Archaeology of/as Extractivism in Eurasian Landscapes: A Graduate Student Roundtable

By Cecilia Conte

The idea for this roundtable emerged in February, when Cecilia and Hafiz met for the first time at the BerGSAS’s end of semester drinks. Realising that their common friend, Mariana, was coming to Berlin the following month, the (precious) stones got rolling…

The graduate student roundtable “Archaeology of/as Extractivism in Eurasian Landscapes” took place at the Berlin Graduate School of Ancient Studies on April 25th. It was organised by Mariana Castro (Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, NYU), Cecilia Conte (Freie Universität, Prehistoric Archaeology/BerGSAS) and Hafiz Latify (Freie Universität, Near Eastern Archaeology/BerGSAS). Our aim was to simultaneously engage with the archaeology of ancient extraction and the extractivist nature of archaeological practices in the present. In attendance were other graduate students from BerGSAS as well as more senior researchers, notably from the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut and the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum Bochum. Given the very niche topic and short notice, the turnout of about twenty people, half of which attended online, was very satisfactory and promised an engaging discussion round.

After stocking up on coffee, we all proceeded to briefly introduce ourselves and our interest in joining the discussion. The interests were varied: from mining itself and the procurement of mineral resources, to contested heritage practices, material values and entangled political landscapes. The roundtable was structured along three major topics – methodology, heritage, and landscape – along which we discussed past & present extractivist practices through case studies in Eurasia.

Archaeological mining landscapes in the Kyzylkum, Uzbekistan | Foto: © Mariana Castro

Mariana introduced the topic of archaeological methodology based on her research on turquoise mining in the Kyzylkum desert in Uzbekistan. Her focus lay with how ancient mining sites and landscapes of extraction are being currently researched through excavation, survey, and mapping. Afterwards, we discussed value changes of turquoise through time – e.g. in comparison to gold in the region today – or materials such as limestone which, due to them not being “precious enough”, barely get academic attention. We also delved into methodological and other pressing limitations – such as lack of access to the field and archives.

Often, ancient mining sites overlap with modern ones. In the second part of the roundtable, Hafiz briefly introduced the topic of cultural heritage preservation and mining activities´ current impact on it. The case study was the Buddhist site Mes Aynak in Afghanistan, which is located on the country´s largest copper deposits. Hafiz explained the role of various stakeholders involved at the rescue excavation of Mes Aynak, including the Chinese metallurgical cooperation (MCC), the World Bank, the Aga Khan foundation (AKCS), and most recently and critically, the Taliban. Based on the first-hand insights of Hafiz and Noor Agha Noori, another PhD student at BerGSAS, we discussed how archaeologists in Afghanistan have had to cooperate with different institutions and governments to protect the site and mitigate modern mining plans.

For the third part, Cecilia introduced the topic of landscape in particular regard to ontology and her PhD research in Mongolia on animate archaeological landscapes. Crucially, archaeologists – and everyone present seemed to agree – need to respect different ways of being in the landscape. In contexts such as Mongolia as well as other parts of Eurasia, this means acknowledging that the land is not only inhabited by humans and animals, but also by more-than-human entities such as spirits. This calls into question the legitimacy of physical interventions into the landscape, such as industrial mining and archaeological excavation. With the stark increase of such extractive practices in the last two decades, Mongolia’s animated landscapes, as well as the cultural heritage which is part of them, are increasingly at risk. Find out more here.

Our final discussion revolved around sustainability and responsibility. We then asked ourselves: how can we, as archaeologists, conduct research which is not only academically relevant, but also respectful of people and other-than-humans in the light of political conflicts and the ecological crisis? We hope to turn to this question through future collaborations with participants of the roundtable.

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