Publication Date

Spring 5-6-2026

Document Type

Essay

First Advisor

Bardolph-Carlsen, Dana

Degree Name

B.A. (Bachelor of Arts)

Department

Department of Anthropology

Abstract

Archaeology has long remained a social science that has tended to exclude sustained consideration of contemporary societies in the analysis of material culture. In recent decades, approaches such as ethnoarchaeology and the archaeology of the contemporary have expanded the field to include the study of present-day societies through material culture. Inspired by my involvement in the Thais in Illinois Project, which focused on documenting the Thai American immigrant experience in the greater Chicago area to produce an oral history collection, alongside other goals, this thesis intends to further explore how archaeological practice can be used to understand everyday issues in the contemporary era, with the inclusion of the archival record and oral histories. Living archaeology, in short, is an approach that reframes archaeology from a retrospective practice to a forward-looking one by documenting the present as it unfolds, ensuring that contemporary experiences are preserved and understood as part of the archaeological record. The methods of this framework include traditional archaeological methods, such as excavation, survey, sampling, and material analysis of contemporary subjects, alongside archival methods and consultation with stakeholders to gather oral histories that provide contexts for the artifacts collected. Practical and ethical limitations are included within the discussion of this framework; those, namely, being the allowance of ‘silences’ from participants. Drawing on archaeological research from the advent of engaging with contemporary material culture in the 1920s to today, I consider applications of theoretical and methodological frameworks of living archaeology in the reality of research. Throughout this capstone, I will present the theory, methods, limitations, and case studies of living archaeology alongside an ethical discussion of the necessity of the framework to the discipline.

Suggested Citation

APA: Moran, Alia. (2026). Living Archaeology: A Comparative Perspective on How Archaeologists Can Study and Document the Present [Unpublished honors capstone thesis]. Northern Illinois University. Chicago Author-Date System: Moran, Alia. 2026. "Living Archaeology: A Comparative Perspective on How Archaeologists Can Study and Document the Present." Unpublished honors capstone thesis, Northern Illinois University.

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