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Ethnic Identity and Archaeology 2507 E

Verslag van de tweede veldbijeenkomst in het kader van


de evaluatie van de archaeologie wetgeving op Ethnic Identity and Archaeology
donderdag 9 juni 2011. Georganiseerd door de
Rijksdienst voor Cultureel Erfgoed te Amersfoort.
Available at: http://www.cultureelerfgoed.nl/sites/ Florin Curta
default/files/u6/Verslag%20tweede%20bijeenkomst% History, University of Florida, Gainesville,
20evaluatie%20Malta.pdf FL, USA
WILLEMS, W.J.H. 2009. Archaeological resource manage-
ment and academic archaeology Europe: some obser-
vations, in A. L. D’Agata & S. Alaura (ed.) Quale
Futuro per l’archaeologia?: 89-115. Roma: Introduction
Dipartimento Patrimonio Culturale, Consigno
Nazionale delle Ricerche. E
ZORZIN, N. 2010. The political economy of a commercial Of all forms of identity, ethnicity is possibly
archaeology – A Quebec case-study. Unpublished dis- the one that has received attention in archaeology
sertation, University of Southampton. for the longest time. In fact, from its inception as
- 2011. Contextualising contract archaeology in Quebec: an academic discipline in the late nineteenth
political-economy and economic dependencies.
Archaeological Review from Cambridge 26(1): century, one of the main goals of archaeology
119-36. was the identification of ethnic groups in the
past. In Gustaf Kossinna’s words, “sharply
defined archaeological cultures correspond
Further Reading unquestionably with the areas of particular
APPADURAI, A. 2001. The globalization of archaeology peoples or tribes” (Kossinna 1911: 3). Many
and heritage. Journal of Social Archaeology 1(1):
35-49. advocates of the archaeological approach to the
COLWELL-CHANTHAPHONH C. & T.J. FERGUSON. (ed.) 2008. past known as culture-history still adhere to those
Collaboration in archeological practice. Lanham: principles. In doing so, they turn the search for
Altamira Press. ethnic identities in the past into the primary goal
HAMILAKIS, Y & P. DUKE. (ed.) 2007. Archaeology and
capitalism: from ethics to politics. Walnut Creek: Left of archaeology, to the point that some would now
Coast Press. argue that to abandon the search for ethnicity is
HARVEY, D. 2005. Brief history neoliberalism. Oxford: tantamount to denying archaeology its quality of
Oxford University Press. a historical discipline (Bierbrauer 2008: 6). By
MATTHEWS, C.N. 2010. The archaeology of American
capitalism - the American experience in an archaeo- contrast, proponents of the processualist
logical perspective. Gainesville: University Press of approach to the past associated with the New
Florida. Archaeology had little interest in ethnic (or any
McGUIRE, R.H. 2008. Archaeology as political action. other form of) identity, as their goal was to move
Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of
California Press. archaeology away from history and to bring it
OKAMURA, K. & A. MATSUDA. (ed.) 2011. New perspectives closer to science. Instead of answering the
in global public archaeology. New York: Springer. normative question “What do cultures relate
PEACOCK, A. & I. RIZZO. 2008. The heritage game: to?,” processualist archaeologists of the 1960s
economics, policy, and practice. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. and 1970s concentrated on the adaptive role of
SABLOFF, J.A. 2008. Archaeology matters – action archae- the components of cultural systems, even if they
ology in the modern world. Walnut Creek (CA): Left still continued to accept the idea that some
Coast Press. bounded archaeological distributions (if only in
SCHLANGER, N. & K. AITCHISON. (ed.) 2010. Archaeol-
ogy and the global economic crisis – multiple the domain of stylistic variation) correlated with
impacts, possible solutions. Tervuren: Culture Lab past ethnic groups. A revival of interest in ethnic
Editions. identity coincides with post-processualist con-
WAINWRIGHT, G. 2000. Time please. Antiquity 74(286): cerns with context, symbols, agency, and history
909-43.
