Christiane Clados | Philipps University Marburg (original) (raw)
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Papers by Christiane Clados
Rev. Arqueologia Pública, 2021
For 200 years, in the Museum Anatomicum of the Philipps University of Marburg (Germany), an Andea... more For 200 years, in the Museum Anatomicum of the Philipps University of Marburg (Germany), an Andean mummy is exhibited that, since its arrival in the collection, has been inventoried as a woman. This gender attribution was made based mainly on her long hair. As a recent investigation has been able to reveal, this gender assignment is incorrect, which has been confirmed by studying the grave goods. In this article, it will be shown that this attribution to the female gender is a social and cultural construction, typical of the time when the mummy arrived in Marburg. The present analysis intends to deconstruct the previous assumptions, investigating the bioanthropological and archaeological evidences.
Revista Española de Antropología Americana
Many studies, even those conducted in the field of the Americas, still argue that graphic communi... more Many studies, even those conducted in the field of the Americas, still argue that graphic communication necessarily builds on coding units of speech. However, in recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the narrowness of this concept by focusing on Indigenous and pre-Columbian societies, who favore(d) non-glottographic systems over written speech. This paper concerns the development of a semiological multidimensional theory and methodology to analyze Indigenous Graphic Communication Systems (GCSs) in Mesoamerica, Amazonia, the Isthmo-Colombian Area and the Central Andes. The aim of this theory and methodology is to understand how and in what ways Indigenous societies communicate and encode knowledge using graphic units. Placing emic concepts and epistemologies increasingly at the center of the investigation comes with a rethinking of Western concepts of writing, and a change of perspective. The proposed model provides access to new analytical dimensions that have not been...
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Mar 17, 2020
Das Münzkabinett ist – obwohl zentral im Georgenbau am Residenzschloss untergebracht – eines der ... more Das Münzkabinett ist – obwohl zentral im Georgenbau am Residenzschloss untergebracht – eines der weniger intensiv besuchten Museen der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden.1 Dies liegt vor allem an der durch laufende Baumaßnahmen bedingten Begrenztheit der Präsentationsräume. Während die 30.000 Bände umfassende Spezialbibliothek und der Studiensaal interessierten Fachbesuchern Detailstudien ermöglichen, steht der Sammlungspräsentation aufgrund des Umbaus der Ausstellungsräume nur ein kleines Rondell im Hausmannsturm des Residenzschlosses zur Verfügung. (...
Revista Española de Antropología Americana, 2022
Many studies, even those conducted in the field of the Americas, still argue that graphic communi... more Many studies, even those conducted in the field of the Americas, still argue that graphic communication necessarily builds on coding units of speech. However, in recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the narrowness of this concept by focusing on Indigenous and pre-Columbian societies, who favore(d) non-glottographic systems over written speech. This paper concerns the development of a semiological multidimensional theory and methodology to analyze Indigenous Graphic Communication Systems (GCSs) in Mesoamerica, Amazonia, the Isthmo-Colombian Area and the Central Andes. The aim of this theory and methodology is to understand how and in what ways Indigenous societies communicate and encode knowledge using graphic units. Placing emic concepts and epistemologies increasingly at the center of the investigation comes with a rethinking of Western concepts of writing, and a change of perspective. The proposed model provides access to new analytical dimensions that have not been considered in an integrated way so far. Graphic units are not only studied in relation to each other and on the semantic level, but in the broader context in which they arise. Three examples are used to demonstrate the complexity of graphic communication based on semasiographic principles and test the proposed approach focusing on various forms of Yukpa graphic expressions in Colombia and Venezuela and framed graphic units of the Tiwanaku culture in the Central Andes, Peru.Keywords: graphic communication systems; the indigenous Americas; semiological theory and methodology; decolonizing epistemologies.
