The archaeological perspective is one born out of the very long term and, to be sure, a long term on the scale of millennia is a necessary counter to the very short term thought which pervades the contemporary politics encompassing environmental and cultural ‘heritage’ (Serres 1995, 29-31). Archaeology, the discipline of the very long term, has never been more relevant to environmental politics. This new role requires that we build upon the disciplinary perspective of archaeology in order to ‘relearn how to think in accordance with the rhythms and scope’ of the environment of the world (Serres 1995, 29). This long term far exceeds the reach of history into temporal depths measured in millennia. This world is one wherein human beings, rather than distanced or removed as ontologically privileged, are entangled.

Refer to archaeology as sociotechnical genealogy

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