Power and Participation in West Asian Archaeology: A Rejoinder

How can we best investigate disparities in power and participation in the archaeology of West Asia and how can we engage in productive discussions that acknowledge the key importance of one’s positionality? This brief paper reflects on how where one works and issues of intersectionality impact on what phenomena are perceived as real and relevant problems. This contribution is a follow-up to two recent papers published in Public Archaeology: the first (Düring, B. S. 2024. ‘Gatekeepers, Geographies, and Access in the Archaeology of West Asia’, Public Archaeology, 23(1): 109–21) arguing that power in the archaeology of West Asia remains mainly in the hands of practitioners based in formerly colonial powers; and the second (Baysal, E. L., & Yelözer, S. 2026. ‘Invisible Archaeologies of Decolonization: Western Asian Archaeology, A View from Türkiye’, Public Archaeology, 24(1): 1–24), arguing that stark disparities in power also characterize archaeology within Türkiye. It is argued that the two papers complement each other and that there is a need to tackle disparities in power and participation through inclusive dialogues that acknowledge the importance of one’s positionality and address power and participation in the multifaceted social practices that constitute the archaeology of West Asia.