Lecture | Book Presentation

Book Presentation: Ethics in Caribbean Archaeology

Felicia J. Fricke, Eduardo Herrera Malatesta, Maaike de Waal

Date: Thursday 12 February 2026
Time: 16:00 - 18:00
Location: Van Steenis
Einsteinweg 2
2333 CC Leiden
Room: Corrie Bakels room (A2.02a) / Online via MS Teams

During this event the book 'Ethics in Caribbean Archaeology. Past, Present, and Future' will be presented by the authors. After the presentation and a review of the publication, there will be drinks.

Please register for the event if you plan to attend either on campus or online.

The event will be livestreamed via MS Teams.

About the publication

The first book to focus on ethical archaeological practices in the context of the Caribbean, Ethics in Caribbean Archaeology presents current and past case studies as well as regional overviews to equip researchers with tools for challenging persistent colonial structures that often underpin work in the region.

With contributions from both longtime specialists and early-career voices, this volume brings together a wide range of approaches and includes perspectives spanning firsthand experience to large-scale observation and critiques. These chapters address current issues in subfields such as material culture analysis, museum curation, biomolecular archaeology, biological anthropology, and digital archaeology. The strategies and insights offered relate to topics such as community engagement with African-descended and Indigenous peoples, the ethical handling of ancestral remains, and best practices for storing or returning materials held in collections.

This book is a crucial resource for archaeologists around the world, especially those working in island settings, providing encouragement as they endeavor to change entrenched norms and asymmetrical relationships. Together, these chapter authors are positive about a future for the discipline that is culturally sensitive, politically aware, empathic, and dynamic.

About the authors

Editors

Felicia J. Fricke, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Copenhagen, is the author of Slaafgemaakt: Rethinking Enslavement in the Dutch Caribbean.
Eduardo Herrera Malatesta, a postdoctoral researcher in archaeology at Leiden University, is the editor of Archaeological Perspectives on Contested and Political Landscapes.
Maaike S. de Waal, assistant professor and head of the Field Research and Education Centre at the Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University, is coeditor of Pre-Colonial and Post-Contact Archaeology in Barbados: Past, Present, and Future Research Directions.

Contributors