Dystopian Archaeologies: the Implementation of the Logic of Capital in Heritage Management

Since the 1980s, privatisation of the archaeological sector mirrored its contextual political economy. After the financial crisis of 2008, and its devastating effects on the professional community, this system has been subject to more and more criticism. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the highly problematic setup of privatised archaeology for practitioners, material culture, and the vast majority of the public. The archaeological systems in a number of countries, including Canada, Australia, and Japan are explored. A radical change from the dominant logic of capital, towards cooperative and collaborative alternatives, viable in the long-term, and relinked to people, in the present is suggested as a more feasible alternative.