Vera Egbers | Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus-Senftenberg (original) (raw)

Papers by Vera Egbers

This paper introduces a series of case studies on the relation between subalternity and spatial c... more This paper introduces a series of case studies on the relation between subalternity and spatial configurations in archaeology and related fields. It discusses the origins of the notion of the subaltern and connects it to different conceptualizations of space and spatiality. Questions about the possibility for the subaltern to produce their own spaces are raised, as well as present possibilities and impossibilities for archaeologists and other social science researchers to identify and interpret such spatialities. Emphasis is placed on how various examples from both archaeology and cultural anthropology try to overcome the paradoxical nature of elaborating on people who remain largely if not entirely invisible to traditional procedures of academic research. Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel präsentiert eine Reihe von Fallstudien, die sich dem Zusammenhang von Subalternität und räumlichen Konfigurationen in der Archäologie und in verwandten Gebieten widmen. Es wird der Ursprung des Begriffs des Subalternen diskutiert und mit unterschiedlichen Konzeptualisierungen von Raum und Räumlichkeit verbunden. Zum einen geht es um Fragen nach den Möglichkeiten der Subalternen, ihre eigenen Räume zu schaffen, und zum anderen um die Grenzen und Möglichkeiten der Archäolog*innen und anderer Sozialwissenschaftler*innen, solche Räumlichkeiten zu identifizieren und zu interpretieren. Der Schwerpunkt liegt dabei darauf, wie in den verschiedenen Beispielen aus Archäologie und Kulturanthropologie versucht wird, den paradoxen Charakter der Auseinandersetzung mit Personen zu überwinden, die für traditionelle Verfahren der akademischen Forschung weitgehend, wenn nicht gar vollständig, unsichtbar bleiben.

The paper first addresses the question of whether there are spaces that contribute to "subaltern"... more The paper first addresses the question of whether there are spaces that contribute to "subaltern" subjectification, or whether there are spaces of "subalterns" in which actions, language, and thought take place that are not recognized by hegemonic structures. "Subalternity" is to be understood not only as a symbolic reference to oppressed, marginalized subjects and groups, but also as a strategy of (self-)criticism of the hegemonic conceptions of space and knowledge within archaeology, through which other spaces and geographies are neglected and made invisible. An archaeological case study from the Iron Age of northern Mesopotamia illustrates how the concept of lived space or thirdspace, developed by the French human geographer Henri Lefebvre, can be used to potentially approach aspects of spaces in the past that otherwise would have remained invisible. I examine the question of whether it is possible to reconstruct how an Assyrian subject might have experienced the Urartian environment (for example, as a POW), starting from the analysis of the differently produced spatialities in Assyria and Urartu in the 1st mill. BCE. Zusammenfassung In dem Beitrag geht es zunächst um die Frage, ob es Räume gibt, die zu einer "subalternen" Subjektivierung beitragen oder aber ob es Räume "der Subalternen" gibt, in denen Handlungen, Sprache und Denken stattfinden, die in hegemonialen Strukturen jedoch nicht wahrgenommen werden. "Subalternität" soll darin nicht nur als sinnbildliche Referenz auf unterdrückte, marginalisierte Subjekte und Gruppen verstanden werden, sondern auch als Strategie der (Selbst-)Kritik an den hegemonialen Raum-und Wissenskonzeptualisierungen innerhalb der Archäologie, durch die andere Räume und Geographien vernachlässigt und unsichtbar gemacht werden. Anhand eines archäologischen Fallbeispiels aus der Eisenzeit Nord-Mesopotamiens wird dargestellt, wie das vom französischen Humangeographen Henri Lefebvre entwickelte Konzept des gelebten Raums bzw. Thirdspace Anwendung finden kann, um sich potentiell Aspekten von Räumen in der Vergangenheit zu nähern, die andernfalls unsichtbar geblieben wären. Ich folge dabei der Frage, ob sich ausgehend von der Analyse der unterschiedlich erzeugten Räumlichkeiten in Assyrien und Urartu im 1. Jt. v.u.Z. rekonstruieren lässt, wie ein assyrisches Subjekt das urartäische Umfeld (z.B. als Kriegsgefangene/r) erlebt hat?

