Postcolonial Criticism in One World Archaeology: Where is North Africa’s Place?

North Africa has been for long considered as an extension of southern Europe, which not only colonized it, but also applied the same frames of reference to the local historical and archeological events. When it became clear that North African archeology followed different dynamics from European ones, it was excluded from current debates and updated reviews. This paper presents some personal considerations derived from many years of fieldwork in two Arab countries in North Africa, Libya and Sudan, aiming at offering hints for post-colonial criticism. It begins by deconstructing the subject/object roles of the archeologist and her research, which, in the case of a Western woman working in Arab countries, immediately leads to an engendered view of the present. Secondly, it raises issues on the archeologist’s perspective on economic development and resource exploitation. Finally, it suggests a repositioning of North Africa in the current archeological debate, as well as in the ongoing social and political events.