Displaying Archaeology and Circulating Knowledge

This article explores the role of archaeological exhibitions organized at international archaeological congresses in the circulation of scientific knowledge in the nineteenth century. It does so through the case study of the exhibition organized at the 8th Congrès international d’anthropologie et d’archéologie préhistoriques (CIAAP; International Congress of Prehistoric Anthropology and Archaeology) which was held in the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, Hungary, in 1876. The article discusses the exhibition’s curation and impact by analyzing key publications, newspaper articles, and archival documents. It examines the exhibitors’ backgrounds, along with the selection and arrangement of the displayed objects. It also highlights the exhibition’s press coverage and the discussions it generated among the international and domestic participants. The article concludes that the exhibition contributed to creating international scholarly networks, multi- and pluridisciplinary collaborations, as well as international visibility and public support for prehistoric archaeology in Hungary.