Pre-Colombian Mesoamerica Childhoods

2022 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Social Identities ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Specificity ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Realm

Research on pre-Columbian childhood refers to all those studies that consider the different evidence and expressions of children in Mesoamerica, prior to the Spanish invasion in the 16th century. Archaeology, understandably by its very focus, has been one of the most prolific disciplines that has approached this subject of study. Currently, archaeological research focuses on highlighting the different social experiences of the past (or multi-vocality) of social identities, such as gender and childhood, and its relationship with material culture. In addition, archaeologists recognize a modern stereotype that considers children as passive or dependent beings and therefore biases childhood research in the past. Consequently, it is necessary to critically evaluate the cultural specificity of past childhood since each culture has its own way of considering that stage of the life cycle. Another problem, in the archaeological study of childhood, is to consider that children are not socially important individuals. It has been said that their activities are not significant for the economy or the social realm of communities and societies of the past. From archaeology, there exists a general perception that children are virtually unrecognizable from the archaeological record because their behavior leaves few material traces, apart from child burials. It has been since feminist critiques within the discipline that the study of childhood became of vital importance in archaeology to understand the process of gender acquisition through enculturation. This process refers to the way children learn about their gender identity through the material world that surrounds them and the various rituals that prepare them to become persons. Thus, the intent of recent studies on childhood has been to call upon archaeologists to consider children as social actors capable of making meaningful decisions on their own behalf and that they make substantial contributions to their families and their communities. In this sense, studies on pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican cultures have focused at the most basic sense on identifying the presence of children in the archaeological record or ethnohistoric sources. Its aim has been to document the different social ages that make up childhood, the ritual importance of Mesoamerican children, funerary practices, and health conditions marked in children’s bones as well as the different material and identity expressions of childhood through art and its associated material culture.

scholarly journals The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Childhood

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Age And Growth ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Childhood Experiences ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Children And Childhood ◽  
Cultural Construct

Real understanding of past societies is not possible without including children, and yet they have been strangely invisible in the archaeological record. In this volume, experts from around the world investigate childhood in the past, showing why it is important to understand childhood, why different cultures construct different ideas of how to rear children, what part children play in the community, and when and why childhood ends. The contributors also question why childhood has so often been missing from archaeological interpretation. Their answers are astonishing and thought provoking, challenging archaeologists to reconsider common assumptions about ways of looking at material culture in the past, and to reconsider the place of children in creating the archaeological record itself. However marginal the traces of children’s bodies and bricolage may seem compared to those of adults, archaeological evidence of children and childhood can be found in the most astonishing places and spaces, as well as in the most mundane. The archaeology of childhood is one of the most exciting and challenging areas for new discovery about past societies. Children are part of every human society, but childhood is a cultural construct. Each society develops its own idea about what a childhood should be, what children can or should do, and how they should be trained to take their place in the world. The archaeological record for children and childhood is regionally and chronologically diverse. Children are also increasingly being recognised as having played a part in creating the archaeological record itself. In this volume, the contributors ask questions about childhood—thresholds of age and growth, childhood in the material culture, the death of children, and the intersection of the childhood and the social, economic, religious, and political worlds of societies in the past. The volume spans the periods from earliest prehistory to the present day to provide a rich and nuanced perspective on childhood, revealing the commonalities and the very great differences in childhood experiences the world over.

Material Culture and Daily Life

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
CATHERINE HEZSER
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Daily Life ◽  
Rabbinic Literature ◽  
Critical Study ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
Interdisciplinary Framework ◽  
Early Byzantine

This chapter evaluates the use of rabbinic literature in the study of Jewish daily life and material culture. It explains that one of the main problems associated with research on material culture and daily life is the establishment of a proper relationship between rabbinic literary references and archaeological data, between text and object. It suggests that these problems can be resolved by approaching the issues on the basis of a historical-critical study of rabbinic sources in a broad interdisciplinary framework, which takes account of archaeological research within the Graeco-Roman and early Byzantine context and which uses tools, methods and models developed by the social sciences.