Trotz des Engagements einzelner Vereine, Arbeitsgemeinschaften und Forschender hat sich eine umfa... more Trotz des Engagements einzelner Vereine, Arbeitsgemeinschaften und Forschender hat sich eine umfassende Diskussion zu einer Ethik der Archaologie noch nicht durchgesetzt. Zwar gibt es mittlerweile einige Ethikrichtlinien, diese fokussieren jedoch meist einseitig auf bestimmte ethische Themenfelder. Zudem neigen Ethikrichtlinien dazu, best practices anzubieten und dadurch die Grundsatzdiskussionen dahinter unsichtbar werden zu lassen. Ethik braucht aber gerade eine lebendige Diskussion, die nicht abreisen darf. Vom 6. bis 7. November 2015 fand daher in Kassel ein Workshop statt, um wichtige Diskussionslinien fur eine Grundsatzdiskussion zu identifizieren und vor allem ein Verstandnis fur ethische Fragen und Probleme auch bereits beim wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs zu verankern. Unser Paper tragt die qualitativ und quantitativ sehr unterschiedlichen Positionen zusammen und stellt sie damit fur einen weiteren wissenschaftlichen Austausch zur Diskussion.

Canadian Journal of Bioethics, 2019

As archaeologists, we have to deal with the dead, and as David Clarke once said, we like to keep ... more As archaeologists, we have to deal with the dead, and as David Clarke once said, we like to keep our archaeology dead. From an epistemological perspective, alienation from the dead seems almost inevitable; otherwise, we would only project today’s conditions onto the past. Therefore, the past must be, and must remain, a foreign country. These alienating processes have ethical implications, however, especially when it comes to the study of human remains. In this article, we analyze the structures within the scientific discipline of archaeology that normalize practices, such as the labeling of human bone material during excavations and the object-like display of skeletons in museums. We argue that archaeologists have an – often rejected – ethical responsibility towards subjects from the past. We, therefore, seek to open up a debate concerning alternative strategies for the treatment of the dead.

Berichte Geographie und Landeskunde, 2021

The study of the past still is a privilege of the Global North (Benavides 2019). The chronologica... more The study of the past still is a privilege of the Global North (Benavides 2019). The chronological structure and knowledge production in fields like Archaeology or Geography are often only questioned at its fridges, for instance through Feminist or Marxist approaches, but the majority of those disciplines continues to consider the empirical analysis of material remains and ‘hard-science’-based research such as Isotope Analysis, aDNA studies or GIS, as their core purpose and actual way to reproduce a factual past, that is, producing the truth. Geosophical thinking might provide a contribution to remedy those paradigmatic limitations. It offers a critical introduction of multiple historical narratives that question the often monolithic tempo-spatial ordering and Othering of things. In my paper, I will grapple both with theoretical implications of the concept and present shortly one possible way, in how to conduct a geosophically informed archaeological research.

Antiquity, 2019

Experimental archaeology can help to explain human patterns of production and discard from the Pa... more Experimental archaeology can help to explain human patterns of production and discard from the Palaeolithic to historical periods, and can inform debates on topics as diverse as human migration and diet. When conducted unsystematically and used to support bold conclusions, however, experimental archaeology may quickly assume the trappings of bad science. Drawing on experimental and archaeological data, Holen et al. (2017) have argued for the presence of an approximately 130 000-year-old archaeological site in California. In our recent critique (Magnani et al. 2019), we evaluated the experimental data used by the authors to support their claims. In considering Holen and colleagues' rebuttal (2019), we first draw attention to their openness to quantitative analysis and further experimentation. While this approach is positive, we maintain that more rigorous experimentation should have been performed before publication of the original extraordinary claims. We agree with Eren and Bebber's (2019) succinct criticism: as with other scientific disciplines, experimental archaeology has matured. As Eren has stated elsewhere, This discussion might sound axiomatic or commonsensical, but we have encountered archaeologists who think that the mere act of 'busting rocks' or using a stone tool to butcher an animal constitutes publishable research. This may have been the case at one time in the same way that the act of dissecting a mollusk would have resulted in a published biology paper 150 years ago (Eren et al. 2016: 108).