WATERTON, E. & L. SMITH. (ed.) 2009. Taking archaeology (Hodder 1982; Jones 1997). However, because in
out of heritage. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Central and Eastern Europe the culture-historical
Scholars Publishing. approach is still predominant, some have adopted
E 2508 Ethnic Identity and Archaeology

a completely agnostic approach, according to He shed a new light on subjective criteria (ethnic
which ethnicity in the past is beyond the reach boundaries) around which the feeling of ethnic
of archaeology, because the meaning initially identity of the member of the group is framed
attached to material culture symbols used for (Barth 1969). He also emphasized the transac-
building ethnic boundaries will forever remain tional nature of ethnicity, for in the practical
unknown (Brather 2004). Archaeologists should accomplishment of identity, two mutually
refrain from doing any research on ethnicity, and interdependent social processes are normally at
in the meantime focus on what they can really do, work – internal and external definition (the latter
namely, study economic and social structures, also known as categorization). Barth’s approach
social rank, religious behavior, and the like. At embraced a predominantly social interactionist
the root of this skepticism verging on nihilism perspective derived from the work of the
seems to be a theoretical malaise and a profound American social psychologist Erving Goffman.
misunderstanding of what ethnic identity is and Objective cultural difference was thus viewed as
how it works. epiphenomenal, subordinate to, and largely to be
explained with reference to, social interaction.
Studies of ethnic identity inspired by Barth thus
Definition suggest that an ethnic group is more an idea than
a thing. It is not as much the group that endures as
In the early twenty-first century, ethnicity has the idea of the group. It has been noted that
become the politicization of culture, a decision cultural traits by which an ethnic group defines
people take to depict themselves or others itself never comprise the totality of the observ-
symbolically as bearers of a certain cultural iden- able culture, but are only a combination of some
tity. In the 1960s and 1970s, the debate characteristics that the actors ascribe to
was between those who argued that ethnicity themselves and consider relevant. People identi-
was a matter of primordial attachments fying themselves as an ethnic group may in fact
(primordialists) and those who regarded it as identify their group in a primarily prototypic
a means of political mobilization (instrumental- manner, with some recognizable members shar-
ists). Today, very few would disagree with Max ing some but not all the traits, and different traits
Weber’s definition of ethnic groups as “human being weighted differently in people’s minds.
groups that entertain a subjective belief in their How is this specific configuration structured and
common descent because of similarities of what mechanisms are responsible for its
physical type or of customs or of both, or because reproduction?
of memories of colonization and migration; Attempts to answer this question resurrected
conversely, it does not matter whether or not an the idea that ethnic groups are bounded social
objective blood relationship exists” (Weber entities internally generated with reference more
1922: 219). Ethnicity is not innate, but individ- to commonality than to difference. Such an
uals are born with it; it is not biologically approach draws heavily from the French sociol-
reproduced, but individuals are linked to it ogist Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of habitus,
through cultural constructions of biology; it is a system of durable, transposable dispositions,
certainly not just cultural difference, but no “structured structures predisposed to function as
ethnic identity can be sustained without reference structuring structures” (Bourdieu 1990: 53).
