POWER MATERIALIZED: THE DART-THROWER AS A PAN-MESOAMERICAN STATUS MARKER

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald A. Slater
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Graphic Communication ◽  
Highly Effective ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Formative ◽  
High Social Status

AbstractThroughout the deep history of Mesoamerica, the dart-thrower (a.k.a. atlatl) played a vital utilitarian and symbolic role. Although it was a highly effective tool exploited for practical purposes such as hunting and warfare, ample evidence exists which reveals its association with themes of authority, power, and prestige. The survival of ornamented dart-throwers, as well as the context in which the implement appears in Mesoamerican material culture and forms of graphic communication, reveal its role in the production and assertion of high social status. This argument will be supported by archaeological and ethnographic evidence which demonstrates that the dart-thrower served as a pan-Mesoamerican symbol of power beginning no later than the Middle to Late Formative period and continuing through the Conquest.

scholarly journals The Life and Death of a Child: Mortuary and Bodily Manifestations of Coast–Interior Interactions during the Late Formative Period (AD 100–400), Northern Chile

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Christina Torres-Rouff ◽  
Gonzalo Pimentel ◽  
William J. Pestle ◽  
Mariana Ugarte ◽  
Kelly J. Knudson
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Interregional Interaction ◽  
Intercultural Identity ◽  
Late Formative

Camelid pastoralism, agriculture, sedentism, surplus production, increasing cultural complexity, and interregional interaction during northern Chile's Late Formative period (AD 100–400) are seen in the flow of goods and people over expanses of desert. Consolidating evidence of material culture from these interactions with a bioarchaeological dimension allows us to provide details about individual lives and patterns in the Late Formative more generally. Here, we integrate a variety of skeletal, chemical, and archaeological data to explore the life and death of a small child (Calate-3N.7). By taking a multiscalar approach, we present a narrative that considers not only the varied materiality that accompanies this child but also what the child's life experience was and how this reflects and shapes our understanding of the Late Formative period in northern Chile. This evidence hints at the profound mobility of their youth. The complex mortuary context reflects numerous interactions and long-distance relationships. Ultimately, the evidence speaks to deep social relations between two coastal groups, the Atacameños and Tarapaqueños. Considering this suite of data, we can see a child whose life was spent moving through desert routes and perhaps also glimpse the construction of intercultural identity in the Formative period.

Rethinking numismatics. The archaeology of coins

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fleur Kemmers ◽  
Nanouschka Myrberg
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Material Objects ◽  
Culture Studies ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Constructive Dialogue ◽  
History Of ◽  
State Organization ◽  
The 19Th Century

AbstractThis paper sets out to re-member coins into archaeological discourse. It is argued that coins, as part of material culture, need to be examined within the theoretical framework of historical archaeology and material-culture studies. Through several case studies we demonstrate how coins, through their integration of text, image and existence as material objects, offer profound insights not only into matters of economy and the ‘big history’ of issuers and state organization but also into ‘small histories’, cultural values and the agency of humans and objects. In the formative period of archaeology in the 19th century the study of coins played an important role in the development of new methods and concepts. Today, numismatics is viewed as a field apart. The mutual benefits of our approach to the fields of archaeology and numismatics highlight the need for a new and constructive dialogue between the disciplines.

Purges and Forced Retirements of Soviet Party Elites as Power Tools of Social Mobility

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-345
Author(s):  
Katya Vladimirov
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Central Committee ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Party Elites ◽  
History Of ◽  
Power Tools ◽  
High Social Status

The article presents a tumulus seventy-year history of the top party élite, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CC CPSU), by profiling the anatomy of historical generations that embodied it. Five district generations in power and various political “teams” had been locked in ferocious battle for access to political capital, high social status, coveted positions, ranks, and privileges. Their survival and advancement demanded perseverance, bargaining skills, and ruthless elimination of competitors. Purges and forced retirement were essential power tools used in their generational struggle for power and status. The article discusses these methods of compulsory “exclusion” and offers innovative and revealing perspective on the nature of the Soviet political structure as well as on the techniques of its internal combat.

scholarly journals TINJAUAN AWAL ASPEK TIPOLOGI DAN DATA INSKRIPSI BATU NISAN DI HOLLANDISCHE KERK BANDA NEIRA

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
Syahruddin Mansyur
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Preliminary Review ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Archaeological Remains ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Social ◽  
High Social Status

