The Experiment in Archaeology: A Comparison of Two Case Studies

Abstract

A critical comparison is made between two recent case studies in American archaeology, The Dynamics of Stylistic Change in Arikara Ceramics by James Deetz and “Archaeology as Anthropology: A Case Study” by William A. Longacre. The notion of experiment is introduced as a standard of comparison which results in a lesson about archaeology as a science.     

Faces of Archaeology: A Photographic Portrait Study from the Seventh World Archaeological Congress

During the Seventh World Archaeological Congress (WAC-7), convened in Jordan in January of 2013, the Faces of Archaeology project captured over 100 portraits of the attendees. This project was formed to document the diverse population of archaeologists and other heritage workers from around the world and to explore and make visible more intangible questions of identity and representation in archaeology. The portraits were subsequently displayed online and at the Theoretical Archaeology Group Meetings in the USA and Turkey. This combined article and photo essay presents a selection of these photos, discusses unexpected outcomes of the project, and provides thoughts on diversity and representation in world heritage.     

Our Privilege and Co-responsibility in the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History established an ethical program for the protection and research of the country’s underwater cultural heritage (UCH). Its Vice-Directorate of Underwater Archaeology trains archaeology and conservation students, participates in national and international initiatives regarding UCH, and develops multidisciplinary projects in maritime and continental waters. During negotiation of the UNESCO Convention, the Latin American and Caribbean Group united in a strong voice and contributed to its adoption in 2001; in 2006, Mexico ratified the Convention. This article highlights Mexico’s adoption of the 2001 UNESCO Convention as a case study, to stimulate all countries to ratify the convention and to cooperate in protecting the world’s UCH.     

Surroundings,Beginnings and Formation of a Journal – A Dialogue with NAR's Alpha Editor Bjørn Myhre

Bjørn Myhre played a key role in the establishment of Norwegian Archaeological Review. All in all, 17 volumes of NAR were produced under his editorial leadership (1968–1978 and 1985–1990). Bjørn Myhre was born in Stavanger in 1938. He did his degree at the University of Bergen (1964), and has since been engaged in research, editing, culture heritage management, excavations, teaching and administration – in Stavanger, Bergen and Oslo. He has produced important prehistoric overviews, cf. Magnus & Myhre 1976, Myhre 2002a, 2003, and 2004. The Iron Age society in south‐west Norway has been central in his research. Of several important excavations, the Iron Age farm site Ullandhaug (1967–68) is fundamental. He has explored different aspects of Iron Age farms – agrarian development, settlement history, house construction and structure (e.g. Myhre 1973, 1978). His studies include discussions on social and political development (Myhre 1985a, 1987, 1998, 2002b). Methodology and theory became a focal point during his time as professor at the University of Oslo from 1985, e.g. ‘Trends in Norwegian archaeology’ (1985b) and ‘Theory in Scandinavian archaeology since 1960 (1991). In 1993, he was appointed as Director of Museum of Archaeology in Stavanger. In 2008 he formally retired, but is still a very active debating and writing archaeologist.

Initially, Bjørn Myhre was invited to write an article about the establishment and first developments of NAR. Subsequently, this was changed to a dialogue text based on questions and answers communicated by email during the autumn of 2007. The basis for questions and replies is a selection of diagrams prepared for the Editorial in this issue which display trends covered in the 40 volumes of NAR.     

New Subjectivities: Capitalist, Colonial Subject and Archaeologist. Review of “Capitalism in Colonial Contexts”. Society for Historical Archaeology, Albuquerque, January 2008”

The sub-discipline of Historical Archaeology continues to push out its borders from its origins as the archaeology of British colonial settlement in North America. This review article evaluates the contribution of a set of papers presented at the Society of Historical Archaeology meeting in Albuquerque New Mexico in early 2008, and shows how new theoretical formulations are taking shape.

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Résumé  La sous-discipline de l’archéologie historique continue à faire reculer ses frontières de ses origines en tant qu’archéologie de l’implantation du colonialisme britannique en Amérique du Nord. Cet article évalue la contribution d’un ensemble d’articles présentés à la Society of Historical Archaeology à l’occasion de la rencontre qui s’est tenue à Albuquerque au Nouveau Mexique au début de l’année 2008, et montre comment les nouvelles formulations théoriques prennent effet.

