Conflict in common: Heritage-making in Cape York

The outstanding natural and cultural values of Cape York have been acknowledged for decades, but those decades have been characterised by deep conflict. Non-government organisation intervention in local politics has seen a forceful push for nominating some or all of the Cape York Peninsula as a World Heritage Site. We illuminate the authorised heritage discourse at work in heritage-making, and highlight contested issues of ownership, governance, authenticity, and value. These themes contribute to the possibility of marginalising the voices of local people who wish to contribute to heritage-making in Cape York. Politics infuses all aspects of heritage-making in Cape York, and the specific experiences on Cape York reflect larger political processes occurring in World Heritage discourse. The paper draws on interviews undertaken in May and June 2012

Community-based archaeology in Australia

Outside of the Antipodes, Australian archaeology is best known as an archaeology of the distant Palaeolithic past. However, where communities have been closely involved in developing and undertaking archaeological research programs, the focus of archaeological research has been radically different, often dealing with the archaeology of the recent, remembered past, and crossing disciplinary boundaries between Aboriginal and historical archaeology. Distinguishing between 'community-based archaeology' and reactive or ‘consent-based’ community involvement in archaeology, this paper reviews the state of archaeology and its engagement with communities in Australia. Through several case studies in both indigenous and post-contact archaeology, it demonstrates the way in which community-based research and practise is changing what it is we think of ‘archaeology’ in Australia.\u