The essence of the argument in this book is that the phenomenon of cultural
difference raises profound problems for archaeology at all levels of both theory
and practice. This introduction outlines some of these problem areas, and the
individual chapters examine various aspects of them from a variety of different
viewpoints.

Archaeological investigations undertaken in the upper Gundar Basin (Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India) between 1991 and 1996 have yielded evidence for the Mesolithic and Iron Age–Early Historic periods. The research has revealed that microlith-using hunter-gatherers continued to exist during the Iron Age and Early Historic periods, and interacted with agropastoral groups. This paper discusses the settlement system of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and interactions between the hunter-gatherers and the agropastoral groups of the Iron Age–Early Historic period.

background

/pdf/hunter-gatherer-adaptations-in-madurai-region-tamil-nadu-2e1efbyk52.pdf

Introduction: Archaeological approaches to cultural identity

Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations in Madurai Region, Tamil Nadu, India: From c. 10,000 B.P. to c. A.D. 500

Questions of identity are of paramount importance in research of the Western Zhou period, both in the central plain and among its vassal states. Yet most research done to date has focused on the Zhou bureaucratic order and government. These analyses have been very successful in delineating political culture, administration, and kinship ties, and have provided important information on elite taste and customs. However, they have paid less attention to uncovering other social groupings and relations, and do not systematically address the ways in which local identities were exercised or displayed. This article presents a multivariate statistical analysis of the Liulihe cemetery of the Western Zhou state of Yan. This analysis uncovers new elements comprising the complex social makeup and identity of the Liulihe occupants. These findings provide a richer understanding of the Yan society compared with the traditional approach that centered on the delineation of Zhou political elements and ethnic characteristics. A more intricate society emerges, one not solely defined by the amount of Zhou style it exhibited.

/pdf/materializing-identity-a-statistical-analysis-of-the-western-4pyze6qh92.pdf

Materializing Identity—A Statistical Analysis of the Western Zhou Liulihe Cemetery

Ethnicity, Family, and Social Networks: A Multiscalar Bioarchaeological Investigation of Tiwanaku Colonial Organization in the Moquegua Valley, Peru

Puebloan plain-weave pointed/rounded-toe sandals

L'etude de l'industrie lithique des populations qui occupaient la Patagonie et la Terre de Feu nous a permis de discuter des dynamiques culturelles mises en œuvre par les chasseurs terrestres et maritimes, de part et d'autre du detroit de Magellan, a l'Holocene moyen et tardif L'approche techno-economique developpee pour les industries de la grotte Fell, Punta Santa Ana 3, Marazzi 1, Cabo Monmouth 20, Oosin Aike et Cabo San Vicente a ete axee sur deux elements: d'abord, les objets dont les matieres, parfois d'origine non locale, constituent des temoignages de transport et d'interaction (obsidiennes); ensuite, les methodes elaborees de debitage, avec predetermination (methode Levallois, Clactonien, laminaire et discoide), dont les modalites peuvent etre liees aux processus complexes de partage et de transmission des connaissances Une discontinuite dans la distribution archeologique de l'obsidienne verte est observee entre 4500 et 2500 ans BP et nous permet d'envisager l'hypothese d'une migration des peuples de Patagonie du nord La comparaison des distributions spatiales et chronologiques des methodes de debitage Levallois montrent des interactions et contacts entre groupes, aussi bien que des conceptions partagees, transmises et generalisees dans la Fuego-Patagonia Ces observations sont en lien direct avec les premiers nomades de la mer, dont le role cle, a partir de 7000 BP, supprime la notion de barriere biogeographique relative pour le detroit de Magellan Ainsi, on remarque l'existence d'un fond culturel commun Les variations correspondraient plutot a des evolutions mesurables en termes d'intensites d'interactions et d'adaptations a des systemes ecologiques

L'industrie lithique de part et d'autre du Détroit de Magellan, en Patagonie et Terre de Feu : dynamiques techno-culturelles du peuplement durant l'Holocène

Introduction: Archaeological approaches to cultural identity

Citations

Hunter-Gatherer Adaptations in Madurai Region, Tamil Nadu, India: From c. 10,000 B.P. to c. A.D. 500

Materializing Identity—A Statistical Analysis of the Western Zhou Liulihe Cemetery

Ethnicity, Family, and Social Networks: A Multiscalar Bioarchaeological Investigation of Tiwanaku Colonial Organization in the Moquegua Valley, Peru

Puebloan plain-weave pointed/rounded-toe sandals

L'industrie lithique de part et d'autre du Détroit de Magellan, en Patagonie et Terre de Feu : dynamiques techno-culturelles du peuplement durant l'Holocène

Related Papers (5)

The Archaeology of Ethnicity: Constructing Identities in the Past and Present

Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity

Symbols in Action: Ethnoarchaeological Studies of Material Culture

Style and Social Information in Kalahari San Projectile Points

Outline of a Theory of Practice.