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Resumen  Desde sus orígenes en los trabajos arqueológicos de la colonización británica de Norteamérica, la sub disciplina de Arqueología Histórica ha ido ampliando sus límites. Este artículo revisado evalúa la contribución de una serie de trabajos presentados en la junta de la Sociedad de Arqueología Histórica en Alburquerque (Nuevo México) a principios del 2008, y demuestra que las formulaciones teóricas están empezando a tomar forma.

     

Introduction: Feminist Theories and Archaeology

This journal issue developed out of a desire to increase the use of feminist theory in archaeology, leading me to ask Laurajane Smith of York University to co-organize a symposium on the topic for the World Archaeological Congress in Dublin in July 2008. The impacts of major feminist theories on constructions of the past and archaeological thinking are discussed, emphasizing how they implicitly or explicitly influenced other articles in this journal issue.     

Archaeology and Politics in the Holy Land: The Life and Career of P. L. O. Guy

Abstract

Philip Langstaffe Ord Guy's (1885–1952) career in archaeology began as Woolley's assistant at Carchemish and as Chief Inspector for the Department of Antiquities of Palestine during the 1920s. He is best known as director of the Megiddo Expedition (1927–1934), where he employed innovative techniques in balloon photography, and provided a highly influential identification of the pillared buildings found there as stables. He dated these buildings to the Solomonic era, sowing the seeds of a long-running debate over the role of the Bible in archaeological interpretation. Guy was later appointed director of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem (1935–1939), initiating the short-lived Archaeological Survey of Palestine. After World War II and Israel's War of Independence, Guy became a senior figure within the fledgling Israel Department of Antiquities and Museums as Director of Excavations and Surveys. Active involvement in Zionist politics through his marriage into the Ben-Yehuda family was a controversial factor that impacted on his career within 1920s and 1930s Palestine. Recent archival research allows an assessment of Guy's double life as archaeologist and political activist and the degree to which these areas intersected. His name can be added to the diverse spectrum of archaeologists working in the Holy Land during this formative but turbulent colonial and post-colonial era.     

Archaeology as Anthropology Revisited

Anthropology was established in the USA during the middle of the nineteenth century. From the beginning, archaeology was considered a part of the discipline, a notion that continues to this day. However, over the course of the past 160 years, periodically, the place of archaeology within anthropology is questioned. Often, this has a reflection in the growth or shrinking in membership of the Archaeology Division of the American Anthropological Association. I explore these trends and try to explain them in terms of the history of anthropology.     

Keith Muckelroy: Methods, Ideas and Maritime Archaeology

Between his graduation from the Department of Archaeology at Cambridge University in 1974 and his death in 1980, Keith Muckelroy’s work and ideology were crucial in promoting an alternative research methodology in maritime archaeology. Instead of a particularist or historiographic approach, methods prominent both then and now, Muckelroy’s methodology was grounded in the foundations of the prehistoric archaeology he learned under Grahame Clark and David Clarke at Cambridge, and the basic tenets of New Archaeology maturing in the United States during the 1970s. This paper, which elucidates Muckelroy’s methods and research, is neither a complete biography nor an exhaustive study of his ideas. Although unpublished letters, papers and notes were studied in archives at Cambridge University and the National Maritime Museum, there is still much more to be learned from many of his former colleagues and their memories—only a handful of those individuals were consulted during the creation of this work. Nevertheless, this paper was written in the hope that by understanding Muckelroy’s ideas, and placing them in the larger framework of the discipline of archaeology, maritime archaeologists who are attempting to pursue a variety of approaches may find inspirations, models and, perhaps, questions that still need to be answered.     

Ethnoarchaeology

John E. Yellen. Archaeological Approaches to the Present, Models for Reconstructing the Past. New York: Academic Press, 1977.

Richard A. Gould, ed. Explorations in Ethnoarchaeology. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1978.

