Introduction: Archaeological approaches to cultural identity
20 May 2003-pp 29-60
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the phenomenon of cultural difference raises profound problems for archaeology at all levels of both theory and practice, and outline some of these problem areas, and the individual chapters examine various aspects of them from a variety of different viewpoints.
Abstract: 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.
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TL;DR: In this article, a typological comparison of the Mikindani material and other regional ceramics is made, in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of the typological enterprise.
Abstract: Typological approaches to locally produced ceramics have played an important role in the archaeology of Eastern Africa. This paper engages with that history as it contextualizes the ceramic material recently recovered from the region around the site of Mikindani on the southern Tanzanian coast with known traditions from the Kenyan and Tanzanian coast, Malawi, and Mozambique. That comparison reveals the shifting connections and interregional relationships the inhabitants of the Mikindani region forged over the past two millennia with other communities in the Indian Ocean world and the African interior. Mikindani's ceramics are shown to provide important evidence of the deep connections between the region and the African interior to the southwest during the early second millennium, at the expense of connections with coastal Swahili sites further north. This pattern is unusual for a coastal site during the florescence of Swahili society and the typical expansion of Swahili involvement in the Indian Ocean world at that time. The typological comparison of the Mikindani material and other regional traditions thus allows us to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the typological enterprise, in terms of what information is brought to light and what information is obscured.
20 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the origins and trends in the study of ethnic groups and ethnicity in Andean archaeology, arguing that we may be seeing the persistence of the culture concept in the guise of ethnicity.
Abstract: Although Andean archaeology has long used the term “ethnic” to refer to human groups, new understandings of ethnicity have injected less static understandings of contextualized identity construction into our models of the past. A review of recent work on ethnicity in the field reveals, however, that methodological approaches to these social entities do not always follow suit and rather favor normative synchronie comparisons. This paper explores the origins and trends in the study of ethnic groups and ethnicity in Andean archaeology, arguing that we may be seeing the persistence of the culture concept in the guise of ethnicity. It also examines best practices in the literature in order to make recommendations concerning the adoption of local, contextual, and diachronic methods in conjunction with multiple lines of evidence. These practices are more likely to expose the processes of identity construction by rendering explicit the relationships among culture, ethnicity, and the use of emblemic material culture. It argues, thereby, for the provision of proof of this process rather than its assertion.
19 citations
Cites background from "Introduction: Archaeological approa..."
...…differentiate themselves as part of position taking and/or building political power (Barth 1969; Bentley 1987; Bonfil Batalla 1992; Cohen 1974; Cohen 1978; Comaroff and Comaroff 1992; Diaz-Polanco 1984; Jones 1997; Shennan 1989; although see Dietler and Herbrich [1998] for a different perspective)....
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...…of the culture concept as it was used in the earlier culture-historical period of the discipline and as part of a general disciplinary questioning of the anthropological object of study 6 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 24, No. 1,2013 (Borofsky et al. 2001; Jones 1997; Shennan 1989; Watson 1995)....
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...…Fredrik Barth (1969), and others (e.g., Bentley 1987; Bonfil Batalla 1992; Cohen 1974; Cohen 1978; Comaroff and Comaroff 1992; DiazPolanco 1984; Shennan 1989), scholars of the Andes now employ a more active understanding of ethnic identity as a reflexive, perhaps intentional, political…...
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Dissertation•
09 Sep 2019
19 citations
01 Jan 2002
TL;DR: In this paper, the Vettones, one of the most famous prerroman people in Western Iberia, were analyzed and two basic elements, zoomorphic stone sculptures and combed pottery, were used as markers of ethnic identity.
Abstract: The emergence of ethnic groups during the Iron Age is a process which begins to be known. The potential of material culture as an indicator of ethnic identity constitutes a difficult avenue of research, but one with future. The exploration of relationships between ethnicity and material culture is considered for the Vettones, one of the most famous prerroman people in Western Iberia. The study analyses two basic elements, zoomorphic stone sculptures and combed pottery, and shows how both were probably used as markers of ethnic identity. It is argued that this approach offers interesting insights into the emergence of the Vettones and their territorial setting. Palabras clavesArqueologia. Identidad etnica. Edad del Hierro. Vettones. Meseta. Verracos. Ceramica a peine. Fronteras.
18 citations
28 Dec 2019
TL;DR: A polythetic approach to the material of the third millennium BC presents a different picture of the period, relying on a practice-based approach to how new transregional objects and practices are integrated into local contexts and it is argued that these two adjustments can significantly improve the aDNA–archaeology dialogue, and better integrate the different datasets.
Abstract: While the newly available ancient DNA data have shaken a lot of archaeological debates, they have, despite their enormous potential, not yet had any meaningful impact on the way we view prehistory. Instead of using this new data-source to explore new questions, or at least to re-assess the old ones, aDNA results have been tacked onto some of the most outdated narratives in European prehistory, stemming from the early twentieth century. The simplified Steppe migration narrative builds upon long-outdated culture-historical concepts, sloppy classification work, and a reliance on a monothetic culture concept which was convincingly deconstructed 50 years ago by David Clarke. In this paper, a polythetic approach to the material of the third millennium BC presents a different picture of the period. Additionally relying on a practice-based approach to how new transregional objects and practices are integrated into local contexts, it is argued that these two adjustments to our approach to the archaeological material can significantly improve the aDNA - archaeology dialogue, and better integrate the different datasets.
18 citations