When a Local Legend Is (Mis)Appropriated in the Interpretation of an Archaeological Site

Context permitting, should public archaeologists allow “archaeologically incorrect” accounts of the past? In this paper I discuss this question through a case study based on the experience of myself and my colleagues at the excavation of the Villa of Augustus in Somma Vesuviana, Italy. In 2003 and 2004, we became aware that some visitors to the excavation interpreted the site by reference to a legend of the tunnel of Queen Giovanna, which had existed in Somma Vesuviana over the centuries. Although initially interested in this phenomenon, we soon realised that we needed to make certain judgements as to how to respond to local people asking whether the tunnel had been discovered in the excavation. We presented two different ways of interpreting the site, one based on archaeology and the other on the legend, and both as equally meaningful, while at the same time stressing what we as archaeologists believed, based on what we had found. In this process we decided to adhere to the principles of archaeology, even in embracing the multivocality of material remains.     

Introduction

The public are engaging more with archaeology today than ever before, whether this is through the plethora of television channels increasing access to and providing reinterpretations of archaeological sites and finds, or through the blockbuster exhibitions hosted by museums (see Holtorf 2005, 2007). However are the public just expected to be consumers or should they be encouraged to participate and help direct the archaeological work being undertaken through active engagement?     

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.     

South Carolina Shipyards: Labour,Logistics, Lumber and Ladies

Southern shipyards, like Hobcaw and Mars Bluff, were established at locations chosen primarily for convenient access to transportation networks, building materials, clientele and labour. The historical record reveals a home front role played by local plantation owners and slaves as shipyard labour. Women served as project fundraisers, shipyard dilettantes, shipwright’s wives and possibly slave mistresses with a paucity of material culture to confirm their presence in the archaeological record. Archaeological investigations on land and underwater yield evidence of artefacts associated with diet, shipbuilding, warfare and ethnicity.     

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.     

United States: Responses to the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage

While the US is not a signatory to the 2001 UNESCO Convention, much progress has been made by US agencies to implement its Rules and principles. The US signed an Agreement on Titanic with Rules that are nearly identical to the UNESCO Convention. US agencies have also expressed support for the Rules and their implementation into their programs. This paper identifies these positive actions as well as the two primary concerns that have prevented the US from signing the Convention to date: (1) “creeping coastal State jurisdiction” and (2) treatment of sunken state vessels.     

四、五世纪东亚世界的形成与东晋南朝——以中国史料为中心

Adopting the historical periodization and the “ethnic awakening” theory of Konan Naito, this essay discusses the early formation of East Asian states such as Koguryō, Paekche, Silla and Wa during the 4^th and 5^th centuries, as well as the political order within the East Asian society shaped by the enfeoffment of the Eastern Jin and the Southern dynasties by using Chinese sources. It argues that the cultural influences of the Qin and Han dynasties promoted the ethnic awakening of East Asian peoples, and during the turmoil periods of the Wei, the Jin, and the Division Era these ethnic groups leaped rapidly in their roads of state-formation. The enfeoffment system of the Eastern Jin played significant role in this process, and therefore set up the basic structure of the international relationship in early modern East Asia.     

明清的资讯传播、社会想像与公众社会

The flourishing development of media during the Ming and Qing eras affected the building of new methods of interpersonal interactions between an individual and society as well as between the people themselves. By virtue of media like Dibao 邸报 (court liaison reports), drama or novels, interpersonal interactions could reach beyond space and object restrictions. These media could thus rapidly spread particular or individual news to the general public, making those who were absent from the scene feel as if they were “experiencing” it, and at the same time allowing them to “participate in” social affairs beyond their knowledge. In this way, mass media surpassed the individual living sphere, ultimately forming a “public sphere.” Under the influence of these media, each individual could join this “public sphere” and be connected with the imagined “general public.” That is to say, mass media created an “imagined society.” In addition to a personal limited “real world,” there was an immense “fictitious world” for everyone to take part in and experience. Accordingly, interactions between people developed into interactions between each individual and the abstract society, which could cut across space limitations, and establish an immense “public society.”     

明清边疆社会的习俗互化——以海南女性生活为例

From the Qin and Han periods to the Qing Dynasty, there was a constant flow of people from China’s mainland to Hainan Island. These immigrants and indigenous people developed Hainan together. Particularly in the Ming and Qing dynasties, they adopted customs from each other. By tracing the changes of women’s lives in Hainan during this period, this paper studies how different ethnic customs influenced each other.