Memory - Archeology - Identity: The Construction of Identity on the Antiquities (original) (raw)

Identity/Crisis." Archaeological Dialogues 10/1:77-95 (2003)

Archaeology has an identity problem. At least three factors are involved. The postmodern view of radical instability has collided with processual aversions towards 'meaning', resulting in a stalemate regarding the past. Modern problems with identity, including the role of the past and archaeology itself, have generated additional confusion. Identity is a hall of mirrors which parallels other epistemological debates in archaeology, all of which revolve around the divide between realism and idealism. Archaeology cannot resolve this problem. The solution is not, however, to become either better technicians or more strident ideologues, but to become more informed contributors to larger debates in the human sciences and philosophy, in an atmosphere of civility and pluralism.

Archaeology of identity: introduction

Visions of Community– VISCOM, 2018

Archaeology of identity: introduction Can there be an "archaeology of identity"? The title of this volume circumscribes a contested fi eld of research. In particular, it is related to the debate about the ethnic interpretation of archaeological evidence. 1 This has been a topic of controversy in Germany in recent years, following Sebastian Brather's book "Ethnische Interpretationen in der frühgeschichtlichen Archäologie" and some of his other publications. 2 However, the present volume is not simply intended to continue the debate. Rather, it discusses the material traces of past identities in a broader sense, of which the question of ethnic interpretation is just one, if important, aspect, and refl ects on how archaeological evidence can be inserted into a general picture of the 'migration age'. Three related questions have emerged in recent discussions. Firstly, how can we classify archaeological groups or 'cultures', and to what degree do these correspond to ethnic (or religious, social or other) identities of the past? Secondly, can traces of past self-identifi cation be found in material remains? And thirdly, in what ways have modern national or ethnic identifi cations shaped such interpretations in the history of research? All three questions are essential, but methodologically, they should be kept apart. They specifi cally concern the interdisciplinary communication between archaeologists and historians. Therefore, most of the authors of this volume are to some degree familiar with both disciplines. Several contributions (Csanád Bálint, Irene Barbiera, Bonnie Effros, Cristina La Rocca/Stefano Gasparri, Piero Majocchi and Premysłav Urbańczyk) deal with the changing interpretation of archaeological evidence in the context of modern identity constructions, and thus add a valuable dimension to contemporary debates. 3 Others take an exemplary look at methodologically sensitive research questions mainly concerning the 5 th and 6 th centuries (Hubert Fehr, Jörg Kleemann, Dieter Quast, and Peter Stadler). The picture is completed by two methodological contributions from members of the 'Freiburg school' (Sebastian Brather and Philipp von Rummel). 4

Damnatio memoriae: Antiquities without context

CIDOC 2018 Heraklion, Crete, 2018

The documentation of ancient artefacts today in cosmopolitan museums and private collections around the world is quite often incomplete, because of the absence of their finding contexts. What do we really know about cultural objects? Is this knowledge accurate indeed? Most of the items in question are looted and smuggled out of their site, region, or even country of origin, and are sold as artworks, themselves too poorly documented, as "orphans without history". Their treatment reminds us, metaphorically, of the Latin damnation memoriae-a kind of condemnation of memory. Cycladic figurines provide a typical example of the material and intellectual damage which is caused by such practices. Besides the loss of their context, it is also the extended circulation of forgeries, due to their high demand in the art market, that intensify the loss. Each figurine with exceptional, unique features becomes, at once, a controversial issue. Are they faked, some or all of them? We cannot prove it, but interestingly enough we cannot deny, neither ignore it anymore. This paper deals with a particular form of knowledge, that of archaeological provenance, known as provenience in literature. It argues that solid scientific information needs apart from the objects, their secure stratigraphic contexts, making the provenience of knowledge also a desideratum.

Monumental Architecture, Identity and Memory

The concept of monumentality embraces several types of built structures: palaces, élite residences, administrative complexes and political centres; ceremonial centres and 'temples'; fortifications and defensive compounds; and tomb constructions. Monumental structures can express power as well as mask it. The task of building such large and complex structures required a long-term commitment as well as the ability to control resources and coordinate substantial investments of labour.T hese undertakings cannot have failed to create as ense of group identity,oreven of distinct identities, e.g. between those who built and those who inhabited or used these structures.S uch monuments embody not just the earth or stone from which they were built, but the people and experiences involved in their construction: they thus hold as pecial place in human memory,and in individual or group identity.This paper offers asocial analysis of the construction, elaboration and meaning of monuments using specific examples from Cyprus.S uch an approach offers one means of conceptualisingi sland identities, assessing the impact of human memory,and of unpacking the intricacies involved in establishingideological or political authority.

Cultural Heritage as the Heritage of Memory

Historia@Teoria, 2016

CULTURAL HERITAGE AS THE HERITAGE OF MEMORY Th e area of Central and Eastern Europe is characterised by a remarkable concentration of various sites of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Th is abundance, which was created over many centuries, now still serves both these who consider themselves the successors of the former inhabitants of the area and the descendants of those who arrived there thanks to one of the waves of sett lement before the 20th century or due to forced migrations aft er the 20th-century wars. Over the last two centuries this part of Europe, whose elite culture was dominated by the rivalry of two German states (of the Catholic Habsburgs and the Protestant Hohenzollerns), was a virtual ethnic melting pot, in which many diff erent cultures co-existed and infl uenced one another. Th eir memory was preserved in the objects of material and non-material culture. Regardless of the diff erences in the approach, the topics of the papers collected in this volume are focused on the Central European cultural heritage understood as the heritage of memory, particularly the memory which has emerged and existed in relation with border areas. Each of the addressed issues transports us to the past in the search for material and non-material sources of this heritage. Moreover, each paper contains references to the present-day reception of the old heritage of memory, which now takes place through a diff erent community: one that is currently responsible for this heritage. According to the UN Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), various monuments and architectural works, secular and sacral, groups of buildings and sites "of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnologica, or anthropological point of view". Whereas the UN Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) results from many years of searching, which focused on coining a defi nition of this elusive heritage. It is assumed that this very heritage comprises our collective memory. As much as the material culture sustains the identity of the nation, the spiritual, intangible heritage creates, shapes, and enriches it, stimulating its material expression. Th e intangible cultural heritage includes "the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills-as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces (...)-that communities [and] groups recognize as

Taking care of identity, memories and heritages: Experiences at the

This paper presents the project "Planning Unifal's museum: the student's relationship with Unifal's heritage and memory" that is being developed since 2008 in order to guide the students of the university and stimulate the external community to participate in the basic steps of creating a museum: developing internal policies, organizing, cleaning, storing the collections, planning and setting up exhibits, among other activities. As one of the project's outcome, we shall present an exhibit that addresses important issues about museums and heritage, emphasizing the role of museums in shaping the concepts of museum and heritage.