Seeing like an archaeologist: Viveiros de Castro at Chavín de Huantar

Weismantel, Mary J

doi:10.1177/1469605315575425

Cited by 54 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…This concept of breath as attributed to entities other than human emphasizes relationships between matter and life forces; materials, animals and places have the potential to become living, breathing entities that participate in the life cycle (see TallBear 2015). Such processes and criteria for 'life' and 'death' extend beyond human bodies to entities created through pro-duction, animals and other components of the natural world (see Weismantel 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Microhistory of Human and Gastropod Bodies and Souls During Cahokia's Emergence

Baires¹

2016

CAJ

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This article examines the role of mortuary practice in the emergence (c. ad 1050–1100) of Cahokia, the largest pre-Columbian Native American city north of Mexico. The parallel partitioning of human and gastropod bodies in ridge-top mortuary mounds is examined and I argue that the presence of gastropods buried alongside human bodies served to connect the living world of humans with the watery underworld of the dead. From a microhistorical perspective, this paper focuses on the processing and deposition of bodies and their subsequent interment in ridge-top burials to parse the potential relationships between such mortuary practice and Cahokia's emergence as a complex polity. The paper presents data on the association of shell materials with human bodies from six previously excavated ridge-tops for comparison with new data on shell materials and human burials from Wilson Mound, a small ridge-top located on the western edge of Cahokia. Together, these data suggest the emergence of Cahokia was embedded in newly articulated relationships with persons enacted through the process of disarticulating the dead for burial mediated with mollusc shell.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Microhistory of Human and Gastropod Bodies and Souls During Cahokia's Emergence

Baires¹

2016

CAJ

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“…While advocating for ontological plurality, on the one hand, these approaches seem to fall into a purifying trap on the other by only selecting qualities that the interpreter sees as radically different from their own world—that is, ignoring continuities and connections (cf. Cipolla ; Cipolla, Quinn, and Levy ; Harris and Cipolla ; Harris and Robb ; Weismantel ; see also Bessire and Bond ). Viveiros de Castro learned about Amazonian perspectival ontologies in which, for example, all humans and animals see themselves as humans, but he did so by synthesizing a rich collection of ethnological literature on Amazonian peoples, derived from direct observation and communication across ontological divides.…”

Section: Wendat Archaeology: a Brief Examplementioning

confidence: 99%

Taming the Ontological Wolves: Learning from Iroquoian Effigy Objects

Cipolla

2019

American Anthropologist

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Currently on the rise in archaeology, ontological approaches promise new ways of engaging with alterity of various kinds-different people, different times, different forms, even different worlds. This work promises to aid in critical reflections on the arbitrary nature of the Western gaze and to recognize and incorporate non-Western knowledge in new manners. There are, however, several challenges to address. First, as noted by several leading thinkers in this area, the present range of ontological approaches include contrasting theoretical underpinnings.Second, these approaches are rarely considered in relation to the practical challenges of specific archaeological cases, particularly contexts of settler colonialism in which practitioners are attuned to the potential colonial nature of their work. I divide ontologically engaged archaeologies into three related but distinct groups and use a small museum assemblage of seventeenth-century Wendat materials from Ontario to help think through these three theories. In comparing approaches, I outline their respective strengths, weaknesses, and points in need of further clarification. I conclude that the ontological turns offer new and valuable angles of articulation with archaeological materials but that archaeologists must adopt them cautiously if they are to avoid repeating or continuing some of the darkest parts of our (colonial) disciplinary history. [ontology, archaeology, new materialism, archaeological theory, effigies, colonialism, Iroquoian archaeology, Ontario] RESUMEN Actualmente se están desarrollando en la arqueología, aproximaciones ontológicas que prometen nuevas formas de comprometerse con la alteridad de varios tipos-personas diferentes, tiempos diferentes, formas diferentes, aun mundos diferentes. Este trabajo promete ayudar en reflexiones críticas sobre la naturaleza arbitraria de la mirada occidental y para reconocer e incorporar conocimiento no occidental en nuevas formas. Hay, sin embargo, varios retos para abordar. Primero, como señalado por varios pensadores destacados en estaárea, el rango actual de aproximaciones ontológicas incluye fundamentos teóricos contrastantes. Segundo, estas aproximaciones son consideradas raramente en relación con los retos prácticos de casos arqueológicos específicos, particularmente los contextos del colonialismo de pobladores en los cuales los profesionales están sintonizados con la naturaleza colonial potencial de su trabajo. Divido las arqueologías comprometidas ontológicamente en tres grupos relacionados pero distintos y uso un ensamblaje pequeño de museo de materiales de los hurones del siglo XVII de Ontario para ayudar a pensar a través de estas tres teorías. Comparando las aproximaciones, bosquejo sus debilidades, fortalezas respectivas, y puntos en necesidad de clarificación adicional. Concluyo que los cambios ontológicos ofreceń angulos de articulación nuevos y valiosos con materiales arqueológicos, pero que los arqueólogos los deben adoptar con cautela si van a evitar repetir o continuar algunas de las ...

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“…Finalmente, con el "giro ontológico" en la antropología y arqueología (Alberti 2016; Viveiros de Castro 2010; Descola, 2005;Kohn, 2015) muchos arqueólogos y arqueólogas, especialmente norteamericanos y ahora peruanos, han comenzado a explorar las ontologías andinas como forma de aproximarse a las sociedades del pasado (Lozada y Tantaleán, 2019;Fernandini y Muro, 2018;Bray, 2015;Weismantel, 2015Weismantel, , 2013Lau, 2012;Sillar, 2009). En el medio académico peruano esto ha sido impulsado también porque existen grupos de estudios filosóficos como Chaupi Atoq que han analizado sistemáticamente el Manuscrito de Huarochirí (Depaz, 2015), una importante obra de principios del siglo XVII que permitiría acceder a la cosmovisión indígena y prehispánica.…”

Section: Perspectivismo Amerindio Y Ontologías Andinasunclassified

Un panorama de la teoría arqueológica en el Perú de comienzos del siglo XXI

Tantaleán

2020

Discursos sur

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En este artículo presentamos un panorama de la teoría arqueológica desarrollada en el Perú de las últimas dos décadas. Con ese objetivo, en primer lugar, se plantea el lugar y naturaleza de la teoría en la práctica arqueológica peruana. En segundo lugar, se describen sintéticamente los contextos políticos y económicos en los cuales se ha desarrollado la práctica arqueológica de los últimos años. En tercer lugar, se describe un panorama de las teorías arqueológicas utilizadas en nuestro país, enfocándonos en los principales temas de estudio desarrollados. En cuarto lugar, se revisan otros tópicos teóricos relevantes que se han desarrollado en la arqueología peruana. Finalmente, se dejan planteados algunos temas que merecerían mayor desarrollo teórico en la arqueología peruana.

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Seeing like an archaeologist: Viveiros de Castro at Chavín de Huantar

Cited by 54 publications

References 34 publications

A Microhistory of Human and Gastropod Bodies and Souls During Cahokia's Emergence

A Microhistory of Human and Gastropod Bodies and Souls During Cahokia's Emergence

Taming the Ontological Wolves: Learning from Iroquoian Effigy Objects

Un panorama de la teoría arqueológica en el Perú de comienzos del siglo XXI

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