Working with huacos: Archaeological ceramics and relationships among worlds in the Peruvian North Coast

This article proposes a multitemporal approach to the study of archaeological ceramics in the Peruvian North Coast through archaeological ethnography. It allows us to create a new perspective of a past that seems to be continuously brought back in the ritual practices of curanderos (shamans), and in the daily life of other subjects that interact with what archaeologists call archaeological artifacts. In the rituals of curanderos and in the practice of huaqueo, where archaeological ceramics are known as huacos, it is possible to see how these vessels come to life, performing within a complex meshwork of relationships which extend over different worlds, as well as human and other-than-human participation. This discussion provokes the reevaluation of the relationships among archaeological heritage, archaeological material, and archaeological practice itself. It also shows how past and present are related in this specific Andean context.

Archaeological ethnography of an indigenous movement: Revitalization and production in a Skolt Sámi community

Indigenous social movements contest histories of relocation, assimilation, and inequality. Archaeologists too have identified such processes in recent and deeper time. But what can ongoing sites of indigenous resistance tell us about those of the archaeological record, and what is the value in the present of linking such phenomena through time? The production of material culture embodies the motivations and constraints of these movements. Objects made and used promise to bridge temporalities, yet have been largely overlooked by anthropologists. To strengthen the ability to theorize such movements, we carry out an archaeological ethnography with the Skolt Sámi community of Arctic Finland. We focus our analysis on revitalization movements—a phenomena recognized at archaeological sites from the Pueblo homelands to western Europe—whereby communities intentionally direct cultural change in response to social stress. We bring anthropological conceptions of revitalization into dialogue with definitions of the term enacted by indigenous communities. The study analyzes the revival of technologies associated with Skolt lifeways: a boat made of planks sewn together with pine roots, and tools used to process inner pine bark. We establish the essential role that production of material culture plays in contemporary indigenous movements, and consider these new insights to critically evaluate and build on archaeological conceptions of revitalization. Nuõrttsää'mkˇiõll ( Skolt Sámi) Alggmeerlaž liikkõõzz kˇiõtt´tâʹlle kolonialiism da assimilaatio historia. Arkeoloog še lie kaunnâm nåkam proseezzid mõõnnâmääiʹjest. Leâša mâiʹd vuäitt ânn’jõž alggmeerlaž vuâsttlâʹsttmõš čuäʹjted miʹjjid seämmanallšem šõddmõõžži pirr mõõnnâmääiʹjest, da mõõn diõtt lij vääžnai raajjâd õhttvuõđ tuâl’jõž- da ânn’jõžääiʹj kõʹskˇkˇe? Ko kˇiõččâp kääuʹnid, kook lie rajjum da õnnum nåkam liikkõõzzi ääiʹj, vueiʹttep õhtteed tuâl’jõž da ânn’ jõž sosiaalaž proseezzid. Nåkam liikkõõzzi fiʹttjõõzz nâânummuž diõtt muäna tueʹjjeep ânn’jõž arkeoloog projeekt aarktlaž Lääʹddjânnam nuõrttsääʹm-meerin. Muäna kõskkeep analyysân jeäll’tummša - kååʹtt lij vuåinnum arkeolooglaž pääiʹkˇin Pueblo vuuʹdest viõstâr Euroʹppe – koin õhttsažkååʹdd åʹcce muttâz vasttõsân kulttuurlaž da sosiaal stressa. Tuʹtkˇkˇõs analysâstt sääʹmjieʹllemvuâkka õhttneei teknologia jäll’jummuž: pieʹʒʒ vueʹddivuiʹm njõʹđđum võnnâz da tuâjjneävv, koin låʹhteet pieʹʒʒ. Muäna čiõʹlǧǧeep aunnsallaš kulttuur puuttõõzz vääžnai rool alggmeerlaž liikkõõzzin tääʹl, da väʹlddep lokku täid ođđ fiʹttjõõzzid ko ärvvtõõllâp da raajjâp arkeolooglaž jurddi jeäll’tummšest. Muäna eʹtkˇkˇeep, što jeeʹres ääiʹjin da pääiʹkˇin šõddâm vuâsttlâʹsttmõõžži õhttummuš nâânad õhttvuõdid alggmeeri kõõskâst tääʹl pirr maaiʹlm.

