Prolegomena to Open Pasts: On Archaeological Memory Practices

How are archaeologists to anticipate for future concerns in what they do? This article begins the task of plotting a workable path between the requisites of standardization and the necessities of leaving room for the unexpected. In order to allow for the unforeseeable in practice, it argues for the enrolment of creative modes of engagement while at the same time avoiding the exclusive reliance on the redundancy of routine. It argues for the importance of pluralism with regard to things. By calling attention to issues of information design in our memory practices, this article sketches some preliminary avenues toward open pasts.