Antiquity

In a 2017 article, Holen and colleagues reported evidence for a 130 000-year-old archaeological s... more In a 2017 article, Holen and colleagues reported evidence for a 130 000-year-old archaeological site in California. Acceptance of the site would overturn current understanding of global human migrations. The authors here consider Holen et al.’s conclusions through critical evaluation of their replicative experiments. Drawing on best practice in experimental archaeology, and paying particular attention to the authors’ chain of inference, Magnani et al. suggest that to argue convincingly for an early human presence at the Cerutti Mastodon site, Holen et al. must improve their analogical foundations, test alternative hypotheses, increase experimental control and quantify their results.

Berichte. Geographie und Landeskunde, 2021

Subalterne Räume: Versuch einer Übersicht. Forum Kritische Archäologie, 2019

Forum Kritische Archäologie 8, 2019

“I Like to Keep my Archaeology Dead”. Alienation and Othering of the Past as an Ethical Problem, Canadian Journal of Bioethics 2019, 2(3), 88-96, 2019

As archaeologists, we have to deal with the dead, and as David Clarke once said, we like to keep ... more As archaeologists, we have to deal with the dead, and as David Clarke once said, we like to keep our archaeology dead. From an epistemological perspective, alienation from the dead seems almost inevitable; otherwise, we would only project today's conditions onto the past. Therefore, the past must be, and must remain, a foreign country. These alienating processes have ethical implications, however, especially when it comes to the study of human remains. In this article, we analyze the structures within the scientific discipline of archaeology that normalize practices, such as the labeling of human bone material during excavations and the object-like display of skeletons in museums. We argue that archaeologists have an-often rejected-ethical responsibility towards subjects from the past. We, therefore, seek to open up a debate concerning alternative strategies for the treatment of the dead.

Looking Closely. Excavations at Monjukli Depe, Turkmenistan, 2010-2014. Susan Pollock, Reinhard Bernbeck and Birgül Ögüt (eds.), Sidestone Press, 2019

In this chapter I examine the life cycle of House 10 as a case study in the use lives of houses a... more In this chapter I examine the life cycle of House 10 as a case study in the use lives of houses at Monjukli Depe. In doing so, I have two goals. First, a use-life approach allows me to analyze the processual elements of a building, rather than presenting a static image of the architecture of an entire level. It also permits me to make visible past actions that took place in and through a building. Second, I follow this analysis with an attempt to give this particular house a face by using the results of my analysis to imagine small-scale events from the perspective of one of the residents. The approach offers an example that can be applied to other buildings in Monjukli Depe as well as elsewhere.
After some introductory remarks on the Neolithic and Aeneolithic architecture in what is today southern Turkmenistan, I outline my methodology based on the object biographical approaches of Arjun Appadurai (1986a) and Igor Kopytoff (1986). I then turn to a detailed analysis of House 10 as process, examining the phases of its existence from its construction up to the present. This is followed by an interpretation of my findings that moves past the material itself and takes the form of two fictional scenarios revolving around a specific event in the life of House 10. These scenarios are an attempt to go beyond “typical” archaeological work on architecture and to look at prehistory as populated by people. In this regard, I borrow ideas from feminist archaeology, specifically from the work of Ruth Tringham (1991) and Janet Spector (1993).

Antiquity, 2019

In a 2017 article, Holen and colleagues reported evidence for a 130 000-year-old archaeological s... more In a 2017 article, Holen and colleagues reported evidence for a 130 000-year-old archaeological site in California. Acceptance of the site would overturn current understanding of global human migrations. The authors here consider Holen et al.'s conclusions through critical evaluation of their replicative experiments. Drawing on best practice in experimental archaeology, and paying particular attention to the authors' chain of inference, Magnani et al. suggest that to argue convincingly for an early human presence at the Cer-utti Mastodon site, Holen et al. must improve their analogical foundations, test alternative hypotheses, increase experimental control and quantify their results.

