On the cultural biography of the things: wall calendars of cultural associations in Greece. The Athens Naxiot migrant associations' example (1980-2007) (original) (raw)
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During the second half of the eighth century BC, we witness a strong growth in the dedication of foreign objects in Greek sanctuaries. Until now no satisfactory answers have been given to the question how and why these foreign objects arrived in these cult places. In this paper I aim explore a new approach to these foreign dedications by focusing my attention on two categories of goods made in the Near East, namely metal basins and their supports, and horse trappings. I make a reconstruction of their social lives by examining these objects’ context of production, circulation and consumption, as well as their meaning, symbolism and functioning at specific social levels and in specific cultural contexts before they were dedicated as votives. A comparison of the use of these categories of objects during distinct stages of their social lives makes it possible to reconstruct processes of adoption and adaptation (including reinterpretation and recontextualization), by which objects or categories thereof are given new meanings according to local value systems. Such a comparison can also tell us more about the different kinds of agents involved in transactions and dedications, as well as about their motives, which may be related to religious piousness but also to socio-political strategies, self-realization and self-advertisement.
Opuscula. Annual of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome
Studying materials through a chaîne opératoire approach is common practice in studying craft activities. Whilst unravelling a chain of production can be very rewarding, many issues still arise: can all the steps be captured even when no material evidence is present, i.e. how can we approach production chains in the case of inconsistently or partially preserved material in settlement contexts? How may the steps that we are able to observe be contextualized in order to inform us about interconnected activities? In our research project carried out at Tiryns, Greece, we map certain steps through the production and consumption journey of a series of objects and materials, some of which have been referred to as “exotica”. Our aim was to understand the life histories of those specific items, and with that, those of the people associated with them. In problematizing the etic category of exotica, this paper investigates patterns of movement that transcend the pure material aspect. By conside...
Studying materials through a chaîne opératoire approach is common practice in studying craft activities. Whilst unravelling a chain of production can be very rewarding, many issues still arise: can all the steps be captured even when no material evidence is present, i.e. how can we approach production chains in the case of inconsistently or partially preserved material in settlement contexts? How may the steps that we are able to observe be contextualized in order to inform us about interconnected activities? In our research project carried out at Tiryns, Greece, we map certain steps through the production and consumption journey of a series of objects and materials, some of which have been referred to as "exotica". Our aim was to understand the life histories of those specific items, and with that, those of the people associated with them. In problematizing the etic category of exotica, this paper investigates patterns of movement that transcend the pure material aspect. By considering the technological and social networks that are the prerequisite for the movements of materials, whether during production, circulation or consumption, or all together, we can analyse the full value and meaning of these materials. We suggest that terms such as local and non-local need to be clearly defined and contextualized, and to be of explanatory value to the networks in which they are implicated.
Isnart C., “Self heritage-making and religious minority in Greece: An ethnography of heritage activities outside of the cultural institutions”, in N. Adell, R. Bendix, C. Bortolotto, M. Tauschek, Community and Participation: The Politics of Core Concepts in Heritage Policy and Practice, Göttingen: Göttingen University Press, Göttingen Studies in Cultural Property: 2015, 171-184.