Archaeology as Civilizational Luxury

The piece claims systematic archaeology emerged only in the 1700s West and has few true historical precedents. Earlier examples, like Neo-Babylonian digs, were narrow religious reconstructions rather than broad scientific inquiry into past societies. If archaeology depends on specific cultural and institutional conditions, future civilizations may not bother to excavate or interpret our remains as we do others. — This reframes heritage and science policy as contingency-driven, urging planners to treat historical inquiry as a fragile luxury that needs conscious stewardship to survive civilizational cycles.