to an inventory of cultural traits. As the Norwe- According to Bourdieu, those durable disposi-
gian anthropologist Thomas Hylland Eriksen tions are inculcated into an individual’s sense of
put it, ethnicity must be regarded as the “collec- self at an early age and can be transposed from
tive enaction of socially differentiating signs” one context to another. Ethnic identity is there-
(Eriksen 1991: 141). Such an approach is largely fore the result of the intersection of one’s habitual
due to the extraordinary influence of another dispositions and the social conditions in existence
Norwegian anthropologist – Fredrik Barth. within a particular historical context. That is why,
Ethnic Identity and Archaeology 2509 E
once in action, an ethnic group operates as a type one of its elements, Kossinna’s idea was to bring
of status group, the existence of which is to light one of those elements – the material
represented through primordial attachments. In culture – bearing the “imprint” of the ethnic
practice, ethnicity results from multiple transient group responsible for its production. Like many
realizations of ethnic difference in particular others in the early twentieth century, he defined
contexts of production and consumption of dis- (material) culture in monothetic terms on the
tinctive styles of material culture. Ethnic identity basis of the presence or absence of a list of traits
cannot be conceived without the manipulation of or types, which he had previously and intuitively
material culture. Ethnicity can be, and truly is, considered as the most appropriate attributes for
represented by such things as dress elements, the definition of the culture. He stressed the use of
E
speech forms, lifestyles, food ways, and the like. maps for distinguishing between trait distribution
However, the ethnic group is not made up of the patterns, which he typically viewed as highly
symbols used to mark it as distinct from others. homogeneous and sharply bounded cultural
Selecting symbols to mark ethnic boundaries is provinces. He then equated those cultural
a political strategy in the same way that choosing provinces with ethnic groups known from histor-
a certain dress style may be for the construction ical sources. Kossinna and his followers regarded
of social status. Material culture with symbolic archaeological cultures as actors on the historical
meaning is therefore an integral part of power stage, playing the role for prehistory which
relations, as symbols of ethnic identity appear known individuals or group have in documentary
primarily in contexts of collective rituals and history. Archaeological cultures were thus
other social activities aimed at group mobiliza- equated to ethnic groups, for they were viewed
tion. Paul Brass even defined ethnic identities as as legitimizing claims of modern groups to terri-
“creations of elites who draw upon, distort, and tory and influence. Because culture was regarded
sometimes fabricate materials from the cultures as a homogeneous, bounded whole, a direct con-
of the groups they wish to represent, in order to sequence of the culture-historical approach to
protect their well being or existence, or to gain ethnic identity was the idea that “diagnostic”
political and economic advantage for their groups types were in fact ethnic badges. Ethnic groups
and for themselves” (Brass 1993: 111). Material could be recognized in the archaeological record
culture is therefore not a passive reflection of by their specific Volksgeist, particles of which
ethnic identity, but an active element in its had been turned into particular types of pottery,
negotiation. tools, brooches, or houses. Searching for ethnic
groups was thus reduced to typology, under the
assumption that the classifications introduced by
Historical Background and Key Issues archaeologists approximated the categories pro-
ducers and consumers in the past had in their
This idea is in fact in direct contradiction with the minds. Because culture was understood as nor-
basic tenets of the culture-historical approach. mative, wherever they would go, bearers of
Leaving aside the primordialist understanding of a certain (archaeological) culture will almost
the ethnic group (to which Kossinna and his unknowingly reveal their ethnic identity to others
followers constantly referred as Volk), much (as well as to the archaeologist discovering their
more problematic from a strictly archaeological remains) by means of using specific brooches,
point of view is the understanding of material axes, or types of pottery. Ethnicity, in other
culture. To be sure, attempts to identify ethnic words, was all about culture, and culture operated
groups in material culture date back to early from “behind the backs” of the people in the past
nineteenth-century Romanticist obsessions with (Veit 1989).
finding primordial languages and homelands. The first critique of the idea that archaeologi-
Because of the Romantic concept of culture as cal cultures represent ethnic groups came from
reflecting the national soul (Volksgeist) in every within the framework of culture-history, and
E 2510 Ethnic Identity and Archaeology

consisted of cautionary tales, which often Ian Hodder undertook an ethnoarchaeological


attributed difficulties either to the complexity or study in the Baringo district of Kenya, in order
to the incomplete character of the archaeological to understand how spatial patterning of artifacts
record (Wahle 1941). Meanwhile, by the late could relate to ethnic boundaries (Hodder 1982).
1920s, the very concept of “archaeological He found that, despite proximity and intense
culture” was banned from Soviet archaeology, cultural interaction, clear material culture distinc-
along with “migration” and “typology.” Marxism tions were maintained in a wide range of artifact
in its Stalinist version was brutally introduced in categories. In his view, distinct material culture
archaeology and, because of being so closely boundaries were foci of interaction, not barriers.
