La muséologie et l’objet de l’archéologie

Abstract

The concept of « archaeological context » plays a significant part in our discipline. This article analyzes the impact of that contextualization ethics onto the museographical tasks of archaeological heritage conservation. As a matter of fact, an erroneous, scientistic interpretation of the archaeological context, opposing objects and their signifiant environment, has lead our discipline into a logical cul-de-sac, where the needs of heritage preservation and public valorization seem to contradict the requirements of scientific research.Basing on some concrete examples, we reflect on the heuristic relevance of old finds and collections, in order to show that the « archaeological context » has to be understood in a broader and more dynamic perspective, allowing of a conciliation between conservation and research. Indeed, the museums are not restricted to merely relate the past through the exhibition of the dismembered remains left over by the dismantling of the context characteristic of archaeological excavation. In other words, the museum collections have a specific role in the construction of knowledge about the past.

Keywords

• archaeological context
• archaeological theory
• archaeological collections
• museology
• history of archaeology