Archäologische Informationen, 2018

Trotz des Engagements einzelner Vereine, Arbeitsgemeinschaften und Forschender hat sich eine umfa... more Trotz des Engagements einzelner Vereine, Arbeitsgemeinschaften und Forschender hat sich eine umfassende Diskussion zu einer Ethik der Archäologie noch nicht durchgesetzt. Zwar gibt es mittlerweile einige Ethikrichtlinien, diese fokussieren jedoch meist einseitig auf bestimmte ethische Themenfelder. Zudem neigen Ethikrichtlinien dazu, best practices anzubieten und dadurch die Grundsatzdiskussionen dahinter unsichtbar werden zu lassen. Ethik braucht aber gerade eine lebendige Diskussion, die nicht abreißen darf. Vom 6. bis 7. November 2015 fand daher in Kassel ein Workshop statt, um wichtige Diskussionslinien für eine Grundsatzdiskussion zu identifizieren und vor allem ein Verständnis für ethische Fragen und Probleme auch bereits beim wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs zu verankern. Unser Paper trägt die qualitativ und quantitativ sehr unterschiedlichen Positionen zusammen und stellt sie damit für einen weiteren wissenschaftlichen Austausch zur Diskussion.

Despite the commitment of individual associations, working groups, and researchers, a comprehensive discussion on the ethics of archaeology has not yet been established. Although there are different codes of ethics, they focus almost unilaterally on specific ethical topics. While codes of ethics tend to offer best practices and guidelines, at the same time they make the foundational discussions behind them invisible. Ethics, however, require a lively discussion that does not break down, but is rather continuous. From the 6th to 7th of November 2015, a workshop was held in Kassel in order to identify important lines of discussion for a foundational discussion about ethics in archaeology and, above all, to anchor an understanding of ethical issues and problems within younger academics. Our paper brings together qualitatively and quantitatively different positions on these ethical issues and, thus, presents them for further scientific exchange and discussion.

In: Karen Radner, Janoscha Kreppner & Andrea Squitieri (eds.), 2017. Unearthing the Dinka Settlement Complex: The 2016 Season at Gird-i Bazar and Qalat-i Dinka. Peshdar Plain Project Publications 2. Gladbeck: PeWe-Verlag, pp. 57-103.

Immer wieder sehen sich Studierende mit hohen Kongresskosten konfrontiert. Durch diesen Umstand e... more Immer wieder sehen sich Studierende mit hohen Kongresskosten konfrontiert. Durch diesen Umstand entwickelte sich auf dem Deutschen Archäologiekongress 2014 in Berlin in der Sektion Theorie eine Diskussion, die im DASV fortgesetzt wurde. Aus der Diskussion entstand dieser offene Brief, der sich an alle potentiellen VeranstalterInnen wissenschaftlicher Kongresse richtet.

Talks by Vera Egbers

Als Archäolog*innen setzen wir uns ständig mit den Toten der Vergangenheit auseinander. Und im Ge... more Als Archäolog*innen setzen wir uns ständig mit den Toten der Vergangenheit auseinander. Und im Gegensatz zur Ethnoarchäologie halten wir unsere Archäologie gerne für tot, wie David Clarke einmal sagte. Einerseits erscheint aus erkenntnistheoretischer Sicht eine epistemologische Entfremdung von den Toten fast unvermeidlich, da wir sonst lediglich die heutigen Bedingungen mit all ihren Problemen rückprojizieren würden. Deshalb muss die Vergangenheit ein „foreign country“ sein und bleiben (können). Aber Entfremdung hat neben epistemologischen auch ethische Implikationen, besonders wenn es um das Studium menschlicher Überreste geht. In unserem Vortrag analysieren wir die Strukturen innerhalb der wissenschaftlichen Disziplin Archäologie, die Praktiken wie die Markierung von menschlichem Knochenmaterial während der Ausgrabung oder die objekthafte Darstellung von Skeletten in Museen normalisieren. Wir argumentieren, dass Archäolog*innen eine ethische Verantwortung gegenüber früheren Subjekten oft leugnen und wollen eine Debatte über alternative Strategien in der Behandlung von Toten eröffnen.