associated with nationalism, the culture- In fact, material culture distinctions between
historical paradigm was replaced with interna- neighboring groups were maintained in order to
tionalism that required scholars to study only justify between-group competition and negative
global universal regularities that confirmed the reciprocity, which considerably increased in
inevitability of socialist revolutions outside times of economic stress. However, boundaries
Russia. However, following the introduction of did not restrict the movement of cultural traits,
Stalinist nationalist policies in the late 1930s, an and the diffusion of cultural styles was at times be
interest in the ethnic interpretation of the archae- used to disrupt ethnic distinctions. Hodder thus
ological record was revived, and the concept of suggested that the use of material culture in
“archaeological culture” was rehabilitated. Like distinguishing between self-conscious ethnic
Kossinna, Soviet archaeologists of the 1950s and groups would lead to discontinuities in material
1960s believed that archaeological cultures culture distributions, which at least in theory may
reflected groups of related tribes in their specific enable the archaeologist to recognize such
historical development. Some even claimed that groups. Moreover, the form of intergroup
ethnic identity remained unchanged through relations is usually related to the internal organi-
historical change (Curta 2002). zation of social relationships within the group.
Nor was the culture-historical approach fun- Between-group differentiation and hostility may
damentally changed in Central and Western be linked to the internal differentiation of age sets
Europe at the end of the World War II, despite and the domination of women and young men by
the grotesque abuses of Kossinna’s theories older men (Larick 1991). Different groups may
under the Nazi regime. “Archaeological cultures” thus manipulate material culture boundaries in
were now employed as a quasi-ideology-free different ways depending upon the social context,
substitute for “ethnic groups,” without calling the economic strategies chosen, the particular
into question the key assumption of an intrinsic history of the socioeconomic relations, and the
link between artifacts and groups. Barth’s ideas particular history of the cultural traits which are
had very little impact on the archaeological chosen to mark the ethnic boundaries.
understanding of ethnicity, because his social This conclusion has been at the center of the
interaction model was based on the assumption “style debate” of the 1980s, in which a number of
that stylistic characteristics would diffuse or be archaeologists argued over the communicative
shared among social entities to an extent directly role of material culture. The traditional approach
proportional to the frequency of interactions borrowed from art history held that each (ethnic)
between those entities, such as intermarriage, group had its own style, which it had preserved
trade, or other forms of face-to-face communica- through history, given that cultures were assumed
tion (the so-called Deetz-Longacre hypothesis). to be extremely conservative. In their criticism of
In other words, the closer two ethnic groups are to this culture-historical approach, processualist
each other, the greater the probability of them archaeologists argued that style was a “residue,”
sharing the same culture, without any ethnic i.e., properties of material culture not accounted
boundaries, and thus slowly becoming one, single for in functional terms. They also argued that
ethnic group. In order to verify that assumption, material culture is primarily practical and only
Ethnic Identity and Archaeology 2511 E
secondarily expressive (Wobst 1977). However, recognize in the archaeological record (Wiessner
style and function are not distinct, self-contained, 1983). Emblemic styles often appear at critical
mutually exclusive realms of form in themselves, junctures in the regional political economy,
but complementary dimensions or aspects of var- namely, at times of changing social relations,
iation which coexist within one and the same which call for stronger or broader displays of
form. If both style and function are simulta- group identity. Emblemic styles are typically
neously present in the artifactual form, then how associated with attempts to mobilize members
can one tell when, and to what extent, the of an ethnic group in situations of competition
observed makeup of an assemblage reflects eth- for resources with members of other groups.
nicity, and when, and to what extent, it reflects Material culture is therefore fundamentally
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activity? James Sackett attempted to make social, and artifacts are rendered “appropriate”
a radical break with the residual view of style for use only in social context. Decisions about
by invoking “isochrestic variation,” which he the use of artifacts are embodied in the artifacts in
defined as the practical or utilitarian variation in terms of conventions of culture. Artifacts are not
objective properties of material culture things properties of a society, but part of the life of that
that makes no functional mediation difference society. They cannot and should not be treated as
(Sackett 1977). To Sackett, style was an intrinsic, “phenotypic” expressions of some preformed
not added-on, or adjunct, function. As an intrinsic identity. In other words, what should concern
function of artifacts, the isochrestic variation was archaeologists is not so much what people do,
to be found in all aspects of social and what kind of pots or brooches they make, what
cultural life, an idea remarkably similar to the shape of houses they build, but the way they go
notion of Volksgeist which had inspired the cul- about it.