scholarly journals The October 2019 Protests in Lebanon: Between Contention and Reproduction

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Noëlle Abiyaghi ◽  
Léa Yammine
Keyword(s):  
Power Sharing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Past ◽  
Geographical Spread ◽  
The Social ◽  
Longitudinal Approach ◽  
Political Structures

The Lebanese power sharing consociational system has structurally engendered recurring protest cycles: student mobilisations, labour and union mobilising, left-wing collectives, as well as a more routinised associative sector. In a long temporality, and looking at these movements in a longitudinal approach, changes they appear to be seeking appear to be marginal or quite limited, which may lead to the observation that contentious movements play the role of mere relief outlet within the system they are challenging, hence, contributing to the permanence of the social and political structures they are challenging. The past year has witnessed the emergence of a mobilisation cycle in the country that displays a continuity with previous forms of organising, although unprecedented in terms of its geographical spread over the territory. To understand how this current protest cycle unfolds, its dynamics, and limits, we propose to consider how social actors “move” in a contested, competitive, ever-shifting and evolving arena, rather than a homogeneous one. We rely on a three-fold conceptual approach that focuses on the analysis of the interactions and dynamics between actors, and the strategies they employ: persuasion, coercion, and retribution.

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.

scholarly journals Revisiting the Past: Material Negotiations between the Classic Maya and an Entombed Sweat Bath at Xultun, Guatemala

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Mary E. Clarke ◽  
Ashley E. Sharpe ◽  
Elizabeth M. Hannigan ◽  
Megan E. Carden ◽  
Gabriella Velásquez Luna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social History ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Relational Ontology ◽  
The Past ◽  
Dense Deposit ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
Large Material ◽  
Human Actors

Large material accumulations from single events found in the archaeological record are frequently defined as evidence of ritual. They are interpreted as generalized deposit categories that imply rather than infer human motivations. While useful in the initial collection of data, these categories can, over time, become interpretations in and of themselves. The emic motivations behind the formation process of ‘ritual deposits’ ought to be considered using a relational ontology as an approach to understanding how past populations interacted with non-human actors, such as structures and natural features on the landscape. The present study evaluates the assembly and possible function of a dense deposit of artifacts recovered from a Classic period sweat bath at Xultun, Guatemala. Analyses of the various artifact types and human remains in the deposit in relation to what is known of the social history of the sweat bath itself illustrate ontological relationships among offered materials as well as between the offering and the personified place in which it was recovered. We observe that with a better understanding of place, it is possible to evaluate the ritual logic in Classic Maya material negotiations.

Biography and Memory: Sandal Castle and the English Civil War

2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Askew
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
English Civil War ◽  
Social Discourse ◽  
Richard Iii ◽  
Charles I ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
King Charles I ◽  
Biographical Approach

The post-medieval castle is often neglected in English archaeology, with most analyses focusing on whether the castle was built for status or defence, a debate which has become known as ‘the Battle for Bodiam’. However, in the English Civil War between 1642 and 1651, many castles were fortified either for King Charles I or his rebellious Parliament. Although the fortification of castles during this period is often attributed to acts of desperation and a lack of more suitable defences, an examination of the Royalist occupation of Sandal Castle in West Yorkshire demonstrates how this view is simplistic. The decision to fortify Sandal can be directly linked to the Battle of Wakefield in 1460, when Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York, the father of King Edward IV and Richard III, was killed outside its walls. This episode heavily influenced subsequent events, culminating in the occupation of the castle at the outbreak of the English Civil War. The importance of the past during this later conflict is reinforced by the faunal and artefactual assemblages, and the locations in which they were found (and consumed). The complexity of the social discourse at Sandal challenges current approaches in castle studies and highlights the need for a biographical approach which sees the interpretation and interaction of the castle through time and space as far more important than the motivations behind its initial construction. Such a way of proceeding complements existing methodologies but also relies on material culture and history to create a subtler interpretation of these complex buildings.