As Archaeologists we have to deal with the dead. And we like to keep our archeology dead, as Davi... more As Archaeologists we have to deal with the dead. And we like to keep our archeology dead, as David Clarke once said. From an epistemological perspective, alienation from the dead seems an inevitable necessity. Otherwise, we would only retroject today’s conditions. Therefore, the past must be and must remain a foreign country! There are a large number of strategies and practices of alienation which are already socialized in archaeological education. But do we have the right to put the deads’ mortal remains on display in a museum after excavating tombs? Or to number their bones and put them in storage in archival cardboard boxes? From an ethical perspective, alienation from the past dead is an othering in the sense of Johannes Fabian and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Past subjects are not only dead but transformed into objects. Ðrecisely because archeology is a science that deals with past people and affects current people, actors should not shy away from their ethical responsibility. Therefore, it is all the more surprising that in the German-speaking world as well as other European countries there is hardly any discussion about the connection between archeology and ethics. This is why in November 2015 the Forum Kritische Archäologie (FKA, Critical Archeology Forum) , Theorien in der Archäologie (TidA, Theories in Archeology) and the Forum Archäologie in der Gesellschaft (FaiG, Forum Archeology in Society) initiated a joint workshop in Kassel, Germany. Our goal was the bundling of previous debates, as well as exploring the topic in an up-to-date discussion. Ðn our lecture, we want to sum up our arguments, present some results and leave open questions to discussion. We will draw attention to our handling of ancient subjects. Is the fact that they have been dead for a long time an excuse to reduce them to bits of archaeological data? Or are there alternatives? Is there a “denial of subjectness” or can objects be given the opportunity to become subjects (again)?

Mit der Machtergreifung Hitlers am 30. Januar 1933 begann auch die Ära eines neuen weltanschaulic... more Mit der Machtergreifung Hitlers am 30. Januar 1933 begann auch die Ära eines neuen weltanschaulichen Programms. Die Idee der „Volksgemeinschaft“ sollte die Massen mobilisieren und war Motor bei Gewaltaktionen gegen alle, die nicht zu dieser Gemeinschaft gehören wollten oder konnten. Um alle Deutschen im Reich zu „neuen Menschen” zu transformieren, wurde ein komplexes System aus Institutionen etabliert, das nahezu jeden Lebensbereich der Bevölkerung durchdrang. Eine dieser Institutionen war das Amt „Schönheit der Arbeit”. Während der rezenten Ausgrabungen auf dem Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin wurde Geschirr gefunden, das von diesem Amt designed wurde. In meiner Präsentation analysiere ich diesen Alltagsgegenstand im Kontext von Unterdrückung und Widerstand, u.a. anlehnend an Bourdieus Analysen der symbolischen Gewalt. Wirkte das in Tempelhof gefundene Porzellan auf die Wahrnehmungsschemata der Arbeiterschaft und war somit ein Baustein in der Naturalisierung der (neuen) Machtverhältnisse? Wie muss dieses unscheinbare Geschirr im Rahmen des Tempelhofer Flugfelds bewertet werden?

Canadian Journal of Bioethics, 2019

Berichte Geographie und Landeskunde, 2021

Antiquity, 2019

Antiquity

Berichte. Geographie und Landeskunde, 2021

Subalterne Räume: Versuch einer Übersicht. Forum Kritische Archäologie, 2019

Forum Kritische Archäologie 8, 2019

“I Like to Keep my Archaeology Dead”. Alienation and Othering of the Past as an Ethical Problem, Canadian Journal of Bioethics 2019, 2(3), 88-96, 2019

As archaeologists, we have to deal with the dead, and as David Clarke once said, we like to keep ... more As archaeologists, we have to deal with the dead, and as David Clarke once said, we like to keep our archaeology dead. From an epistemological perspective, alienation from the dead seems almost inevitable; otherwise, we would only project today's conditions onto the past. Therefore, the past must be, and must remain, a foreign country. These alienating processes have ethical implications, however, especially when it comes to the study of human remains. In this article, we analyze the structures within the scientific discipline of archaeology that normalize practices, such as the labeling of human bone material during excavations and the object-like display of skeletons in museums. We argue that archaeologists have an-often rejected-ethical responsibility towards subjects from the past. We, therefore, seek to open up a debate concerning alternative strategies for the treatment of the dead.

