THE ARCHAEOREADER
WHERE A LOVE OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND READING MEET
WHERE A LOVE OF ARCHAEOLOGY AND READING MEET
"So much was lost--names, faces, ages, ethnic identities--that African Americans must do what no other ethnic group writ large must do: take a completely shattered vessel and piece it together, knowing that some pieces will never be recovered...I liken it to the Japanese art of kintsugi...The scars of the object are not concealed, but highlighted and embraced, thus giving them their own dignity and power. The brokenness and its subsequent repair are a recognized part of the story of the journey of the vessel, not to be obscured...transformation are seen as important as honoring the original structure and its traditional meaning and beauty. The food is in many cases all we have, all we can go to in order to feel our way into our past."--Michael W. Twitty Is there any other expression more true of identity, values, and culture than food? Do you identify yourself as vegetarian, vegan, omnivorous? Do you practice dietary rules such as kasrut (kosher) or halal? Maybe you've tried a popular diet or two (Atkins, South Beach, Paleo?). Perhaps fasting is an important part of your religious beliefs. Perhaps you have to watch what you eat because of allergies or struggle with a disorder. Maybe your New Years' resolutions include reducing your consumption of sugar, meat, or alcohol? What we eat consumes us, metaphorically and literally. Its Orsinio's famous opening line in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: "If music be the food of love, play on." Its Gertrude Stein's literary cubist poems using food as an allegory for how men and women interact with each other. It's the subject of endless conversations: books, tv, film, blogs, and health campaigns (milk for healthy teeth and bones). Are you like me and constantly watch food documentaries and cooking shows?! We all know the act of preparing a meal however meager or lazy, or even "pull-out all the stops" feasts can be a reaffirmation of who we are or want to be. And, as its the holiday season, it's as much a social act as it is nourishing. My own family is obsessed with food. It's not uncommon to text pictures of juicing pomegranates from the garden (mom), meal prepped lunches in a given week (me), or what we had at a restaurant lately (typically a brother) so that we still feel connected. My Dad's sole hobby is some serious grilling and our phone conversations can last an hour on the preparation of various meat. Enter, Michael Twitty. While cruising seriouseats's website I came across this book review for The Cooking Gene and knew I had to pick it up. As soon as I reached the above quote in Twitty's 1st chapter, "No More Whistling Walk for Me", I immediately began to feel this was an important book for archaeologists. To describe what a healing process could look like for generationally-affected descendants of slavery with an artistry like ceramic repair is a transformative perspective in its own right. Given how much material culture studies in archaeology focus on ceramics, this is a natural hook for someone like me. Something less tangible in the archaeological record is also being presented here that I want to highlight and that's culinary heritage. My fellow colleagues might be thinking: uh, hello, food is a MAJOR form of archaeological inquiry. What about Zooarchaeology? Pollen analysis? Protein or organic residue analysis? Absolutely. These research avenues are critical to understanding diet and nutrition in the past. Less tangible is a sense of connection for how people in the past interacted with their food let alone how this connection carries on in living descendant communities. I can link to a lot of super cool research that's been done on these topics alone and end this post with, see...look how awesome archaeology is at showing us past foodways! But even as Twitty explores DNA testing (this is one aspect of the "gene" to his aptly titled memoir) as an avenue to uncover his ancestral roots his message isn't that its all down to science, nor is mine. More importantly is his humanistic approach. Twitty brings us on his "Southern Discomfort tour" where he combines a very personal journey to understanding his identity as a chef and a black, Jewish, gay man with the culinary history of how Southern food came to be. We learn the significance of corn, yams, rice or wheat go beyond mere subsistence strategies to African culture; there are creation stories here. There is also the disturbing connection between food supply and enslavement. For example, we learn how poor rations of corn meal were adapted into the well-known Southern soul food staples like hominy, ashcake, and hoecake while inedible parts of corn such as stalks were used to keep fires going, and husks were repurposed for cooking utensils. This fare was nothing like its comforting interpretation today. When food supply for a chattal workforce was thought no different from feeding any other work animal and in many cases the scant rations and kinds of provisions provided were a means to dehuminize, these foods represent survival and resistance. Twitty shares a visceral memory of his grandmother eating cornbread with buttermilk. Remembering with distaste he once asked her why she did this and her explanation, "At least I didn't have to eat it in a trough." Twitty reminds us (Southern) cooking carries its own residual impact. And is further damaging when appropriated. Make no mistake, Twitty clearly states this book is not about taking cultural ownership of Southern cuisine away from one group and giving it (back) to