Collections of Memories. In-between Amerindian Archaeology and Dutch-Surinamese Perceptions of the Past.

This Master thesis on archaeology and cultural heritage management of the Caribbean and Amazonia was written at the University of Leiden, Faculty of Archaeology. The special emphasis in this research is on finding out which role the Amerindian past and archaeology play in a Surinamese image of the past. The research design in the first place needed to reveal the past perception of individual people with a Surinamese Caribbean background. The interviewees who participated in this research however were Surinamese migrants who are living since many years in the Netherlands. The approach taken to reveal the past emphasis of individuals from the Surinamese community was through holding semi structured open interviews. The Surinamese community in the context of this research consists of groups of people that share their experience and memory on Suriname within communication, both in the Netherlands and their mother-country. It is within this community that an image of the Surinamese past...Show moreThis Master thesis on archaeology and cultural heritage management of the Caribbean and Amazonia was written at the University of Leiden, Faculty of Archaeology. The special emphasis in this research is on finding out which role the Amerindian past and archaeology play in a Surinamese image of the past. The research design in the first place needed to reveal the past perception of individual people with a Surinamese Caribbean background. The interviewees who participated in this research however were Surinamese migrants who are living since many years in the Netherlands. The approach taken to reveal the past emphasis of individuals from the Surinamese community was through holding semi structured open interviews. The Surinamese community in the context of this research consists of groups of people that share their experience and memory on Suriname within communication, both in the Netherlands and their mother-country. It is within this community that an image of the Surinamese past is being constructed. A key note to the research is that the past is a present construct. From this point of departure multiple pasts do exist. People in their own diversity, within different environments, have to deal with personal socio-cultural realities. This implicates that a meaningful past for Surinamese people needs to be constructed from their individual and community perspectives. This research applied insights from memory theory, archaeological theory, heritage theory and a more anthropological example to show that such a construct asks for people’s balanced historical involvement and community concern. Community concern demands reciprocal involvement that should accomplish mutual understanding. The goal of this thesis is to show that archaeology can be a tool in accomplishing shared understanding and concern from doing research after past happenings and cultural environments. The thesis further advocates engaged archaeology as a tool to create shared understanding. Engaged archaeology does not only imply that an archaeologist should listen to society and people’s concern in order to find topics for research. It even more asks for stimulating participation of people in past interrogation and creating an open critical attitude towards personal perceptions and those of others. The role of the archaeologist in this process of past communication is one of being an example to people with respect to care about archaeological heritage and involvement in both the past and people’s present environment. As an archaeological professional, who executes a profession that primarily is concerned with people, the archaeologist’s task is to facilitate involvement and provide society with critical questions on people’s past supposition. The practice of archaeology in itself needs to be a research environment where people communicate their understandings and from this realize a more inclusive community of involved people that show interest in their surroundings and each other. There can be worked towards a more stable future from contemporary knowledge or understanding about the past. Besides the interview technique, in order to find out more on people’s past concern this research aimed for application of methods from the social sciences. These were methods like discourse analysis and grounded theory. From the interrogation a better understanding of contemporary Surinamese community was accomplished. It made clear that Amerindians in Suriname in general were perceived as being unchanged. From a Western colonial perspective they did not bring about much development and their culture was regarded primitive. Their political, economic and cultural significance was neglected within the culturally diverse and divided Surinamese colonial community. From contemporary and continuous political and societal shifts reorientation on those people who are indigenous to Suriname as well as on other groups in society however is needed in order to create communality. The recommendation to Surinamese society is that ongoing conceptualization on the past and people in society, is necessary in order to accomplish a stable community.Show less

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Collections of Memories. In-between Amerindian Archaeology and Dutch-Surinamese Perceptions of the Past.