Amerindian Socio-Cosmologies between the Andes, Amazonia and Mesoamerica, 2020
Gemeinschaften in Neuen Medien. Digitale Partizipation in hybriden Realitäten und Gemeinschaften., 2021
Indigenous Graphic Communication Systems: A Theoretical Approach, 2020
Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Vicerectorado de Investigacion, Dec 31, 2009
Amerindian Socio-Cosmologies between the Andes, Amazonia and Mesoamerica, 2020
Nasca cultural development took place between 200 BC and 600 AD of the south coast of present-day... more Nasca cultural development took place between 200 BC and 600 AD of the south coast of present-day Peru. Building on the achievements of the culture of Paracas Nasca is developing a rich iconography and figural art. According to the results of the author the Nasca icons are characterized by some specific representation rules. The present article is trying to elaborate the most important representational rules of Nasca imagery. The primary concern of Nasca art is the representation of creatures that are biologically impossible. In the precess of the representational rules of disassociation and recombination natural features are separated from their biological context and recombined into non-natural composite forms. Another very important represenational rule is the substitution. Arms, legs and tongues are substituted by feline-headed jagged snakes. A third general characteristic of Nasca art is the use of a x-ray view. Bodies, arms and legs are filled with trophy heads, animals and pl...
Este articulo es un analisis de diez ceramicas de la fase Nasca Temprano y Nasca Medio (fase Nasc... more Este articulo es un analisis de diez ceramicas de la fase Nasca Temprano y Nasca Medio (fase Nasca II-V) representando diferentes seres sobrenaturales en escenas complejas. El analisis proporciona una definicion detallada del "felino-hombre" lo cual es una deidad muy conocida en el panteon Nasca. Parte felino (cabeza felinica), parte hombre (cuerpo humano), esta deidad consistentemente tiene una porra y trofeos rituales en sus manos. Aparece con una diadema, nariguera y una falda. Esta capturado por otras deidades mayor que el. Como la deidad F del Moche panteon el "felino-hombre" esta involucrado en acciones diferentes. En algunos casos actua en batallas miticas. En general la interaccion de diferentes actores es una caracteristica de la narracion. El analisis muestra que las pinturas de Nasca Temprano y Nasca Medio son partes de una narracion o un mito. Aparentemente el felino-hombre juega un papel importante como heroe en el Nasca panteon de la fase Nasca Temp...
Baessler Archiv, 2000
This article is an analysis of a Nasca 7 ceramic figurine in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin de... more This article is an analysis of a Nasca 7 ceramic figurine in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin depicting a naked sitting woman with elaborated body painting. The figurine is described and its original meaning defined by comparison with figurines in other museums. For a better understanding other representations of the naked woman in Nasca iconography are also taken into account. The gesture of the figurine identifies her as giving birth. The body painting depicts three different mythical beings who are very prominent in the Nasca pantheon. The painting on the seat shows a battle between a whale-man with a trophy head and four bodyless beings who consist of rayed faces with long tongues. A more elaborated rayed face is shown in the area of the vagina. Because of the context with starlike elements and the similarity of star representations in fineline drawings of Moche IV and V ceramics the author interprets the bodyless rayed faces as astral deities. Sometimes the woman is connected with a male human and together they probably form a mythical founder couple.
Altertum, 1997
Le temple rupestre de Malinalco est le seul de ce style en Amerique centrale. Il appartient proba... more Le temple rupestre de Malinalco est le seul de ce style en Amerique centrale. Il appartient probablement a une periode recente de l'histoire de l'architecture azteque. Les sculptures qui le decorent et la fonction de ce lieu font l'objet d'interpretations divergentes, dont les deux principales s'opposent : certains voient dans ce temple monolithique un sanctuaire en l'honneur de Tepeyollotli, les autres considerent cette construction comme l'un des sites consacres aux guerriers aigle et jaguar.