Looking Closely. Excavations at Monjukli Depe, Turkmenistan, 2010-2014. Susan Pollock, Reinhard Bernbeck and Birgül Ögüt (eds.), Sidestone Press, 2019

Antiquity, 2019

In a 2017 article, Holen and colleagues reported evidence for a 130 000-year-old archaeological s... more In a 2017 article, Holen and colleagues reported evidence for a 130 000-year-old archaeological site in California. Acceptance of the site would overturn current understanding of global human migrations. The authors here consider Holen et al.'s conclusions through critical evaluation of their replicative experiments. Drawing on best practice in experimental archaeology, and paying particular attention to the authors' chain of inference, Magnani et al. suggest that to argue convincingly for an early human presence at the Cer-utti Mastodon site, Holen et al. must improve their analogical foundations, test alternative hypotheses, increase experimental control and quantify their results.

Archäologische Informationen, 2018

Trotz des Engagements einzelner Vereine, Arbeitsgemeinschaften und Forschender hat sich eine umfa... more Trotz des Engagements einzelner Vereine, Arbeitsgemeinschaften und Forschender hat sich eine umfassende Diskussion zu einer Ethik der Archäologie noch nicht durchgesetzt. Zwar gibt es mittlerweile einige Ethikrichtlinien, diese fokussieren jedoch meist einseitig auf bestimmte ethische Themenfelder. Zudem neigen Ethikrichtlinien dazu, best practices anzubieten und dadurch die Grundsatzdiskussionen dahinter unsichtbar werden zu lassen. Ethik braucht aber gerade eine lebendige Diskussion, die nicht abreißen darf. Vom 6. bis 7. November 2015 fand daher in Kassel ein Workshop statt, um wichtige Diskussionslinien für eine Grundsatzdiskussion zu identifizieren und vor allem ein Verständnis für ethische Fragen und Probleme auch bereits beim wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs zu verankern. Unser Paper trägt die qualitativ und quantitativ sehr unterschiedlichen Positionen zusammen und stellt sie damit für einen weiteren wissenschaftlichen Austausch zur Diskussion.

In the face of pandemics, wars, climate change, and an apparent rise in radicalization, a re-eval... more In the face of pandemics, wars, climate change, and an apparent rise in radicalization, a re-evaluation of the relationship between humanity and (violent) conflict is underway, both in- and outside of the scientific community. Archaeology is no exception to this. While it seems that, in the past, archaeological examples of conflict in prehistory have been interpreted so as to permit linear historical narratives – whether one of "a peaceful prehistory" or "rampant violence in a pre-modern world" – the study of "conflict" is more complex and requires a nuanced consideration.

The project will organize a three-day conference to further investigate the topic of "conflict", with a particular focus on the intertwining of violence, space, and movement. We will explore questions such as these: How did people avoid conflict and what role did space and mobility play when violence erupted, or when it did not? Can we consider spatial avoidance to have been a resilience strategy of past societies? Can we sustain the thesis that mobile lifestyles and low population density enabled prehistoric forager communities to coexist peacefully, by allowing them to literally avoid or rather outrun conflict? What archaeological evidence of violence or of crisis management is available to us? What evidence of peace has been uncovered, and where are the risks of misinterpretation when studying such evidence?

In addition to the archaeological perspective, the conference will elicit the perspectives of invited experts who study phenomena of this kind in relation to modern societies or who work with people affected by conflict and displacement today. Since human conflicts – whether ancient or modern – are far more complex socio-political phenomena than the grand historical narratives that they tend to call forth suggest, we believe that all disciplines dealing with this topic can benefit from inter- and transdisciplinary communication on these questions.

