Archaeology Lecture 11: Power of the Past FINAL

why should we care?

identity, claims and beliefs, heritage and place

identity

Traditions we inherit from past generations, sense of self, what its anchored to

claims and beliefs

past supports these about history

heritage and place

events people recognize, symbols people choose to embrace, constructed, form with picking and choosing of past events, past connects people to areas

nationalism

a shared narrative to connect a group of people together

ideology

used in conjunction with nationalism

Chichen Itza

Maya world heritage site in Mexico, shows the public what Mexico wants them to see, signal of identity

value

political, cultural, economic, symbolic

political value

nations can use artifacts in the past to support their authority, legitimize their existence, give them deep roots

cultural value

helps people establish rituals, identity, sense of community and belonging, provides a basis for the sense of memory

economic value

tourism, supports revenue and creates jobs

symbolic value

symbolizes achievement, loss, struggle, perseverance, depends on the perspective of the viewer

nazi archaeology

Himmler made a branch for it, legitimized action against other groups as well as a heroic history, supported aryan superiority

Palmyra, Syria

symbol of history and heritage that was purposefully destroyed

pseudoarchaeology

uses language and data of archaeology, does not stand test of archaeological analysis, ignores context and evidence, appeals to mystery and sensationalism

Dendera Lightbulb/Inca 12 sided stone

examples of pseudoarchaeology used to argue otherworldly influence such as aliens or atlanteans

Admiral Zheng He

1421 Ming Dynasty admiral, tried to expand China into Polynesian islands, his maps make some people believe he made it to the Americas first, tower used to prove this was english architecture

consequences of pseudoarchaeology

Target of analyses are black and brown communities, takes away achievements of peoples’ ancestors

stakeholders

Someone who has a vested interest in a project: governments, archaeologists and museums, descendants, public and media and tourism

claims on the past

legal, cultural, scientific, moral and ethical

the ancient one

both science and culture had a claim, science won the court case and it was found his body was an ancestor of the community

parthenon marbles

sculptures held by british museum, given by people who had taken over greece, competing cultural and legal claims

archaeological ethics

What can be done and what should be done, who can excavate, who can interpret, who can display, what responsibilities matter

NAGPRA

1990 passed: formalized the evaluation of existing collections and possible repatriation, human remains had to be repatriated, sensitive material was subjective

repatriation

giving remains back to communities

site destruction

take away living descendants’ claims, looting, illicit trade

looting

removes artifacts from their context, usually go to illicit trade

illicit trade

artifacts sold on black market, turns heritage into commodity, hard to measure

apamea, syria

had people protecting but 2014/2015 conflict made them leave, covered in looters pits and most artifacts lost