Annie Christina Caruso

ANNIE CARUSO, then a graduate student at University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, was awarded a grant in April 2018 to aid ‘An Ethnocritical Analysis of the Carriacou Archaeology Field Project,’ supervised by Dr. Philip Scher. The research funded by this grant included an ethnographic exploration of how to further decolonize archaeological practices. The case study at the center of this investigation is set within the small Eastern Caribbean island of Carriacou, Grenada and presents an intersection of complex factors: a longstanding Euro-American-operated excavation investigating pre-contact Indigenous lifeways in a subaltern setting with a long history of colonial subjugation, slavery, and imperial intervention. With help from this grant, extended participant observation and additional interviewing were used to explore where diverse stakeholder outlooks overlap and diverge, particularly those pertaining to heritage values and the role of related research projects operated by external actors. This research has allowed such views to be further culturally contextualized and situated within broader systems of power that may flesh out the stakes, incentive structures, agendas and constraints of various stakeholders involved in heritage advocacy in Carriacou. Ultimately, an analysis of these data will result in the platforming of Indigenous and subaltern perspectives within broader archaeological discourse, wherein source and descendant community recommendations for reforms of existing heritage management paradigms will address ways to better include, benefit, and empower grassroots actors in local heritage preservation initiatives.