Tribus, 2010
A feathered bi-convex headdress of unknown provenance in the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, likely dat... more A feathered bi-convex headdress of unknown provenance in the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, likely dates to the Middle Horizon based on an analysis of its central motif. This paper examines iconographic representations from different time periods to provide a relative date for the Stuttgart artifact and to clarify its original function. Special attention is given to the meaning of the central motif, which might be derived from realistically represented depictions or codified representations of Middle Horizon tocapus. The headdress is covered with tiny feathers of turquoise, orange, and black on a yellow background. The feathers come from the throat of the Paradise Tanager, as well as from multiple species of parrots, and were attached to the fabric after the weaving was completed. Three horizontal rows of dice-like motifs decorate the headdress. The central motif consists of a square with four dots in that is repeated in three different color combinations around the headdress (Fig. 1). The headdress originally might have been part of the artificial head of a mummy bundle similar to South Coast examples that are still preserved. Bi-convex headdresses are very common in Wari and Tiwanaku cultures, but also are seen on Nasca ceramics (Fig. 3) and according to Heidi King (personal communication), on Late Moche ceramics as well. Tiwanaku IV phase portrait vases and Wari stone and metal figurines (Pikillaqta) each show highly ranked men with this particular type of headdress (Figs. 2 and 4). Patricia Knobloch suggests that "[...] these particular depictions represent agents belonging to the Tiwanaku social sphere [...]". The central motif of the headdress, a square with four dots, also is found on a Middle Horizon 2A effigy vessel from the Denver Art Museum. In this case, the motif is combined with trophy heads (Fig. 5). Other closely-related motifs include diagonal double motifs with two rings (Figs. 6 and 7) and four dots (Figs. 8 and 9). This motif can be interpreted using two different forms of perception and representation employed during the Middle Horizon. One represents the object realistically while the other seeks to codify the shape of the object in a simplified form. Both traditions exist side by side during the Middle Horizon and are not mutually exclusive. Each tradition offers a possible interpretation of the central motif of the Linden-Museum headdress.
Rev. Arqueologia Pública, 2021
For 200 years, in the Museum Anatomicum of the Philipps University of Marburg (Germany), an Andea... more For 200 years, in the Museum Anatomicum of the Philipps University of Marburg (Germany), an Andean mummy is exhibited that, since its arrival in the collection, has been inventoried as a woman. This gender attribution was made based mainly on her long hair. As a recent investigation has been able to reveal, this gender assignment is incorrect, which has been confirmed by studying the grave goods. In this article, it will be shown that this attribution to the female gender is a social and cultural construction, typical of the time when the mummy arrived in Marburg. The present analysis intends to deconstruct the previous assumptions, investigating the bioanthropological and archaeological evidences.
Revista Española de Antropología Americana
Many studies, even those conducted in the field of the Americas, still argue that graphic communi... more Many studies, even those conducted in the field of the Americas, still argue that graphic communication necessarily builds on coding units of speech. However, in recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the narrowness of this concept by focusing on Indigenous and pre-Columbian societies, who favore(d) non-glottographic systems over written speech. This paper concerns the development of a semiological multidimensional theory and methodology to analyze Indigenous Graphic Communication Systems (GCSs) in Mesoamerica, Amazonia, the Isthmo-Colombian Area and the Central Andes. The aim of this theory and methodology is to understand how and in what ways Indigenous societies communicate and encode knowledge using graphic units. Placing emic concepts and epistemologies increasingly at the center of the investigation comes with a rethinking of Western concepts of writing, and a change of perspective. The proposed model provides access to new analytical dimensions that have not been...
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Mar 17, 2020
Das Münzkabinett ist – obwohl zentral im Georgenbau am Residenzschloss untergebracht – eines der ... more Das Münzkabinett ist – obwohl zentral im Georgenbau am Residenzschloss untergebracht – eines der weniger intensiv besuchten Museen der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden.1 Dies liegt vor allem an der durch laufende Baumaßnahmen bedingten Begrenztheit der Präsentationsräume. Während die 30.000 Bände umfassende Spezialbibliothek und der Studiensaal interessierten Fachbesuchern Detailstudien ermöglichen, steht der Sammlungspräsentation aufgrund des Umbaus der Ausstellungsräume nur ein kleines Rondell im Hausmannsturm des Residenzschlosses zur Verfügung. (...