William H. Adams. Silcott, Washington: Ethnoarchaeology of a Rural American Community. Reports of Investigations, no. 54. Pullman: Laboratory of Anthropology, Washington State University, 1977.     

考古学与性别

本文节译自英国杜伦大学(DurhamUniversity)考古学教授马太·约翰逊(MatthewJohnson)1999年出版的《考古学理论:导言》(ArchaeologicalTheory:AnIntroduction)一书的第八章“考古学与性别”(“ArchaeologyandGender”)。本章节通过对其中几个最流行主题的归纳综述了近二十年来性别考古学的概况,并且介绍了一例典型个案,最后还以答问形式阐述了作者本人对此领域较混淆的若干问题的看法。     

Letting skeletons out of the closet: the ethics of displaying ancient Mexican human remains

In the wake of Native North American activism and moves to decolonize archaeology, some academics have begun to avoid displaying human remains. Though recent World Archaeological Congress accords detail a consent process for ethical display, some journals, museums, and individual scholars have blanket policies covering even those remains whose descendants favour display. This article examines one context affected by these policies: the central Mexican town of Xaltocan. Here, Indigenous residents advocate for archaeological study and exhibition of ancient human remains, yet they have been criticised and censored by North American audiences. We consider two factors behind their desire to display the dead as part of efforts to reclaim Indigenous identities: long-standing Mesoamerican relationships with the dead and the materiality and symbolic capital of bones. We argue that an academic reluctance to display any human remains is problematic – even if it is a well-intentioned acknowledgement of respect for their sensitive nature – because it imposes the wishes of one Indigenous group on another, and may thereby lead to the unwitting perpetuation of colonial practice. We suggest that decolonizing archaeology may sometimes necessitate allowing the exhibition of skeletal remains; ethnographic research in individual communities is needed to ensure respect for descendant perspectives.     

One world archaeology today

Resumen Desde su aparición en 1986, el World Archaeological Congress ha defendido el desarrollo de una arqueología política y éticamente informada y desde una perspectiva global, que actualmente se conoce como “Arqueología de un único mundo”. En este corto ensayo argumento que la “Arqueología de un único mundo” es la arqueología de la era de la globalización. Y como tal la “Arqueología de un único mundo” no debe ser más que una tentativa política y éticamente motivada de aumentar, con los medios de los que disponen los arqueólogos, la solidaridad entre los seres humanos de este planeta y de reducir las alarmantes desigualdades que existen entre ellos. Soy partidario de que los dos principios más importantes tanto para el World Archaeological Congress como para el trabajo que desarrolla sean la solidaridad y la inclusión. Este artículo contiene varias sugerencias sobre lo que debería implicar en la práctica.

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Résumé Depuis son apparition en 1986, le Congrès Mondial d'Archéologie défend une perspective informée des points de vue politique, éthique et global sur l'archéologie que l'on est venu à conna?tre sous le nom d' “Archéologie Mondiale.” Dans cette courte présentation je discute le fait que l'archéologie mondiale est une archéologieau temps de la mondialisation. En tant que telle, une archéologie mondiale ne devrait être autre qu'un mouvement motivé par l'éthique et la politique avec pour fins d'augmenter la solidarité mondiale entre les êtres humains de cette planète et de réduire les inégalités grotesques qui existent entre eux. Je propose que les deux principes les plus importants pour l'Archéologie Mondiale et l'oeuvre du Congrès Mondiale d'Archéologie devraient être la solidarité et l'inclusivité. Cette communication contient un nombre de suggestions pour la réalisation de ces idées.

