Objects of Inquiry

Abstract

Contrary to other forms of heritage (i.e., art collections), archaeology is based on allegedly objective data and is, therefore, particularly suitable to support ideological narratives on the past. Its scientific nature, combined with the proximity between its subject, material findings, and the cultural heritage of certain groups, entails that its history is key to understanding the interactions between science and its public. From an historical analysis that highlights the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, participation and narration of heritage, we can move on to reconstruct a critical approach to museums, collections, and cultural heritage in the society of the present and the future and re-imagine the role of history of science in this complex process.