Case Study: Contemporary Archaeology in the Highlands

Contemporary archaeology in the Highlands provides an opportunity to expand our understanding of the recent past, through existing and new practices. Contemporary archaeology can be considered in two parts:

1. A methodological approach that encourages archaeologists to engage with the contemporary world as a suitable subject for archaeological study, and by exploring traditional and new methodologies,
2. It also provides opportunities for archaeologists to develop new theoretical approaches, which archaeological discourse requires.

These approaches to archaeology have been developed and practised across the globe over the past 50 years. In recent years we have seen archaeologists, artists, geographers, anthropologists and many other practitioners working together to consider the recent past (Graves-Brown et al 2013). This has enabled multi-disciplinary projects to address questions about the world today. In 2021 an international network, funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, will begin to explore the potential for participation, research and engagement with contemporary archaeology in Scotland in the future. This network builds on a project that looked at the opportunities that can be enabled when archaeology is considered as a collaborative, creative, participatory subject.