What Is Not on the Map? Counter-Mapping Archaeological Landscapes

Abstract

Archaeological maps help us locate sites, record archaeological remains and interpret landscapes. But what do they leave out, and what difference do those omissions make? This lecture explores counter-mapping as a way of questioning familiar cartographic conventions and opening archaeology to other experiences, memories and forms of knowledge. Beginning with the contrast between a dot on a map and the lived landscape of an archaeological mound, it considers how mapping shapes what we recognise as significant. Examples from archaeology, feminist mapping and community initiatives show how maps can challenge dominant narratives and support people whose relationships with places are overlooked. The lecture also asks when making people and places visible can create risks rather than recognition. Drawing on a recent book chapter, it invites discussion of how archaeologists might map differently, combining the practical value of conventional mapping with attention to embodied experience, political agency and the ethical responsibilities of representation. Bio Piraye Hacigüzeller is an associate professor in the Department of Heritage at the University of Antwerp and a member of the Antw

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