Rethinking Caribbean Archaeology: Towards an ethical position for a truly decolonial practice

Caribbean archaeology faces urgent ethical challenges rooted in colonial histories, global inequities, and local socio-political realities. This paper advances a decolonial framework for addressing these issues, grounded in best practices emerging from a workshop held in late 2023. Specifically, we: (1) summarize the key issues discussed, (2) present the goals of our network in tackling them, and (3) define our priorities for fostering ethical archaeological and heritage practices in the Caribbean. While many of these challenges resonate beyond the region, we argue that their resolution requires context-specific, Caribbean-oriented strategies. Our aim is not to provide a comprehensive catalogue of ethical issues and solutions, nor to imply that projects omitting the aspects we emphasize are inherently unethical. Rather, we seek to establish a foundation for sustained dialogue and debate on ethics in Caribbean archaeology, encouraging engagement among both local and international researchers. Although we acknowledge the vital role of communities in shaping archaeological practice, this paper reflects the disciplinary perspective of professional archaeologists, oriented toward fulfilling our ethical and social responsibilities to those communities. In doing so, we hope to contribute to a more equitable and contextually grounded archaeological practice in the Caribbean.