The crisis of representation in archaeological museums

There is now an extensive literature concerned with the representation of the past through museums (e.g. Hewison 1987; Shanks and Tilley 1987; Lumley 1988; Vergo 1989; Gathercole and Lowenthal 1990; Karp and Lavine 1991; MacDonald and Fyfe 1996). The essential critique that emerges from this literature is that museums represent a partial, commodified and mythical past. This serves to legitimate the dominant forces that brought it into being, and to exclude other versions of history that might provide a different perspective on the apparent inevitability of the contemporary social structure.