In the Shadows of Colonialism: Archaeological Labor Practices in (Post-)Colonial Zimbabwe

Abstract Archaeological practice is structured through labor, shaping who participates in fieldwork, who interprets findings, and who produces knowledge. Recent scholarship on archaeological labor in Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Mexico, Europe, and North America shows that labor regimes are not merely logistical arrangements but constitutive elements of archaeological epistemology, shaping how evidence is generated, interpreted, and circulated. This article examines the historical formation and persistence of archaeological labor practices in Zimbabwe. It traces how colonial archaeology established racialized divisions between African workers and European experts and how these have only been partially reconfigured after independence. Drawing on colonial and postcolonial excavation reports, published scholarship, and recent field practices in Zimbabwe, the analysis shows that postindependence archaeology has not fully dismantled divisions between those who generate field data and those who retain interpretive and authorship authority. The article argues that these labor arrangements reproduce epistemic injustice, limiting whose knowledge counts within archaeological narratives. It proposes a framework for reorganizing archaeological labor through recognition of intellectual labor, inclusive decision-making, transparent authorship and acknowledgment, and embedded capacity building. The article places Zimbabwean archaeology in global debates on labor, expertise, and decolonization, demonstrating that transforming archaeological practice requires reconfiguring labor as a site of knowledge production.