The Archaeology of the Northwestern Slavs (Seventh To Ninth Centuries)

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-97
Author(s):  
Sebastian Brather
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Critical Assessment ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
The Past ◽  
Contemporary Situation

AbstractTwenty years ago things seemed to be quite clear: several different groups of Slavs had invaded East Central Europe at some point during the sixth century, and all archaeologically identifiable, cultural characteristics pointed to a Slavic 'homeland' in Eastern Europe. More recent research, however, has shown this to be a rather simplistic view of the past. This paper is intended as an overview of the current archaeological research on the early Middle Ages that is responsible for the radical change of view of the last decade or so. Dendrochronology, new approaches, and the critical assessment of the historiography of the problem contribute now to a different understanding. The material culture - pottery, hillforts, settlement features, burials - can now be explained in terms of the contemporary situation in East Central Europe, i. e., the consolidation of settlement patterns, economic structures, and society. Exactly what that means for the debate about the 'origins' of the western Slavs remains a matter of further research and discussion.

scholarly journals Imágenes y Memoria: El uso social de las fotografías en la reelaboración de un pasado comunitário

ILUMINURAS ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (30) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcela Brac
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Past ◽  
Palabras Clave ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Use ◽  
Social Uses

En este texto se reflexiona sobre: los usos sociales de la fotografía en la construcción social del pasado de Villa Guillermina, comunidad de origen foresto-industrial. Se aborda el tema considerando: antecedentes históricos involucrados, contexto de emergencia de dichas memorias, y público receptor. Se analiza la tensión, que generan las memorias contrapuestas, sobre un pasado comunitario. Y se observan las estrategias utilizadas por los actores sociales para resolver, en la práctica, el dilema de las memorias disidentes. En este sentido se observa, en el Museo, cómo se expresa este conflicto con las fotografías, presentes y ausentes, las cuales orientan el relato sobre ese pasado comunitario. Palabras clave: Museo. Fotografías. Memorias. Conflicto. Turismo.   Images and Memory: The social use of photographs in the re-elaboration of a common past   Abstract   In this text we reflect on the social uses of photography in the social construction of the past at Villa Guillermina, a community of forest-industrial origin. We address the topic considering the historical background, the context for the emergency of such memories, and the recipient public. We analyze the tension created by opposed memories in the re-elaboration of the past. And we observe the strategies used by social actors to solve, in practice, the dilemma of dissenting memories. In this sense, we observe how the conflict appears in the photographic exhibition presented at the Museum. Keywords: Museum. Photographs. Memories. Conflict. Tourism.

scholarly journals Artefact collecting: creating or destroying the archaeological record?

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 39-91
Author(s):  
Paul M. Barford
Keyword(s):  
Public Engagement ◽  
Archaeological Research ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
The Past ◽  
Made In

This paper examines some of the arguments used by archaeologists in favour of collaborating useful for archaeological research and is a form of public engagement with archaeology. It takes as a case study records of 48 600 medieval artefacts removed from archaeological contexts by artefact hunters and recorded by the Portable Antiquities Scheme in England and Wales. The past and potential uses of these records as an archaeological source are objectively reviewed, together with an assessment of the degree to which they provide mitigation of the damage caused to the otherwise unthreatened archaeological record. It is concluded that, although information can be obtained by studying records of findspots of addressed artefacts such as coins, in general the claims made in support of professional archaeological collaboration with this kind of activity prove to be false.

scholarly journals archaeology of everiday racism

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 315-344
Author(s):  
Claire Smith ◽  
Jordan Ralph ◽  
Elspbeth Hodgins ◽  
Susan Arthure ◽  
Heather Burke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Racial Inequality ◽  
Northern Territory ◽  
Inclusive Design ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Creation

This paper examines the role of material culture in replicating everyday racism in Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia. We argue that inclusivity is determined by inclusive design supported by inclusive behaviours and that archaeologists can inform the creation of a more equitable world by identifying how material culture acts to exclude certain groups and replicate inequalities that might otherwise go unnoticed. This paper is part of the social justice movement in archaeology that analyses material remains in both the past and the present to reveal relationships between racism, racial discrimination, and racial inequality.

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