ABSTRACT
In the last two decades, there has been an increased awareness in archaeology of the need to engage with the people archaeologists work with and among. The practice of archaeology and paleontology was supported by the colonial system and by compromised incoming African governments that continued to ensure the status quo. In Africa, for many years archaeology was carried out without consideration for the people archaeologists worked among and whose heritage they studied. The site and material evidence were what mattered rather than building partnerships with communities and learning from them. From confrontation and misunderstanding between heritage institutions and professionals and the marginalization of communities, the Pate experience illustrates how it is possible to move to a true spirit of public archaeology by inclusion, listening to diversified voices, and accepting the principle of 'not for us without us'.