International Symposium, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, 28-29 October 2021, Online

International Online Conference, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, 16 to 19 June 2021, Programme, 2021

by Stefan Schreiber, Carolin Jauss, Johannes David Greger, Dominik Bochatz, Georg Cyrus, Jasmin Hangartner, Matthias Mergl, Laura Grimm, Sabine Neumann, Michaela Helmbrecht, Vera Egbers, Maria Bianca D'Anna, Birgül Ögüt, Hilthart Pedersen, Raimund Karl, Jens Crueger, Philipp Tollkühn, Martin Renger, and Stephanie Renger (née Merten)

Gerade weil Archäologie eine Wissenschaft ist, die sich mit vergangenen Menschen befasst und gege... more Gerade weil Archäologie eine Wissenschaft ist, die sich mit vergangenen Menschen befasst und gegenwärtige Menschen beeinflusst, sollten Akteur_innen die Auseinandersetzung mit ihrer ethischen Verantwortung nicht scheuen. Daher ist es umso verwunderlicher, dass es im deutschsprachigen Raum bisher kaum Diskussionen über den Zusammenhang von Archäologie und Ethik gab. Dies möchten wir ändern.

Am 6. und 7. November 2015 veranstalten FkA, TidA und FAiG einen Workshop, auf dem Studierende und Lehrende archäologischer Fächer ihre Interessen, Meinungen und Standpunkte einbringen können. Verschiedene Themen und Perspektiven zu Ethik werden in Gruppen besprochen und gemeinsam offen diskutiert. Die Ergebnisse des Workshops können in die Fächer weitergetragen werden und sollen zu weiterer anhaltender Diskussion anregen.

Sidestone Press, 2023

How can subalternity be studied in the past when today almost exclusively the remains of the elit... more How can subalternity be studied in the past when today almost exclusively the remains of the elites are preserved? Why is such an investigation worthwhile and where does it lead? These are the questions Vera Egbers explores in her book on the relationship of Assyria and Urartu in Iron Age northern Mesopotamia (c. 9th to 7th centuries BCE). For between these neighbors, who were engaged in an ongoing violent conflict, there were the numerous deportees and prisoners of war whose experiences and lives have received little attention in research to date. Yet postmodern and postcolonial thinkers from literary studies, human geography, and sociology have already demonstrated that historically it is often these marginalized, forgotten social groups that become the engine of change.

This book joins an interdisciplinary discourse on subjectivation, production of (social) space, subalternity, and habitus, and integrates these concepts into the archaeology of West Asia. In doing so, various sites are examined quantitatively and qualitatively using methods from the field of the so-called archaeology of the senses, in order to infer the basic features of the sensory organization of Urartu and Assyria. The comparison of these reconstructed sensory worlds takes place against the background of the question of how deportees and prisoners of war perceived the new environment after their deportation. What were the effects of this abrupt change in living conditions due to captivity and forced resettlement? How were the new, subaltern subject positions communicated and evoked nonverbally by means of spatial organization – and were there places where low-threshold subversion occurred through irritation, misunderstanding, and unplanned behavior?

Looking Closely - Excavations at Monjukli Depe, Turkmenistan, 2010 – 2014, 2019

Soviet archaeological research in southern Turkmenistan revealed a series of small Late Neolithic... more Soviet archaeological research in southern Turkmenistan revealed a series of small Late Neolithic and Aeneolithic villages strung along the streams that emerge from the Kopet Dag and water the narrow foothill zone separating the mountains from the Kara Kum desert. A commonly accepted premise of their work was that these communities garnered their technological knowledge if not their populations from regions to the south and west in present-day Iran.

