Claiming the Past in Vietnam: Decolonisation, De-Exoticisation, Nationalism, and Archaeology

Abstract Practices of professional archaeology within various global settings have evolved dramatically over the past century. For parts of Asia, including Vietnam, social developments in postwar and postcolonial contexts have had a major impact on the nature of changing practices. Using Vietnam as a case study, this essay outlines the significance of the material record for Vietnamese historiography, and how artefacts and sites have been perceived and appropriated for constructions and reconstructions of early history. In particular, the essay considers how archaeological research and interpretation have been affected by complex issues and concerns related to decolonisation and nationalistic thinking across decades and even centuries. In doing so, it highlights some of the tensions created between constituencies and schools of thought as stakeholders contemplate disparate notions of the past, cultural identity, and heritage management.