How can archaeology help shape decolonial futures?

Abstract

Guest editorial in Antiquity's April 2025 issue. Between 23 and 25 October 2024, c. 80 scholars from five continents gathered at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at the University of Cambridge in the UK for the ‘Envisioning Decolonial Futures through Archaeology’ conference. The conference facilitated interaction between a great variety of perspectives on what it means to decolonise archaeology and how our discipline can help shape decolonial futures. Based on our experience organising this conference, in this Guest Editorial we discuss what we think decolonising archaeology entails, some of its many challenges and the necessity to create spaces for interaction to take place so that guidance on ‘decolonial thinking’ can emerge.