Archeology and the Making of Ifugao History

Who has the authority to tell Ifugao history, and what changes when communities take part in that work? This conversation draws from archaeology in Ifugao to examine how knowledge about the past is produced and shared. Research has challenged long-held claims about the age of the rice terraces and has shown how community knowledge can redirect archaeological interpretation. It has also changed how archaeology is practiced. Community members do not enter the process only after research questions have been set. Their knowledge can reshape how archaeologists understand the past. The discussion also considers what happens when archaeological findings return to the communities from which they came. Ifugao provides a case for thinking about archaeology as a shared practice, one in which scholars and communities negotiate how the past is understood and how history is told.