Since 2010 we have reinvestigated one of these sites, the small Late Neolithic (ca. 6200-5600 BCE) and early Aeneolithic (ca. 4800-4350 BCE) village of Monjukli Depe. Our research examines microhistories of cultural techniques as a source of insights into long-term and spatially extensive change as well as internal variations and similarities in material practices. This volume presents results of this work. A Bayesian modeling of 14C dates demonstrates a long hiatus between the Neolithic and Aeneolithic strata of the site as well as a hitherto unattested very early Aeneolithic phase (“Meana Horizon”). A sequence of densely built, well preserved Aeneolithic houses exhibits marked similarities to earlier Neolithic architecture in the region. Despite overall standardized plans, the houses reveal significant variations in internal features and practices. Similar flexibility within a set of common dispositions is evident in burial practices. Very limited quantities of pottery offer a stark contrast to the frequent occurrence of spindle whorls, indicating a substantial production of thread, and to a large and varied assemblage of clay tokens. A wide variety of fire installations attests to routinized handling of fire, which did not prevent at least one building from succumbing to a conflagration. Animal herding was heavily based on sheep and goats, while cattle figured prominently in feasts.

The Meana tradition at Monjukli Depe exhibits significant structural similarities to other early village societies in Western Asia and will make this volume of interest to scholars working on similar times and contexts.

Architectures of Colonialism. Constructed Histories, Conflicting Memories. Edited by: Vera Egbers, Christa Kamleithner, Özge Sezer and Alexandra Skedzuhn-Safir, 2024

The question of what heritage is and how we deal with it is not a neutral one. Recent events such... more The question of what heritage is and how we deal with it is not a neutral one. Recent events such as the Black Lives Matter movement and the toppling of monuments have made evident how much the colonial past is inscribed in our built environment; at the same time, colonialism continues to affect memorialization and historiography. Hence, those involved in architectural history are challenged to re-consider their positionality. Whose heritage are colonial sites? Which possibly silenced memories are attached to them? How are archives and material evidence reassessed to bring forward the stories of marginalized subjects? Following the call for decolonization, this volume explores historical methodologies and shows the entanglement of narratives at architectural sites, bringing together archaeology, architectural history, and heritage studies.

A contribution to the current debate on decolonization and memorialization

- Interdisciplinary perspectives on architecture and heritage
- International range of authors

by Aydin Abar, Maria Bianca D'Anna, Georg Cyrus, Vera Egbers, Barbara Huber, Christine Kainert, Birgül Ögüt, Nolwen Rol, Giulia Russo, Julia Schönicke, and Francelin Tourtet

Pearls, Politics and Pistachios. Essays in Anthropology and Memories on the Occasion of Susan Pollock's 65 th Birthday, 2021

This book is a multivocal and heartfelt “Thank You!” present to Susan Pollock on her 65th birthda... more This book is a multivocal and heartfelt “Thank You!” present to Susan Pollock on her 65th birthday. In each of the 46 contributions the 63 authors from West and Central AsiaAmerica and Europs celebrate Susan Pollock as a multi-facetted and brilliant scholar and colleague, as a devoted and outstanding teacher and as an empathetic mentor. The range of topics covered in the articles spans from the first occurrence of Homo sapiens on the Iranian Highland, to the relation of violence and epidemics in North America, to the research of the underrepresentation of female scholars in a male dominated Publikationslandschaft, as well as the role of politics in archaeological practice. Together the authors present the diversity of archaeological practice neither limited by time and space, nor by methodical conventions.
The contributions are organized in three chapters. The first chapter „Taking a Closer Look…“ brings together in-depth studies of prehistoric communities and object analyses. which offer a plethora of different approaches to the past. The second chapter„… While Keeping the Big Picture“ offers contributions of larger scale, in time and geographically, of migrations, prehistoric economies, conflicts within communities and societies, as well as wars between different groups. The closing chapter „Questioning the Discipline“ frames methodological questions, scrutinizes current discourses in archaeologies and the specificities and problems ranging from decolonization to the role of women in archaeological disciplines. The chapters are interlocked with personal anecdotes and essays, chronicling the authors’ experiences they shared with Susan at different times in her career.
A big “Thank You!” from 63 authors in 46 contributions to Susan Pollock for collaborating in joint projects and her manifold support which shaped them into self-determined scholars.