ture-historical approach. The isochrestic varia-
tion was the attribute of material culture through
which members of an ethnic group expressed International Perspectives and Future
their mutual identity, coordinated their actions, Directions
and bound themselves together. Polly Wiessner
argued that style was a form of nonverbal com- The second decade of the twenty-first century
munication through doing something in a certain finds the archaeological research on ethnic iden-
way that communicated about relative identity. In tity in good shape. Ethnicity in the past has fre-
identity displays, efficiency of message is not quently mobilized and divided scholarly opinion.
a major concern. On the contrary, identity dis- Despite a phase of devastating post-war and more
plays are often extravagant, the resources and recent critique, and the reticence on the part of
effort expended being an index of ability and some archaeologists, as to whether ethnicity can
worth. Moreover, style is an intentional, struc- be recognized in the archaeological record, the
tured system of selecting certain dimensions of topic experienced a remarkable comeback in
form, process or principle, function, significance recent years. This may be in part because scholars
and affect from among known, alternate, possi- can now distinguish between the archaeological
bilities to create variability. When style has study of ethnicity in the past and the historio-
a distinct referent and transmits a clear message graphic study of the uses and abuses of ethnicity
to a defined target population, it is “emblemic in more recent times. While much has been writ-
style,” not isochrestic variation. Given that ten on the influence of nationalist ideologies on
emblemic styles are supposed to carry distinct the development of the discipline, there has been
messages, they must be consistently uniform comparatively less preoccupation with how
and clear in order to make recognition and under- archaeologists participate in the production of
standing possible. Since they are typically used to the nationalist discourse. After all, land, when
mark and maintain boundaries of group member- imbued with symbols, intensifies ethnic identifi-
ship, they should be therefore relatively easy to cation by means of the reclamation of
E 2512 Ethnic Identity and Archaeology

archaeological sites and the repatriation of ances- rather with a mental template of the past, which
tral remains. The debates in the United States is largely shaped by mediating influences. Very
surrounding the Native American Graves Protec- little is known about the contribution of
tion and Repatriation Act and its application in archaeology to those mediating influences.
the case of the Kennewick Man have shed a new After dwelling for years upon the mistakes of
light on issues of legitimacy associated with sci- the past, especially the tendency in mortuary
entific research. Yannis Hamilakis and Eleana archaeology to “read” in ethnic terms what could
Yalouri have applied Bourdieu’s concept of otherwise be interpreted as symbols of gender
“symbolic capital” to the treatment of antiquities identity, scholars are now beginning to realize
in modern Greece (Hamilakis & Yalouri 1996). that just as in the modern world, women in the
Maintaining that the acquisition of undocu- past often symbolized ethnic collectives and were
mented antiquities by museums encourages the regularly regarded as biological reproducers of
looting of archaeological sites, countries such as ethnic groups, since the ethnic group’s culture is
Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Peru, and China commonly structured around gendered institutions
have claimed ancient artifacts as state (or even such as marriage, family, and sexuality. As ethnic
national) property, while calling for their return identity remains a topic associated more often with
from museums all around the globe. Meanwhile, research on cemetery, not settlement sites, new
the deliberate destruction of historical monu- studies have pointed out that emblemic styles
ments and archaeological sites during the appear more often with the funerary dress of
military conflicts in former Yugoslavia or under women of marriageable age. This has recently
the fundamentalist regime of the Taliban in prompted a shift in research emphasis to burial
Afghanistan has brought the issue of cultural assemblages which stand out from their local and
heritage to the center of the archaeological regional context by cultural elements – pottery or
debates surrounding ethnicity. In such cases, it dress accessories – apparently signaling a different
is not only a question of global cultural heritage, ethnic background. In principle, if emblemic styles
but also a matter of the meaning of “other” may be identified on the basis of their repetitive
attached to those monuments and sites by the nature at the level of the site, then anomalies may
perpetrators of destruction, who perceive them equally be interpreted as stylistic variation in sharp
as different in ethnic terms without or with very contrast to the uniform background of the
little consideration for the distance in time majority. Finally, it has become clear that the
separating them from past populations on that most appropriate perspective for understanding
same territory (Stone 2011). Conversely, there how ethnicity worked in the past is the (micro-)
is so far very little research on the relatively region (Hakenbeck 2011). By working at a local
widespread phenomenon of inventing archaeo- level, and with complex tools for teasing out dis-
logical cultures to serve the nationalist propa- crete differences in material culture items which
ganda, although several cases have been now may signal emblemic styles and ethnic boundaries,
recorded in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and and for mapping distribution patterns within and
Latin America. The transfer of ethnic meaning between sites, archaeologists have begun to iden-
from artifacts in a (national) museum to architec- tify the contexts of social action in which ethnic
tural monuments and archaeological sites raises identities in the past may have been created
the equally unexplored issue of how ethnicity through everyday practices.