Revista Española de Antropología Americana, 2022
Many studies, even those conducted in the field of the Americas, still argue that graphic communi... more Many studies, even those conducted in the field of the Americas, still argue that graphic communication necessarily builds on coding units of speech. However, in recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the narrowness of this concept by focusing on Indigenous and pre-Columbian societies, who favore(d) non-glottographic systems over written speech. This paper concerns the development of a semiological multidimensional theory and methodology to analyze Indigenous Graphic Communication Systems (GCSs) in Mesoamerica, Amazonia, the Isthmo-Colombian Area and the Central Andes. The aim of this theory and methodology is to understand how and in what ways Indigenous societies communicate and encode knowledge using graphic units. Placing emic concepts and epistemologies increasingly at the center of the investigation comes with a rethinking of Western concepts of writing, and a change of perspective. The proposed model provides access to new analytical dimensions that have not been considered in an integrated way so far. Graphic units are not only studied in relation to each other and on the semantic level, but in the broader context in which they arise. Three examples are used to demonstrate the complexity of graphic communication based on semasiographic principles and test the proposed approach focusing on various forms of Yukpa graphic expressions in Colombia and Venezuela and framed graphic units of the Tiwanaku culture in the Central Andes, Peru.Keywords: graphic communication systems; the indigenous Americas; semiological theory and methodology; decolonizing epistemologies.
Amerindian Socio-Cosmologies between the Andes, Amazonia and Mesoamerica, 2020
Gemeinschaften in Neuen Medien. Digitale Partizipation in hybriden Realitäten und Gemeinschaften., 2021
Indigenous Graphic Communication Systems: A Theoretical Approach, 2020
Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Vicerectorado de Investigacion, Dec 31, 2009
Amerindian Socio-Cosmologies between the Andes, Amazonia and Mesoamerica, 2020
Nasca cultural development took place between 200 BC and 600 AD of the south coast of present-day... more Nasca cultural development took place between 200 BC and 600 AD of the south coast of present-day Peru. Building on the achievements of the culture of Paracas Nasca is developing a rich iconography and figural art. According to the results of the author the Nasca icons are characterized by some specific representation rules. The present article is trying to elaborate the most important representational rules of Nasca imagery. The primary concern of Nasca art is the representation of creatures that are biologically impossible. In the precess of the representational rules of disassociation and recombination natural features are separated from their biological context and recombined into non-natural composite forms. Another very important represenational rule is the substitution. Arms, legs and tongues are substituted by feline-headed jagged snakes. A third general characteristic of Nasca art is the use of a x-ray view. Bodies, arms and legs are filled with trophy heads, animals and pl...
Este articulo es un analisis de diez ceramicas de la fase Nasca Temprano y Nasca Medio (fase Nasc... more Este articulo es un analisis de diez ceramicas de la fase Nasca Temprano y Nasca Medio (fase Nasca II-V) representando diferentes seres sobrenaturales en escenas complejas. El analisis proporciona una definicion detallada del "felino-hombre" lo cual es una deidad muy conocida en el panteon Nasca. Parte felino (cabeza felinica), parte hombre (cuerpo humano), esta deidad consistentemente tiene una porra y trofeos rituales en sus manos. Aparece con una diadema, nariguera y una falda. Esta capturado por otras deidades mayor que el. Como la deidad F del Moche panteon el "felino-hombre" esta involucrado en acciones diferentes. En algunos casos actua en batallas miticas. En general la interaccion de diferentes actores es una caracteristica de la narracion. El analisis muestra que las pinturas de Nasca Temprano y Nasca Medio son partes de una narracion o un mito. Aparentemente el felino-hombre juega un papel importante como heroe en el Nasca panteon de la fase Nasca Temp...
Baessler Archiv, 2000
This article is an analysis of a Nasca 7 ceramic figurine in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin de... more This article is an analysis of a Nasca 7 ceramic figurine in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin depicting a naked sitting woman with elaborated body painting. The figurine is described and its original meaning defined by comparison with figurines in other museums. For a better understanding other representations of the naked woman in Nasca iconography are also taken into account. The gesture of the figurine identifies her as giving birth. The body painting depicts three different mythical beings who are very prominent in the Nasca pantheon. The painting on the seat shows a battle between a whale-man with a trophy head and four bodyless beings who consist of rayed faces with long tongues. A more elaborated rayed face is shown in the area of the vagina. Because of the context with starlike elements and the similarity of star representations in fineline drawings of Moche IV and V ceramics the author interprets the bodyless rayed faces as astral deities. Sometimes the woman is connected with a male human and together they probably form a mythical founder couple.
