Learning from Las Vegas: Archaeology in the Experience Economy
(2007) In The SAA Archaeological Record 7(3). p.6-10- Abstract
- Archaeology has become a potent element in themed environments that abound in contemporary popular culture. This short article reviews the archaeological motifs that can be found in environments such as Disneyland and on the Las Vegas Strip. They provide a set of imagery to which people can easily relate and that immerses them in a world different from the normal routines and restrictions of everyday life. Archaeology provides experiences that relate very closely to people’s fantasies, dreams, and desires. I argue that in the emerging “Experience Economy,” archaeologists need to ask what kind of experiences they can offer to society. My conclusion is that professional archaeologists have more to learn from Las Vegas than they have to fear... (More)
- Archaeology has become a potent element in themed environments that abound in contemporary popular culture. This short article reviews the archaeological motifs that can be found in environments such as Disneyland and on the Las Vegas Strip. They provide a set of imagery to which people can easily relate and that immerses them in a world different from the normal routines and restrictions of everyday life. Archaeology provides experiences that relate very closely to people’s fantasies, dreams, and desires. I argue that in the emerging “Experience Economy,” archaeologists need to ask what kind of experiences they can offer to society. My conclusion is that professional archaeologists have more to learn from Las Vegas than they have to fear it. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/173901
- author
- Holtorf, Cornelius LU
- publishing date
- 2007
- type
- Contribution to specialist publication or newspaper
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Disneyland, theming, Archaeology, Experience Economy, Las Vegas
- categories
- Popular Science
- in
- The SAA Archaeological Record
- volume
- 7
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 6 - 10
- publisher
- Society for American Archaeology
- ISSN
- 1532-7299
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- 9c094dce-567d-4b67-b333-968a6412614b (old id 173901)
- alternative location
- http://www.saa.org/Publications/theSAAarchRec/may07.pdf
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 15:51:11
- date last changed
- 2018-11-21 20:36:53
@misc{9c094dce-567d-4b67-b333-968a6412614b, abstract = {{Archaeology has become a potent element in themed environments that abound in contemporary popular culture. This short article reviews the archaeological motifs that can be found in environments such as Disneyland and on the Las Vegas Strip. They provide a set of imagery to which people can easily relate and that immerses them in a world different from the normal routines and restrictions of everyday life. Archaeology provides experiences that relate very closely to people’s fantasies, dreams, and desires. I argue that in the emerging “Experience Economy,” archaeologists need to ask what kind of experiences they can offer to society. My conclusion is that professional archaeologists have more to learn from Las Vegas than they have to fear it.}}, author = {{Holtorf, Cornelius}}, issn = {{1532-7299}}, keywords = {{Disneyland; theming; Archaeology; Experience Economy; Las Vegas}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{3}}, pages = {{6--10}}, publisher = {{Society for American Archaeology}}, series = {{The SAA Archaeological Record}}, title = {{Learning from Las Vegas: Archaeology in the Experience Economy}}, url = {{http://www.saa.org/Publications/theSAAarchRec/may07.pdf}}, volume = {{7}}, year = {{2007}}, }