AbstrakKepulauan Banda dikenal sebagai wilayah yang memiliki pengaruh kolonial yang kuat. Salah satu tinggalan arkeologi yang banyak ditemui di wilayah ini adalah batu nisan. Sebagai salah satu budaya materi, batu nisan memiliki beragam informasi yang terdapat pada batu nisan itu sendiri mulai dari bentuk, bahan, dan ragam hias. Penelitian ini merupakan tinjauan awal untuk mengetahui tipologi dan beragam informasi yang dapat diungkap dari inskripsi yang termuat pada batu nisan. Melalui tahapan penelitian arkeologi dengan melakukan analisis terhadap keragaman jenis artefak dan analisis terhadap data inskripsi, penelitian ini mengungkap bahwa tipologi batu nisan memiliki kekayaan ragam hias berupa lambang heraldik, iluminasi, dan inskripsi. Aspek lain pada data inskripsi adalah informasi tentang orang-orang yang dimakamkan memiliki status sosial tinggi, di antaranya; para pejabat pemerintahan, pejabat militer, pejabat perdagangan, pejabat keagamaan, para perkenier, beserta para keluarganya. Aspek lain yang berhasil diungkap bahwa kehidupan sosial masyarakat Eropa saat itu menganggap bahwa batu nisan adalah salah satu simbol kemewahan. AbstractBanda Islands are known as the region that has a strong colonial influence. One of the archaeological remains found in the region is the tombstone. As one of the material culture, the tombstone has a variety of information contained on a tombstone itself from the shape, material, and ornaments. This study is a preliminary review to determine the typology and variety of information that can be revealed from inscriptions contained in the tombstone. Through the stages of archaeological research by analysing the diversity of artefacts and analysis inscriptions data, this study revealed that the typology of the tombstone has a wealth of ornamentation in the form of heraldic emblem, illumination, and inscriptions. Another aspect from the inscription data is information about people who are buried has a high social status. They are from government officials, military officials, trade officials, religious officials, the perkenier (landlord), along with his family. Another aspect that can be revealed is the social life of Europe in that time considered that the tombstone is one of the symbols of luxury.

Polish Slaves and Captives in the Crimea in the Seventeenth Century

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-267
Author(s):  
Mikhail Kizilov
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Free Time ◽  
Manual Work ◽  
The Crimea ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Social Status ◽  
Printed Sources

AbstractThe article examines the history of the trade in Polish slaves and captives in the Tatar and Ottoman Crimea in the seventeenth century on the basis of hitherto unknown archival evidence and rare printed sources. After the capture an average Polish slave of simple origin was transported to the Crimea, where he had been sold on the local slave markets. Unless he had some special qualifications, a slave usually had to fulfil agricultural duties and do heavy manual work. The slaves usually had some limited free time and could attend Catholic services in the churches of the Crimea's large urban centres. Rich Polish captives were treated in accordance with their high social status and were ransomed for a considerable redemption fee. Important role in ransoming such rich captives was played by Jewish, Tatar and Armenian merchants.

scholarly journals Anthropology of daily life in the social memory of Soviet women scientists (using the example of Novosibirsk, the years 1950-ths — the beginning of the 1990-ths)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 220-223
Author(s):  
N. L. Pushkareva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Women Scientists ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Scientific Center ◽  
Female Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Social Status

In this article the author revelas the way of life and daily life of women scientists in regional scientific centers unsing the example of Novosibirsk Academic Town. The basis for this research was the recollections of women about the process of creation of Novosibirsk scientific center. Having analyzed the history of the evolution of daily life space from the point of view of women’s perception and female type of memorization the author comes to the conclusion that Novosibirsk Academic Town formed a specific type of daily life culture for women. The author also points out that the high social status and a certain number of pivileges for scientists made the wives of scientists dependent on their husbands, predetermining the conditions of saving the marriage and becoming an obstacle for their careers.

Acting as Catherine: writing the history of female performers

2018 ◽  
pp. 22-60
Author(s):  
Susannah Crowder
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Manuscript Illumination ◽  
Family Identity ◽  
Elite Group ◽  
Female Performance ◽  
Medieval Chronicles ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Material

Female performers exist in a shadowy and illusory state, fashioned as such by our histories. Medieval chronicles systematically exclude women, inhibiting an understanding of them as actors in Metz and beyond. Yet the performing women of the 1468 Catherine of Siena jeu staged an interplay among personal devotion, political affiliation, and gendered notions of urban sanctity; this multiform and yet cohesive undertaking becomes fully visible through the triangulation of new material and familiar narrative evidence. This chapter first uncovers the distorting effects of written histories upon the Saint Catherine actor and constructions of female performance. It then turns to the archives and material culture to reveal the hidden family identity and social status of the actor: the role transformed its player permanently, positioning her as the living symbol of the saint within Metz. The patron, named Catherine Baudoche, also secured a lasting connection to the saint by referencing her personal foundations at the Dominicans. It aligned her with an elite group of regional women who promoted Catherine of Siena through liturgy, architecture, and manuscript illumination. The Saint Catherine jeu thus situates the actor and patron amid a community of practice that depicted women at the forefront of shared devotions to Saint Catherine within the urban, public sphere.

