ABSTRACT
Many museum collections of non-Western artefacts, including those from ‘Ancient Mesopotamia’ (today’s Iraq), are products of imperial expansion. As such, they play crucial roles in producing concepts of historical narratives, ethnicity, racial identity and difference. Current displays of Mesopotamian artefacts, for example, suggest a period of decline from the birth of Islam onwards, while European narratives link their historical present to mythical beginnings in the Middle East. Many European museums thus show the Middle East’s past as ‘their own’ (European) history, in relation to narratives of the ‘cradle of civilization’ that first had to be ‘discovered’ by European archaeologists in the nineteenth century. Meanwhile, the excavations that were foundational for many collections are still rendered as triumphalist and heroic stories. As a result, ancient artefacts are historically disconnected from other histories, including Europe’s imperial endeavours, and the resulting conflicts in the Middle East today. This chapter poses questions about the decolonization of archaeological artefacts from this region in European museums. Whose story are they meant to tell, and which stories are left out? What could be done to respond to the demands of those who ask for new narratives that also reflect other senses of belonging and inclusion?