participates in shows of “staged authenticity” –
contrived presentation of sites as if they were
authentic – which are the substance of heritage Cross-References
tourism. It has been noted, for example, that
tourists visiting the Jorvı́k Viking Center in ▶ Agency in Archaeological Theory
York do not contrast the staging of authenticity ▶ Archaeology and Anthropology
against direct experience of the original, but ▶ Authenticity and the Manufacture of Heritage
Ethnic Identity and Archaeology 2513 E
▶ China: Domestic Archaeological Heritage KOSSINNA, G. 1911. Die Herkunft der Germanen. Zur
Management Law Methode der Siedlungsarchäologie. Würzburg:
C. Kabitzsch.
▶ Cultural Heritage Management and Native LARICK, R. 1991. Warriors and blacksmiths: mediating
Americans ethnicity in East African spears. Journal of Anthropo-
▶ Greece: Cultural Heritage Management logical Archaeology 10: 299-331.
▶ Histories of the Archaeological Discipline: SACKETT, J. 1977. The meaning of style in archaeology.
A general model. American Antiquity 42 (3):
Issues to Consider 369-80.
▶ Hodder, Ian (Modern World) STONE, P. (ed.) 2011. Cultural heritage, ethics, and the
▶ Jorvik Viking Centre military. Woodbridge/Rochester: Boydell Press.
▶ Kennewick Man Case: Scientific Studies and VEIT, U. 1989. Ethnic concepts of German prehistory:
a case study on the relationship between E
Legal Issues cultural identity and archaeological objectivity, in
▶ Nationalism and Archaeology S. Shennan (ed.) Archaeological approaches to cul-
▶ Style: Its Role in the Archaeology of Art tural identity: 35-56. London/Boston/Sydney: Unwin
▶ Wobst, H. Martin Hyman.
WAHLE, E. 1941. Zur ethnischen Deutung
frühgeschichtlicher Kulturprovinzen. Grenzen der
frühgeschichtlichen Erkenntnis, Volume 1. Heidel-
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the socially meaningful distinctions between
identity groups. The determining factor is not so
much whether people share a genetic link, but
Ethnicity and Identity in the Ancient rather whether they think of themselves as
Mediterranean World a collective and believe that they have a shared
history. For example, there are relatively few
Naoı́se Mac Sweeney biological distinctions to be made between the
School of Archaeology and Ancient History, various Iban peoples of Borneo. However, groups
University of Leicester, Leicester, UK such as the Undup, the Balau, and the Ulu Ai
consider themselves to be ethnically distinct,
and these separate ethnic identities translate into
Introduction practical and political distinctions within society.
Ethnicity, then, is about the differences between
Ethnicity and identity are important fields of identity groups recognized on a social level,
research within the study of the ancient Medi- rather than the differences that might be detected
terranean world. They are crucial social issues on a biological one. Indeed, people may ascribe
within the modern world, and it seems that they to an ethnic identity (or have it ascribed to them)
were also vital in Classical antiquity. Many without any accurate knowledge about their own
different types of identity are evident in the genetic origins.
ancient Mediterranean world – gender, age, The belief about a common descent is the
religion, rank status, legal status, professional, crucial factor distinguishing ethnicity from other
regional, ethnic and cultural identities being forms of group identity, and it is the essential
perhaps the most notable. This entry will focus criterion that defines an ethnic identity. Other
on the last two forms of identity in this list, forms of group identity can also offer a basis for
ethnic and cultural. Ethnic and cultural identi- collective belonging, such as local village iden-
ties are closely linked, and it is easy to get them tity, professional identity, and identity associated

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