Since Time Began: Archaeologists, Native Americans, and Time Volume 8 - Issue 4

Jon McVey Erlandson*

• Museum of Natural & Cultural History, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA

Received:August 01, 2023;   Published: August 08, 2023

Corresponding author:Jon McVey Erlandson, Museum of Natural & Cultural History, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 USA

DOI: 10.32474/JAAS.2023.08.000291

 

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Opinion

Relationships between archaeologists, anthropologists, Native Americans, and other Indigenous peoples have often been contentious [1,2], the result of a legacy of colonialism, discrimination, and White privilege, combined with a longstanding focus on scientific exploration of cemeteries, human remains, and sacred places or objects. As scientists, we can and must do better to heal the rifts of the past. In this brief essay, I examine one small issue that can divide scientific and traditional Indigenous viewpoints—the concept of time and how it is perceived by different people and cultures—and suggest a simple solution that brings seemingly divergent viewpoints closer together. As a practicing archaeologist for more than 45 years—during which I have worked with numerous Pacific Coast tribes and tribal members, I have often heard various iterations of the phrase “Native people don’t need archaeologists to tell us when we got here, we’ve been here since time began.” It is often said that people of European ancestry tend to think of time as linear, while many indigenous people—including Native Americans—tend to think of time as more circular. In a world where science, religion, and politics are entangled in complex and contentious ways, many archaeologists feel the need to defend their generally linear chronological reconstructions of human evolution, migrations, and cultural developments.

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