     

回望曲村——山西晋文化墓地发掘历程

1963年,北大和山西开启了至今已近半个世纪的合作探索晋文化之路,从1980年至今,天马一曲村遗址的发掘持续进行了多次,以大量的材料,确凿的证据证明曲村—天马遗址是又一处西周晋国的都城,已发掘晋侯及夫人墓9组19座、陪葬墓、祭祀坑各数+座,车马坑1座《发现10座),发掘者确定这批晋侯墓葬属于晋国第二代国君燮父至第十代文侯共9位晋侯及其夫人之墓,这是迄今西周考古最重大的发现。它不仅证实了司马迁《史记·晋世家关于晋国世系记载的正确,复原了西周晋国的历史,还为西周考古提供了更为准确的分期标尺,而今天,在已经建成晋国博物馆的曲村遗址上,分别走过60年发展历程的北大考古专业和山西考古研究所的合作,注定会铸成一座丰碑,     

The current state of American archaeology

Meltzer, David J., Don D. Fowler, and Jeremy A. Sabloff. American Archaeology Past and Future: A Celebration of the Society of American Archaeology 1935–1985. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1986. 479 pp. including illustrations and chapter references. $35.00 cloth, $19.95 paper.

Schiffer, Michael B. Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory. Volume 9. Orlando, Florida: Academic Press, 1986. v + 468 pp. including illustrations, tables, chapter references, and index. $75.00.     

New approaches to new data

Villa, Paola. Terra Amala and the Middle Pleistocene Archaeological Record of Southern France. University of California Publications in Anthropology Volume 8. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. xxiv + 303 pp. including acknowledgments, abstracts, 58 illustrations, notes, bibliography, and index. $23.00 cloth.     

Mexico: A Leader in Ratification of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History established an ethical program for the protection and research of the country’s underwater cultural heritage (UCH). Its Vice-Directorate of Underwater Archaeology trains archaeology and conservation students, participates in national and international initiatives regarding UCH, and develops multidisciplinary projects in maritime and continental waters. During negotiation of the UNESCO Convention, the Latin American and Caribbean Group united in a strong voice and contributed to its adoption in 2001; in 2006, Mexico ratified the Convention. This article highlights Mexico’s adoption of the 2001 UNESCO Convention as a case study, to stimulate all countries to ratify the convention and to cooperate in protecting the world’s UCH.     

Consequences of Styles of Thinking: On the Relative and the Absolute in Archaeology at the End of the Twentieth Century

The article discusses relativism and absolutism in archaeology on the threshold of a new millennium. The point of departure is Nationalism, Po-­litics, and the Practice of Archaeology and a 'consensus document' from the Lampeter Archaeological Workshop advocating a relativist attitude in archaeology. The author considers that relativism is closely related to indifference and is far from as positive as it is represented. On the basis of Feyerabend's concept of Denkstil (style of thinking) and the fondness of 'post-processual' archaeologists for manifestos, the article considers archaeology under Maoism in China, and whether Ian Hodder's appeal for an archaeology for all sheds light on views of professionalism and the training of archaeologists.     

Magunkaquog Materiality, Federal Recognition, and the Search for a Deeper History

This article explores the manner in which archaeology can address some of the issues that confront contemporary Native American groups trying to gain federal recognition. Often frustrating and at times capricious, the federal recognition process privileges documentary evidence over other forms of information in determining the political and cultural continuity demanded of groups seeking recognition. Demonstrating cultural continuity is hindered by the antiquated, assimilationist views that underpin the recognition process which equate the adoption of European cultural practices with the loss of Indian identity. This issue of authenticity is linked to even broader questions concerning materiality and the construction of identity. Drawing on archaeological and documentary investigations of the Christian Indian community of Magunkaquog, this paper explores the ambiguities of an archival record that can be challenged by material evidence. Archaeological evidence of cultural persistence discussed in the paper supports the political arguments of contemporary Native American groups that their ancestors maintained their political and cultural identity in the face of European colonization.     

Revolutionary archaeology in Cuba

The Revolution of 1959 brought forth changes in the mission, theoretical orientation, and organization of archaeology in Cuba and created a role for, and constraints on, the profession that are unique in the Western Hemisphere. This paper draws upon examples from substantive field and laboratory research to examine the methods and theoretical perspectives of Cuban archaeology since the Revolution, focusing on the period from 1962 until the collapse of the Soviet Union. Archaeological practice during the Revolutionary period in Cuba has reflected the aims of the Revolutionary government, the influence of Soviet archaeology, the legacy of pre-Revolutionary approaches in North American archaeology, and the Cuban sense ofpatria.