This article makes a contribution to the emerging study of alternative, indigenous and subaltern archaeologies, using the Mediterranean island of Crete as a case study. My focus is on the crucial political developments that took place during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly the establishment of the Cretan State. These developments coincided with and facilitated the consolidation of archaeology as a scientific discipline and a state policy on the island. The Cretan population of the countryside ‘contested’ the new attitudes towards the material past by persevering with embedded practices that questioned the validity of scientific approaches. What kind of indigenous imagination underscored such practices? And how did the peasants interact with the new dogma regarding antiquities? Contrary to other groups involved, such as local and Western archaeologists, the rural Cretans remain among the ‘great unknowns’: accounts of relevant events by their own pen are scarce, highlighting the importance of oral historical sources. I therefore present these people through the voices of the others. Archival material such as administrative documents, correspondence, memoirs and newspaper articles, critically assessed, are used for this purpose. This research is also influenced by autobiographical archaeology, as glimpses of my personal work experience and family background overlap with the archival data discussed here.

中文翻译：

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克里特岛的土著考古，1878-1913 年

本文以地中海克里特岛为例，为新兴的替代性、土著和次要考古学研究做出了贡献。我的重点是发生在 19 世纪末和 20 世纪初的重要政治发展，特别是克里特岛国家的建立。这些发展恰逢并促进了考古学作为科学学科和岛上国家政策的巩固。乡村的克里特岛居民通过坚持质疑科学方法有效性的嵌入式实践来“反对”对物质过去的新态度。什么样的本土想象力强调了这种做法？农民如何与有关古物的新教条互动？与其他相关团体相反，与当地和西方考古学家一样，农村克里特人仍然属于“巨大的未知数”：他们自己笔下的相关事件的描述很少，突出了口述历史资料的重要性。因此，我通过其他人的声音介绍这些人。档案材料，如行政文件、信件、回忆录和报纸文章，经过严格评估，用于此目的。这项研究也受到自传考古学的影响，因为我个人工作经历和家庭背景的一瞥与这里讨论的档案数据重叠。因此，我通过其他人的声音介绍这些人。档案材料，如行政文件、信件、回忆录和报纸文章，经过严格评估，用于此目的。这项研究也受到自传考古学的影响，因为我个人工作经历和家庭背景的一瞥与这里讨论的档案数据重叠。因此，我通过其他人的声音介绍这些人。档案材料，如行政文件、信件、回忆录和报纸文章，经过严格评估，用于此目的。这项研究也受到自传考古学的影响，因为我个人工作经历和家庭背景的一瞥与这里讨论的档案数据重叠。