Glossary

Cultural heritage Qualities and attributes of places that have aesthetic, historic, scientific or social value for past, present or future generations. These values may be seen in a place’s physical features, but importantly can also be intangible qualities such as peoples associations with, or feelings for a place.

Rescue archaeology Emergency salvage of sites in immediate danger of destruction by major land modification projects such as reservoir construction.

This article reviews the most important perceptions of archaeology and archaeologists in contemporary popular culture. One of the most important insights that will emerge is that archaeology, unlike many other scientific disciplines, is largely perceived in flattering terms. In popular culture, the archaeologist is a hero and role model, competent and resourceful, serving the interests of society and occasionally of humanity through new discoveries and important revelations. This positive appeal is an important, though often underappreciated, asset of professional archaeologists and their discipline. The available literature on this subject is very small, often anecdotal, and does not amount to a sustained academic debate. In recent years, however, the academic interest in the portrayal of archaeology in popular culture has increased substantially.

The themes archaeologists are associated with in popular culture can be divided into four main categories: the archaeologist as adventurer; the archaeologist as detective; the archaeologist making profound revelations; and the archaeologist taking care of ancient sites and finds. These themes are characteristic for the contemporary Western world, although they have roots that go back at least as far as the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, the meaning of archaeology in popular culture outside the Western world could not be covered in this article.