Book•
The Archaeology of Ethnicity: Constructing Identities in the Past and Present
01 Jan 1997-
TL;DR: Sian Jones as mentioned in this paper argues for a fundamentally different view of ethnicity, as a complex dynamic form of identification, requiring radical changes in archaeological analysis and interpretation, and presents a comprehensive and critical synthesis of recent theories of ethnicity in the human sciences.
Abstract: The question of ethnicity is highly controversial in contemporary archaeology. Indigenous and nationalist claims to territory, often rely on reconstructions of the past based on the traditional identification of 'cultures' from archaeological remains. Sian Jones responds to the need for a reassessment of the ways in which social groups are identified in the archaeological record, with a comprehensive and critical synthesis of recent theories of ethnicity in the human sciences. In doing so, she argues for a fundamentally different view of ethnicity, as a complex dynamic form of identification, requiring radical changes in archaeological analysis and interpretation.
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Dissertation•
01 Jun 2013
TL;DR: In this paper, the nature of human-animal relations in the context of southern Levantine village life in the Early Bronze Age was investigated. But the focus of the work was not on economic rationality but on the human engagement with animals as a pursuit not limited to normative notions of economic rationality.
Abstract: This dissertation is concerned with the nature of human-animal relations in the context of southern Levantine village life in the Early Bronze Age. While scholars have devoted considerable effort to exploring the human exploitation of animals as an economic pursuit, investigating the human engagement with animals as a pursuit not limited to normative notions of economic rationality is the overall aim of this research project. This project articulates a broadened conception of the various roles that domesticated animals played and, concomitantly, how the multiple roles of livestock required people to make complex decisions not readily inferred from models of economizing rationality alone. I pursue this objective through three main research questions: (1) What was the nature of animal exploitation at an Early Bronze Age village in the southern Levant? (2) How did the taphonomic history of the site affect animal bone assemblages? (3) How can knowledge gained from answering these two questions, in combination with anthropological theories and ethnographic data pertaining to human-animal relations, inform our understanding of Early Bronze Age peoples’ perceptions of livestock in relation to new agricultural strategies of the period? These
27 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the spatial distribution patterns of a wide range of data are analyzed, with specific reference to the formalized practices and conspicuous consumption resulting from elite social strategies, and it is concluded that intense ideological centralization around Knossos is coupled with a high degree of sociopolitical competition among the surrounding elites, leading to a wide spatial distribution of elite features.
Abstract: Neopalatial Crete possessed a high degree of homogeneity in its material culture, leading many to interpret political and social unification under the capital of Knossos. Recent studies on the regionalism of particular types of data have questioned this appraisal. This article builds upon such work with an interdisciplinary approach to north-central Crete, which includes the palatial sites of Knossos, Malia, and Galatas, other large and small settlements, ports, and ritual sites. The spatial distribution patterns of a wide range of data are analyzed, with specific reference to the formalized practices and conspicuous consumption resulting from elite social strategies. It is argued that early state-level societies, such as Minoan Crete, were not necessarily formed of well-demarcated territorial "states" possessing a single central place analogous with modern nation-states. Instead, the different types and scales of centralization are explored, with the separation of the ideological, political, and economic spheres. It is concluded that the intense ideological centralization around Knossos is coupled with a high degree of sociopolitical competition among the surrounding elites, leading to a wide spatial distribution of elite features. In contrast, Malia sits in a void of other large and elaborate settlements and ritual sites, but this centralization (if not monopolization) indicates the presence of far weaker power relations on the regional scale.
27 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the socio-political context of knowledge product in the Southern Cone of South America has been examined, specifically in the context of archaeology, and two key issues have been discussed.
Abstract: This article discusses several aspects of the practice of archaeology in South America, specifically in the Southern Cone. Examining two key issues: the socio-political context of knowledge product...
27 citations
01 Jan 2014
27 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a bottom-up, archaeological approach for the investigation of highland-lowland encounters is presented, which challenges traditional interpretations of the region as a homeland of mountain tribes and begin to write a more balanced, local account of socio-cultural development and external interaction between this borderland region and a series of Bronze Age imperial powers.
27 citations