Local Communities’ Perceptions of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Resources in the Mtwara Region of Tanzania

This paper examines local communities’ understanding of archaeology and cultural heritage resources. This study was conducted among the Makonde communities of the Mtwara Region of south-eastern Tanzania. The paper presents and critically discusses local communities’ views upon the meaning of archaeology and cultural heritage resources in general. The study used community-based methods by use of interviews, archaeological ethnography and focus group discussions. The results of this study reveal that the local communities in the Mtwara Region are not aware of the meaning of archaeology regardless of the number of archaeological researches that have been conducted in the region. Their understanding of the past is very much confined to intangible cultural traditions which are inherited and practised from one generation to another. Some conclusions are provided which undoubtedly indicate that according to the local communities’ perceptions cultural heritage resources are mainly characterized by intangible cultural practices and beliefs. As this study unveils, in this case tangible heritage resources have less importance to the local communities. This is contrary to the professional or academic conceptions which provide a dual focus on conservation and protection of tangible cultural heritage resources. It is only very recently that we see some studies being conducted focusing on intangible cultural heritage resources.

Autoritet i proizvodnja arheološkog znanja

The discipline of archaeology is founded upon the interaction of various practices, in the network of individuals and institutions, jointly shaping and formulating the explanations of the past. The registered sites and material remains represent the places where undefined layers and physical structures are converted from heaps of dirt and discarded material into the knowledge of the past. From the perspective of production of knowledge and construction of facts about the times past, the archaeological excavations are not only a process of research. The production of archaeological knowledge, in the field and beyond, always takes place under specific circumstances, including not only the relations among professionals and institutions, but also the relations between material remains and the individuals “discovering” them and translating them into interpretations. Metaphorically speaking, in the complex relationship between archaeologists and material culture, an individual in the process of creating the knowledge of an object creates his/her own professional identity, while an object creates an archaeologist in the process of identification. The final outcome presents a chosen and formulated explanation about the past, stemming from a specific logic of disciplinary practice. However, the question arises: what or who decides which interpretations are more valid than the others, and who is in the position to declare an authentic interpretation of the excavated material. Thus the discussion enters the field of problematizing the concept of authority and its role in the production of archaeological knowledge. The analyses show that authority should not be understood as a definite source, periodically appearing and disappearing, but rather as an achievement of social and cultural interactions and changes. The theoretical grounds for the research of authority is formulated based upon Foucault’s interpretation of relation between power and knowledge. The axis for identification of authority in disciplinary practices is determined by the chosen categories of executive, epistemic, and intellectual authority, coupled with archaeological ethnography. The suggested development of the theoretical framework is aimed to secure the tools for considering the shapes and sources of authority in archaeology and its role in the production of archaeological knowledge of the past.

Archaeological Ethnography of the Battle of Aslıhanlar (29–30 August 1922): A Case Study of Public Archaeology, Visual Storytelling, and Interactive Map Design

Our article seeks to determine the functions of visual communication design through the lens of modern conflict and public archaeologies. The Battle of Aslıhanlar, which took place in the triangle of the villages of Çal Köy, Allıören, and Yüğlük in Kütahya from 29 to 30 August 1922, was the focus of our experimentation. Our archaeological survey project was carried out in 2013; interviews with local people, a review of the literature available and our observations of local myths and traditions that emerged after the war constitute the basis of our article. We categorized these sources for the project design in order to form a storytelling narrative, so that the viewer could participate in the process of conflict as well as the ongoing research. We foresaw three major challenges while categorizing this complex dataset: equivalence of visual language; variable outputs of the multi-dimensional research methods; and interactivity for creating a live social platform. We responded to these challenges by developing a graphic design concept and an interactive map of the data. Our design surrounds the viewer with a historical timeline, which includes all of our research findings in one interactive interface.