In what ways does Raiders of the Lost Ark challenge
and expand upon the public's understanding of archaeology?
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“When people learn that I am an archaeologist, many of them say ‘How exciting! I always wanted to be an archaeologist’” (Purdy 1996: XIII). Although not explicitly stated, the shadow and legacy of Indiana Jones can be found in the above quote from Florida archaeologist Barbara A. Purdy. A blockbuster when it was released, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark has since become an American movie classic. The hero was a swashbuckling, intelligent, and handsome archaeologist. Although primarily a source of entertainment, the movie also expanded upon and shaped the public’s understanding of the field of archaeology. Admittedly somewhat farfetched and wildly adventurous like most action movies, when stripped down to the bare archaeological aspects, many of them are firmly based in fat.
There are three main seeds of truth found in the movie which are most applicable to real archaeology. The first lies in object orientation, the second in the intellectual and employment aspect, and the last is the portrayal of the excavation of the ark. None of the three are portrayed perfectly, but they deserve to be examined, more thoroughly due to the fact that they expanded the public’s view of archaeology so greatly.
“The prime duty of the field archaeologist is to collect…material” (Rapport and Wright 1963: 44). In other words, archaeologists collect tangible artifacts from the past. The search for and collection of artifacts is central to not only Raiders of the Lost Ark, but the both of its sequels as well. The famous first scene of the film shows him obtaining a golden idol. The rest of the film revolves around the search for the Ark of the Covenant. In the other movies Indiana searches for magical stones and the Holy Grail. The goal of collecting artifacts is central to archaeology. Admittedly, the view presented by the movie is somewhat misleading. In the real world, archaeologists do not pursue specific pieces of treasure. Their concern for artifacts is much broader, as they seek to reconstruct past ways of life. However, the object oriented theme of the film is undeniably present in the field of archaeology, and the movie helped reinforce this with the public.
The second factual component of the movie lay in its portrayal of educational and intellectual side of archaeology. Early in the film Indiana Jones is shown in a suit teaching a classroom of college students. During the class Professor Jones informs the students that most of archaeology is not all excitement and adventure. It also takes research. After the class leaves he’s talking with his friend about pieces he obtained for the museum. The university and the museum are integral parts of the archaeological field. They fund expeditions, display findings and provide employment. Archaeologists need money and have jobs; they don’t spend all of their time searching for priceless antiquities. Although after the above-mentioned scenes, the movie quickly abandons this aspect, it was significant and helped remind the public of how archaeologists provide livings for themselves.
The last aspect which helped expand the public’s view of archaeology was the portrayal of the dig at Tanis, the site of the Ark. The dig was shown as a huge effort in uncomfortable, extremely hot conditions conducted in the middle of nowhere in a foreign land. Although not truthful for all of archaeology, this was more common of the field in the past and the film portrayed it as it was and is, time-consuming and difficult. By visually showing the public the recreation of a dig, this aided in a better understanding of the discipline.
Undoubtedly, Indiana Jones shaped and expanded public views of archaeology. However, it also challenged the public’s views as well.
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"Forget any ideas about lost cities, exotic travel and digging up the world…we do not follow maps to buried treasure and x never ever marks the spot" (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: 1989) This is Indiana Jones telling his students about archaeology, ironically this is the truth about archaeology and the complete opposite of Jones’ actions. The movie portrays a male dominated, adventurous, object oriented, license to kill, world of archaeology. Archaeology is more like the Indiana Jones quote, “Seventy percent of all archaeology is done in the library. Research. Reading” (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: 1989) which is actually a much better portrayal of archaeology. The archaeological world actually has just as many females, is not object oriented and instead of death and adventure, it is meticulous work trying to piece together cultures. A normal archaeology site will be worked on for years, studying each aspect of the culture from the pieces that are obtained from the ground but also from other sources such as written and oral. They use this information not to try to find the big flashy pieces to sell to museums, but to bring together a culture based on political, social, and material finds.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, while it is a good adventure movie, it gives the wrong impression upon the public about archaeologist and their roles. Jones does speak about how the artifacts he gathers deserve to be in museums where people can look at them and understand them, but he never discusses with the tribes, or the local people about what should be done with the artifacts like many real archaeologists do. In many ways Indiana and his colleges look like treasure hunters and gold diggers, taking away objects that belong to the people of the area. The public may get the impression from this movie that real archaeologists are stealing objects from people they belong to. This could cause a large problem for archaeologists and the people they are working with to understand why they are digging and what they are looking for.
This movie portrays a view of archaeologists that is not true to form. One problem that may come up is the student’s interest in archaeology. While at first it may draw many people to archaeology, but it may push even more away when people discover the truth about archaeology. Only once during the movie did they represent true archaeology by digging in the dirt, but none of the real archaeologist did any digging and they were digging for a specific purpose, to find a large cave.
The public’s idea of archaeology, which may come from this movie, is in truth very opposite the fact of real archaeologist. Indiana Jones represents more of an outlaw than a true archaeologist and this will hinder how the public receives and understands archaeology.
http://www.geocities.com/king_artuk/indy.htm 3/23/2004
http://filmsite.org/raid.html 3/23/2004
http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d10/asb/anthro2003/archy/exploration/archy3.html 3/23/2004
Purdy, Barbara
1996 How to do Archaeology the Right Way, Gainesville: University Press of Florida
Rapport, Samuel and Helen Wright
1963 Archaeology, New York: New York University Press
Spielberg, Steven
1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Paramount Pictures