Altertum, 1997
Le temple rupestre de Malinalco est le seul de ce style en Amerique centrale. Il appartient proba... more Le temple rupestre de Malinalco est le seul de ce style en Amerique centrale. Il appartient probablement a une periode recente de l'histoire de l'architecture azteque. Les sculptures qui le decorent et la fonction de ce lieu font l'objet d'interpretations divergentes, dont les deux principales s'opposent : certains voient dans ce temple monolithique un sanctuaire en l'honneur de Tepeyollotli, les autres considerent cette construction comme l'un des sites consacres aux guerriers aigle et jaguar.
Tribus, 2010
A feathered bi-convex headdress of unknown provenance in the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, likely dat... more A feathered bi-convex headdress of unknown provenance in the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, likely dates to the Middle Horizon based on an analysis of its central motif. This paper examines iconographic representations from different time periods to provide a relative date for the Stuttgart artifact and to clarify its original function. Special attention is given to the meaning of the central motif, which might be derived from realistically represented depictions or codified representations of Middle Horizon tocapus. The headdress is covered with tiny feathers of turquoise, orange, and black on a yellow background. The feathers come from the throat of the Paradise Tanager, as well as from multiple species of parrots, and were attached to the fabric after the weaving was completed. Three horizontal rows of dice-like motifs decorate the headdress. The central motif consists of a square with four dots in that is repeated in three different color combinations around the headdress (Fig. 1). The headdress originally might have been part of the artificial head of a mummy bundle similar to South Coast examples that are still preserved. Bi-convex headdresses are very common in Wari and Tiwanaku cultures, but also are seen on Nasca ceramics (Fig. 3) and according to Heidi King (personal communication), on Late Moche ceramics as well. Tiwanaku IV phase portrait vases and Wari stone and metal figurines (Pikillaqta) each show highly ranked men with this particular type of headdress (Figs. 2 and 4). Patricia Knobloch suggests that "[...] these particular depictions represent agents belonging to the Tiwanaku social sphere [...]". The central motif of the headdress, a square with four dots, also is found on a Middle Horizon 2A effigy vessel from the Denver Art Museum. In this case, the motif is combined with trophy heads (Fig. 5). Other closely-related motifs include diagonal double motifs with two rings (Figs. 6 and 7) and four dots (Figs. 8 and 9). This motif can be interpreted using two different forms of perception and representation employed during the Middle Horizon. One represents the object realistically while the other seeks to codify the shape of the object in a simplified form. Both traditions exist side by side during the Middle Horizon and are not mutually exclusive. Each tradition offers a possible interpretation of the central motif of the Linden-Museum headdress.
Since Arthur Posnansky's (1945, 1952) work on the Tiwanaku graphic communication system (Tiwanaku... more Since Arthur Posnansky's (1945, 1952) work on the Tiwanaku graphic communication system (Tiwanaku GCS) (ca. AD 600-1000), researchers have examined theories about writing or iconography with varying degrees of success. It is becoming more and more clear that the Tiwanaku GCS cannot be sufficiently summarized within these traditional modes. Its analysis needs to be based on a semasiographic principle (Jackson 2013; Mikulska 2015) in order to understand it integrally. Previous analysis of composite figures, scenic elements, genres of action, and narratives often overlook small-scale graphs with communicative potential whose semantic nature has not yet been considered. These graphs do not only form sequences of ‘regularized signs', but also are present within the scenes as part of full-figures characters. What meaning did they convey? This paper highlights some of the communicative potential of Tiwanaku graphs that may relate to later Inca Tocapus. I argue that these Tocapu-like graphs can be approached as a system within the system, integrated into the multi-figured scenes, but understood apart from them at the same time. Preliminary analysis indicates they might be separable from the figures and thereby form their own system of meaning. A related premise is that Tiwanaku Tocapu-like graphs, as with khipus (Salomon 2004: 28), take shape around the social problems they solve. Preliminary analysis shows that they are also found on monumental sculptures and reliefs, but are present in far greater numbers on the surface of small objects such as ceramics (Villanueva, Korpisaari 2013) and textiles. Were Tiwanaku Tocapu-like graphs used to encode objects related to rituals and household? An analysis combining archaeological evidence and the structure of the signs, their syntax within scenes, and their recursive sequences allows a more integrated characterization of Tiwanaku graphs.
