Professionals, Volunteers, Amateurs and Citizens: Research Stakeholders for What Input?

Abstract

Since the 1970s, archaeology has been very rapidly professionalized with the evolution of the French administration and the explosion of preventive archaeology positions. The benefits of this rapid evolution must now take into account the non-professional actors (volunteers, amateurs and citizens) whose diversity has also evolved. Indeed, the distance taken by professionals towards the latter is increasing a little more every day. Yet, for a long time, learned societies and associations have fuelled scientific production. Some have even led to the creation of research centres, sometimes associated with the creation of a museum. These large-scale initiatives from legal entities may also be found in the case of individuals. To very different degrees, many other volunteer archaeologists, sometimes defining themselves as independent researchers, have contributed to knowledge about human beings through an archaeological approach. Some have even become professionals. Through the presentation of the contributions and limitations of the various non-professional research actors (in particular volunteer archaeologists and amateur researchers), we highlight the importance of strengthening the link between professionals and non-professionals for tomorrow’s archaeological research in mode³ science 4.0.