethics and Native American reburials: a philosopher's view of two  decades of NAGPRA
            Douglas P. Lackey

10.       Stewardship gone astray? Ethics and the SAA
            Leo Groarke and Gary Warrick

PART III: ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND THE DEAD 

11.       Can archaeology harm the dead?
            Geoffrey Scarre

12.       Archaeological ethics and the people of the past
            Sarah Tarlow

PART IV: THE COMMON HERITAGE OF HUMANKIND? 

13.       A plea for responsibility towards the common heritage of mankind
            Sandra M. Dingli

14.       The ethics of the World Heritage concept
            Atle Omland

15.       What value a unicorn's horn? A study of archaeological uniqueness and value
            Robin Coningham, Rachel Cooper and Mark Pollard

References

Index

The Ethics of Archaeology covers a wide range of intellectual territory, ranging from philosophy to legal frameworks, from indigenous viewpoints to the practical application of ethical standards, and from the role of trust in virtue ethics to the role of institutional review boards (IRBs) in regulating human subject research. It admirably accomplishes its stated goal to `promote dialogue between archaeologists, anthropologists and philosophers on significant ethical issues raised by the contemporary practice of archaeology´... Reflecting as this does significant divisions within the discipline, this multiplicity of voices and viewpoints is to the credit of the editors.

Alex Barker, European Journal of Archaeology 9 (2009)