German Anthropological Association Conference 2017, 2017
Two simulations are intended to serve as an experiment to find out the sensory potentials of medi... more Two simulations are intended to serve as an experiment to find out the sensory potentials of mediation of digital and pre-digital visualization techniques, and the dynamic affects by which both artists and recipients feel addressed.
At the colloquium I will show some of my reconstructions (traditional, digital media). The exhibi... more At the colloquium I will show some of my reconstructions (traditional, digital media). The exhibition is funded by the Department of Technical Chemistry of the TU Dresden.
The moment of the Spanish arrival in 1532 on the coast of the Inca Empire is also a history about... more The moment of the Spanish arrival in 1532 on the coast of the Inca Empire is also a history about symbols and their interaction within a sphere of radical historical transformation. The notation system of Tocapus is one locus among many in this conflict. It is one of the few pre-Columbian expressions from Peru and Bolivia that transcended the trauma of the invasion and its subsequent cultural suppression. Together with the Spaniards came new media and visual systems – alphabetic writing, heraldry and paintings with linear perspective – with which the indigenous Tocapu system engaged in a lively exchange. Yet the influence did not go in only one direction. There are quite a lot of Tocapu elements in manuscripts, coat of arms and oil paintings produced by both Inca and Spaniards. The appropriation of the foreign elements often resulted in a semantic change which sometimes deviated significantly from the original meaning. The lecture will present some case studies, which have not been discussed so far, and which show the process of incorporating foreign elements into the respective system. The focus is on how such elements were integrated into the new context and what the shift of meaning was that came along.
Socio-Cosmologies in the Isthmo-Colombian Area: Toward an understanding of relationships among Ch... more Socio-Cosmologies in the Isthmo-Colombian Area:
Toward an understanding of relationships among Chibchan and neighboring cultures and languages. January 25-27
The presentation focused on a new way of acquiring knowledge which opened through 2D and 3D visua... more The presentation focused on a new way of acquiring knowledge which opened through 2D and 3D visualizations of museum objects. Furthermore, the focus was on habitus, perception, and didactic use of reconstruction drawings and 3D animation.
SISTEMAS DE COMUNICACIÓN GRÁFICA INDÍGENA: ACERCAMIENTO TEÓRICO , Varsovia 26-28 de marzo, 2014
Sign and Symbol in Egypt and Mesoamerica 2016
Das vorspanische Symbolsystem der Tocapus gehőrt zu einem der ungewőhnlichsten des indigenen Amer... more Das vorspanische Symbolsystem der Tocapus gehőrt zu einem der ungewőhnlichsten des indigenen Amerika. Spätestens seit der Zeit der Inka hat es sich zu der Form herausgebildet, wie es uns heute vornehmlich auf Textilien, Federarbeiten und Holzbechern entgegentritt. Durch die Eigenständigkeit seiner Entwicklung haben Tocapus schon sehr früh die Aufmerksamkeit vieler Forschernder auf sich gezogen, welche sie vornehmlich im Rahmen von Schriftanalysen untersuchten. Als Folge blieben Ansätze, die Tocapus nicht unter der polarisierenden Betrachtung, Schrift oder Nicht-Schrift zu sein, unbeachtet. Der Vortrag mőchte daher auf einen Aspekt von Tocapus eingehen, der einen neuen Blick auf das Symbolsystem ermőglicht. Im Fokus stehen Tocapus, die eine deutliche Verbindung zu figürlichen Darstellungen haben. Wir werden die spezifische Morphologie einiger Tocapus und ihre unterschiedlichen Verflechtungen zu bildlichen Darstellungen diskutieren.
