Ethnoarchaeology as slow science

Abstract

Resumen. El presente artículo se basa en algunas cuestiones tecnológicas y sociales de una población indígena americana tradicional con el fin de aportar una reflexión sobre las dificultades para generar una interpretación holística de los cambios en la cultura material de una sociedad, en particular en aquellas ya desaparecidas. Se propone para ello recorrer el sentido inverso a las investigaciones etnoarqueológicas tradicionales: a partir de la revisión tecnológica de materiales cerámicos de un grupo étnico actual conservados en museo, se interactúa con las fuentes documentales, los alfareros indígenas, sus descendientes y otras personas cualificadas en el tema. De esta manera, la cerámica realizada por los alfareros qom durante distintos momentos de los dos últimos siglos se interpreta a la luz de varias alternativas: desde un mero elemento material definido por ciertas características tecnológicas y estéticas, a su documentación como objeto, la contextualización de la vida cotidiana y de la actividad cerámica en la sociedad qom tanto en el pasado reciente como en la actualidad, y la importancia que tiene en todo el proceso de cambio el apego a la identidad y a valores supramateriales como el territorio, factores que exceden la mera observación corpórea del objeto. Palabras clave: Cambio tecnológico; identidad; tradición; interpretación; colecciones de museo.[en] Ancient Territories and Missing Pottery. Qom Ceramics from the Grand Chaco (Argentina)Abstract. This article relies on some technological and social conditions of a South American indigenous population to reflect on the handicaps to reach a holistic interpretation of the changes in material culture, particularly in past societies. It is thus proposed to follow the opposite direction to traditional etnoarchaeological research: from the technological revision of the pottery vessels produced by a modern ethnic group found in museum collections to the interaction with indigenous potters, their descendants and other qualified people. Hence, vessels made by Qom potters in different periods of the last two centuries are considered from different perspectives: from a material element analysed in terms of technological and aesthetic features, to their documentation as objects, the contextualisation of Qom daily activities and pottery-making -both in the recent past and nowadays-and the significance of the preservation of identity and supramaterial values such as the territory in this change process, elements which surpass the sole corporeal observation of the object.

Bones in Stasis: The Challenging History and Uncertain Future of the Virginia State Penitentiary Collection

“…As discussion in a recent Society for Historical Archaeology panel by Chapman and Lamarise Reid illustrated, sites in need of a restorative justice approach often need more careful groundwork, communication, and psychological expertise, and slower approaches conducted within communities that reflect critically upon the power relations at play in the topic (Chapman and Reid 2020; Cunningham and MacEachern 2016). Data from the 2018 Richmond Penitentiary Survey provide an initial confirmation of the site’s critical but unresolved character and community interest that will hopefully sustain such a process, which is likely to occur in stages over several years.…”

Science, data, and case-studies under the Third Science Revolution: some theoretical considerations

“…Several aspects of the Third Science Revolution have been critiqued (e.g. Cunningham & MacEachern 2016;Sørensen 2017) and this paper aims not towards that end. Rather, the main aim of this paper is to first understand the dialectic between more fast-paced scientific archeology (sensu Cunning ham & MacEachern 2016), and the slower and more humanistic side of archaeology.…”

From gathering to discard and beyond: Ethnoarchaeological studies on shellfishing practices in the Solomon Islands

“…Ethnoarchaeology can also be a component of the 'slow science' approach to archaeology where a greater focus on ethics, social engagement and critical reflections on power relations are made (Cunningham and MacEachern 2016). We approach ethnoarchaeology as a 'research strategy framed within different theoretical structures' (Politis 2016:705) through the use of an array of methods and recording techniques.…”