Archaeologies-Journal of the World Archaeological Congress最新文献

Today, the state reconstruction policies for historical sites in China represent strategic long-term plans that meet the heritage conservation demands of the public. Once Buddhism consolidated in China, the extant architectural designs of Buddhist temples, statues and wall paintings became an important source of historical data in the Chinese Buddhism research. This study focuses on one of these extant architectural pieces—the Xi Qingling Temple in the city of Guilin. Given the spiritual and historical value of the Xi Qingling Temple, restoring it will go deep with not only the Chinese society but also the large Buddhist community. In the plan for temple reconstruction, the priority is laid on blending in the rebuilt construction seamlessly with its unique surroundings. In this regard, the study aims to reveal the social and cultural aspects that influenced how the Xi Qingling Temple was designed, which were then incorporated into a macro-plan of the symbolic and cultural reconstruction of an historical object. The economic impacts of this reconstruction project were examined.

Being one of the best iron producers in the prehistoric world, Sungai Mas of Kedah Tua was an entrepot for various world civilisations including China, India and Arab through iron industry. With Muda River as the backbone of Kedah Tua’s trading, the river connects numerous iron smelting sites to the entrepot for supply. This study aims to locate a potential iron smelting site using 3D resistivity method at Kuala Ketil; a site situated along Muda River. Considering the location, geometry, size and resistivity values, the archaeological anomaly suggests a promising outcome.

From the mountains of Central Asia to the jungles of Mesoamerica, Chinese archaeologists are now conducting fieldwork around the world. China’s increasing involvement in world archaeology is a positive development for both heritage management and archaeological research. However, this new trend of joint Sino-foreign archaeological fieldwork is also situated within a larger political context. In this article, we examine how Chinese archaeological missions abroad help China achieve its geostrategic objectives. We present two case studies, one along the Swahili Coast in Kenya and another along the ancient Silk Road in Uzbekistan, to support our argument that Chinese involvement in archaeological projects in foreign countries often neatly dovetails with China’s foreign policy initiatives, which aim to build stronger economic and cultural ties with countries that host expanding Chinese markets. In sum, Chinese archaeology’s rapid internationalization is oriented towards growing China’s soft power and will likely play an even larger role in shaping global archaeological practice in the future.

This article approaches the role of writing in the archaeological process. I revisit some earlier literature focusing on this topic within which is argued that the practice of writing participates in the shaping of the knowledge we produce about the past. This is so because writing entails a dialogue between the limits of the way we experience past materials and the limits of the languages we use to translate such experiences. In order to understand this dialogue, by following Michel de Certeau, we may ask what kind of subject are we while writing about past materials? And, how does such a practice entail a transformation of our subjectivity by seeking to create the conditions to express the difference of the past? I will discuss how this concern about the process of writing, and the exploration of different styles of narrative, help me to expand the study of late prehistory deposition contexts. By analysing the emplotment used in the study of these contexts, I will argue that deposition needs to be understood as an individual character, and not as just something resulting from practices of deposition. In arguing this, I present fable as a narrative style exploring alternative plots highlighting the irreducibility of archaeological evidences.

In 2017, the Nunalleq Project initiated the co-design of a digital educational resource for schoolchildren in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region that curates the story of the archaeological excavations in a way which engages with Yup’ik ways of knowing and traditional oral storytelling. Here, we present an account of an archaeological outreach project which creatively unites science and history with traditional knowledge and contemporary engagements. Co-creation of the Nunalleq educational resource revealed the diverse ways in which people connect to the past, sometimes expected, sometimes surprising. In particular, the project made space for a younger generation of Yup’ik who are forging new relationships with their heritage inspired by the archaeology from Nunalleq through traditional dance, art and shared experience. Ultimately, this article explores co-design as a means to illuminate the processes of interpretation from varied perspectives and worldviews with the aim of better understanding how the methods we use frame the knowledge we create.

This study presents an assessment of the various archaeological works conducted in the coastal areas of the Mexican state of Jalisco. Special attention is paid to project objectives and results so that each research approach can be characterized to determine whether they can be considered examples of “coastal archaeology” under the current definition. Furthermore, this study identifies characteristics that should receive greater attention in the design of future coastal archaeology projects located within the broad costal area of Jalisco and discusses effective approaches for achieving this goal.

In many cases, material culture acts as a mediator between the living and the dead (Hallam and Hockey 2001). Items used by the living can leave their mark osteologically, can follow an individual into a burial context, or can become part of an individual. Each of these actions leaves archaeological evidence of cultural communication. This paper examines the dialectical relationships between artifacts and osteology through an integrative analysis of the multilayered relationships between osteological data, artifact analysis, and historic documents. Three examples from the Milwaukee County Poor Farm Cemetery demonstrate the materialized relationships between institutions, archaeologists, and the poor and unclaimed of Milwaukee County in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These include: pipe stem grooves and the recovery of pipes, the contemporary categorization of dentures, and dental work (bridges, implants, etc.) as signifiers of institutional relationships (Hodder 2012). Within these relationships, the manifestation of institutional facts juxtaposed with lived experience can be revealed (Renfrew 2004: 26).

Archaeological workers in North America are often envious of the supports, initiatives and legislation that other regions have enacted to engage with the detecting community. It seems many cultural heritage laws used to protect sites elsewhere are just not viable, cannot be enforced or are seen as not applicable in the Americas. This leaves North American archaeologists attempting to alter or create new initiatives at a distinct disadvantage. This paper explores municipal by-law creation in two communities in Ontario, Canada, and their complex relationships with metal detecting communities striving to have access to the past through their search for archaeological objects. It reflects on public engagement and the perceptions of power in these two contexts and how Canadian archaeologists manage their authoritative positions. Finally, it considers the power dynamics that prevent metal detectorists from engaging with archaeologists and municipalities, and the concerns that archaeologists have over engaging with the public.