Although some of the Tocapus seem to be abstract geometric motifs enclosed in a square, those tha... more Although some of the Tocapus seem to be abstract geometric motifs enclosed in a square, those that are clearly iconic in nature have received less attention. Tocapus featuring “motivos figurativos” appear not only on painted wooden objects (Ziólkowski 2008: 170), but also on ceramics, textiles, and other materials. The figurative motif of a jaguar set in a frame is represented in three distinct types, one of which may be represented in earlier Wari images. The jaguar tocapus may signal concepts of royalty and sacred geography during the Late Horizon Period.
Nasca art created between 1 BC and AD 600 contains some of the most spectacular imagery of the Ce... more Nasca art created between 1 BC and AD 600 contains some of the most spectacular imagery of the Central Andes, and also presents one of the greatest interpretive challenges. Research on iconography has focused on interpreting complex multifigural scenes, defining stylistic characteristics to establish a relative chronology, and identifying mythical characters. However, many aspects of Nasca imagery remain poorly understood. The square and rectangular motif units that are positioned between the scenes have received limited scholarly attention. These motifs seem to be a separate visual system that is derived from classic Nasca imagery and iconography, providing a parallel discourse that is overlooked if only the scenes are analyzed. Different conventions govern the scenes and the square and rectangular motifs, resulting in two distinct visual systems that appear side by side and must be analyzed in relation to one other.
A presentation on the question of how XPS data can be used in a wider frame of interpretation, fo... more A presentation on the question of how XPS data can be used in a wider frame of interpretation, for example in the field of anthropology. What does the data tell you about humans in past and present societies, how can the data be connected to human activity?
Interview, 8.September 2016, Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universtaet Bonn, Abt. Altamerikanistik und Ethno... more Interview, 8.September 2016, Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universtaet Bonn, Abt. Altamerikanistik und Ethnologie
Der Vortrag gliederte sich in drei Abschnitte: Bildanalyse vorspanischer Darstellungen, Forschungsschwerpunkte der Visuellen Anthropologie, Wissenskommunikation. Der letzte Abschnitte stellte eine neue Form der Erkenntnisgewinnung vor, die durch Visualisierungen im traditionellen und digitalen Medium ermőglicht wird. Dies wurde an eigenen Visualisierungen aufgezeigt.
Interview, September 8, 2016, Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universtät Bonn, Department of Ancient Americas Studies and Ethnology
The presentation was divided into three sections: image analysis of prehispanic representations, research foci of Visual Anthropology, the communication of scientific knowledge. The last section ocused on a new way of acquiring knowledge which opened through 2D and 3D visualizations of museum objects. This was shown to own visualizations.
Roundtable , 2019
Digital 3D reconstructions of cultural artefacts, historical characters and architecture contribu... more Digital 3D reconstructions of cultural artefacts, historical characters and architecture contribute to a better understanding of cultural heritage. In the broad user community, experts from various fields such as architecture, archaeology, art history, palaeontology, forensic anthropology, museology generate 3D reconstructions in order to gain insights into no longer existing evidencearchitecture, cultural artefacts or fossils. Therefore, such reconstructions are a critical tool for the “translation” of scientific data into visualizations, which make these accessible to the expert community and the general public.
However, due to knowledge gaps within the diverse set of underlying sources, uncertainties are part of nearly all digital models. As user communities handle the visualization of hypotheses in 3D reconstructions differently, the situation is still unsatisfactory. When can (a part of) a reconstruction be regarded as being hypothetical in the first place? How are uncertainties indicated visually? So far, no common principles for the visualizations of hypotheses within 3D models have been established, leaving experts and practitioners with no guidance on hypothesis modeling.
The aim of this roundtable is to discuss these issues from different disciplinary perspectives. Presenters are invited to address the following questions: How shall we deal with uncertainties in digital 3D reconstructions of cultural heritage architecture, objects, and individuals, and fossils? How can hypotheses be visualized in presentations for experts and the general public? What is the state of the art, and which factors influence the visualization of hypotheses? What can be the methods/designs/visions for the future?