In Pursuit of Aristocratic Women: A Key to Success in Norman England

1982 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
RaGena C. DeAragon
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Second Generation ◽  
Social Standing ◽  
Social Success ◽  
Northern France ◽  
Social Prestige ◽  
The Social ◽  
Anglo Norman ◽  
History Of ◽  
High Social Status

Marriage has been a means of climbing the social ladder in most societies, and post-conquest England was no exception. The Conquest had provided a sweeping opportunity for men of all strata of the feudal hierarchy to gain lands and wealth in England, but high social status and prestige remained the prerogative of magnate families who had constituted the aristocracy of Normandy and northern France before 1066. Most of these families had themselves risen only recently to wealth and power through ducal patronage, but by 1066 they were firmly entrenched in their Norman estates and in the duke's inner circle of advisors. Many magnates possessed comital titles and ties of kinship with the Norman duke-kings, and all profited greatly from the Conqueror's victory at Hastings and his subsequent redistribution of English lands. Families such as the Beaumonts, Montgomerys, Clares, Mandevilles, and Warennes continued to enjoy the highest aristocratic honors in Anglo-Norman society.In the second generation after the Conquest, a number of men of lower social standing amassed land and political importance through service to William Rufus and Henry I, desiring to be accepted as peers by the great magnates. Their striving for social success is illustrated by William of Malmesbury in his History of the Kings of England. In recounting the plan of William fitz Osbern to marry the widow of Count Baldwin of Flanders, the chronicler ascribed his motives to a desire “to increase his dignity.” Many men also wanted to impress the lower orders of society with their rank. Orderic Vitalis's contemptuous tale of one of Henry I's “new men,” Richard Basset, suggests that acquisition of social prestige was a possible motive for marriage. Having married a daughter of the earl of Chester, Basset returned to Normandy “and made a show of superiority to all his peers and fellow countrymen by the magnificence of his building in the little fief he had inherited from his parents.…”

scholarly journals The Canonization of Nahj al‑Balāgha between Najaf and Ḥilla: Sistani and the Iconic Authority of the Marājiʿ

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23
Author(s):  
Aun Hasan Ali
Keyword(s):  
Formative Period ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
Vantage Point ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
History Of ◽  
Recent Statement ◽  
Muslim Majority ◽  
Substantive Law ◽  
Global Influence

Despite the relatively narrow construction of their authority in substantive law, there is ample evidence from which to conclude that the marājiʿ wield authority in other realms too. While much of the scholarship on the marjaʿiyya has focused on their political authority in Muslim-majority societies, their status as cultural icons is arguably more important for understanding their global influence. This article examines how marājiʿ use their "iconic authority" to shape canons. In particular, it focuses on a recent statement by al-Sayyid ʿAlī al-Ḥusaynī al-Sīstānī that describes Nahj al-balāgha as an explanation of the meanings of the Quran. It is argued that, by seeking to organize and regulate reading practices, al-Sīstānī's statement contributes to the canonization of Nahj al-balāgha. To fully appreciate the significance of al-Sīstānī's statement, however, one needs to situate it within the history of the text. I argue that the School of Ḥilla is an excellent vantage point from which to view the history of the canonization of Nahj al-balaghah because it can be considered the formative period of Imāmī tradition in important respects. Evidence from the School of Ḥillah confirms that Nahj al-balāghah played a role in the organization and representation of Imāmī tradition, but there is little evidence of the notion that it is an explanation of the meanings of the Quran. Drawing upon J. Z. Smith's classic treatment of canon, I conclude that the novelty of this view is further evidence that Nahj al-balāgha is canonical.

Landscape Setting as Medium of Communication at Chavín de Huántar, Peru

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 513-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Contreras
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Dynamic Environment ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
Monumental Architecture ◽  
Peruvian Andes ◽  
Chavin De Huantar ◽  
Dynamic Landscape ◽  
Multiple Audiences ◽  
Late Formative ◽  
Chavín De Huántar

The Central Andean ceremonial centre of Chavín de Huántar is situated in a dramatic, mountainous and dynamic environment high on the eastern slope of the Peruvian Andes, yet the site's landscape setting has remained in the shadow of its monumental architecture, complex lithic art and highly elaborated material culture. Nevertheless, that dynamic landscape setting was an integral part of the site's significance as a ceremonial centre and may be read as evidence of the capacity, worldview and message of the site's builders. First, Chavín's setting is evidence of capacity, demonstrating the considerable degree of labour mobilization and organization, as well as expertise, implied by the site's modified landscape. Second, Chavín's landscape, considered in its Central Andean context, provides evidence of worldview, demonstrating that landscape setting was a medium of interest for Chavín's designers. Third, the modified landscape provides evidence of message, allowing exploration of what Chavín's designers were trying to communicate, and to whom. Focusing on these three aspects in reading Chavín's landscape suggests that landscape setting was a vital aspect of Central Andean Middle and Late Formative Period (1000–500 bce) ceremonial centres and argues that emergent elites actively exploited landscape setting as a communicative medium and forum for dissemination of ideology, deliberately communicating to multiple audiences.

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