another but rather "food being a tool for repair within the walls of black identities." Historic Preservation and Food heritageThis gets at the heart of what I took away from Twitty's book, the cultural significance of foods. A lot of what Twitty highlights in this book kept me thinking about how archaeologists assess the significance of agricultural and horticultural landscapes, farmsteads, homesteads, and other domestic site types. Most of us are quick to connect these properties to the larger context they manifested out of and this may be supported by artifact, faunal, and other analyses to sufficiently argue for (or against) their significance. But what about the cultural significance of the crops being cultivated themselves? When I read Twitty put himself to work in a cotton field--experiencing both a physical and spiritual connection to his ancestors--as he listens to folk music recordings of chain gangs and slave work songs, I was struck by parallels in the way hunting, fishing, and plant gathering sites are important to the cultural continuity of Native American communities. Rice Bay in Michigan is the first Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places for being a place significant for its (American Indian) food tradition and not just as a sacred site. Its listing only occurred five years ago (2015). Why has it taken this long to have a historic property listed for its cultural significance to foodways? And why isn't the eligibility of sites being considered more for their role in food traditions?* My sense is that:
While numerous studies exist on food culture and foodways, how are archaeologists, anthropologists, and other historic preservation professionals applying this information to protect, preserve, and enhance food traditions? There are a lot of great resources that bring food and public archaeology together. Some of my favorite ways to teach archaeology principles to a young audience are with cookie excavations and peanut butter and jelly stratigraphy. But I will admit I've only recently started thinking about food in management recommendations or in public outreach. "Natural resources are cultural resources" is something archaeologists pick up early on in the cultural resource management industry but if I'm honest, I haven't truly felt the impact of this in my work experience until I began working for a tribal government with a first foods mission. The Cooking Gene has heightened my awareness. I can't recommend this book enough. "It is not enough to know the past of people you interpret. You must know your own past. I'm in clothes that call to mind what the enslaved made for themselves and their slaveholders. I am in plantation kitchens that are haunted to the rafters in places that few African Americans dare to tread. I watch ghosts walk by, and among them is me. I am seeing myself at seven, at thirteen, twenty-one, thirty, now. I am stirring the pot wondering, How exactly did I get here?" --Michael Twitty Learn MoreCheck out this video of Michael Twitty discussing the food of the enslaved on Townsends YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwkRWIwZ43A&t=4s Preservation Maryland features recipes in their culinary heritage spotlights on their blog. Farrell Monaco's Edible Archaeology blog Tavola Mediterranea Share the knowledge! Comment below if you know about historic preservation efforts supporting culinary traditions! *Footnote for the peanut gallery: I am well aware not all properties eligible for listing on the National Register need or should be listed. I'm not arguing to flood the National Register with a bunch of corn fields. My discussion here is to encourage us to give a bit more consideration to food traditions than just something ancillary to the assessment of certain site types.
I have hyper-linked to sources where appropriate/available. All links and sources were electronically accessed between December 26-30, 2019. **If you like the information in this post please consider donating to the non-profits mentioned**
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The 4th book off The ArchaeoReader TBR is a fast-paced sci-fi where The Terminator and History Detectives collide. Daniel H. Wilson's The Clockwork Dynasty is SO much fun! In the first three sentences (quoted above), I was immediately hooked. Research scientist (part historian, part robotics engineer) June Stefanov is obsessed with a mysterious object her grandfather left her. As far as she knows, its history comes from a WWII battlefield at Stalingrad, where her grandfather witnessed the impossible--a man, gunned down, crush Nazi soldiers and live to walk away? June has made a career out of her obsession investigating advanced technology from centuries ago in the form of clockwork automatons. While looking over a porcelain doll with just such technology (side note: 1. I will forever be wondering about the true nature of porcelain doll fragments I've seen on survey (lol), & 2. I was instantly reminded of the (David Tennant) Dr. Who episode, "The Girl in the Fireplace" featuring 18th century clockwork robots), June finds herself pulled into something deeper than she ever imagined; a war among mechanical beings, called avtomats, originating around 3000 BC China. Switching between June's narrative (as the present) and the avtomat Peter's (as the past), this action-packed novel not only converges the past with the present but takes the reader from the Pacific Northwest (Oregon & Seattle) to London and China. There's quite a few fun nods to pop culture and I enjoyed such historic elements as Peter the Great's court and the East India Company's Battle at Plassey. A blend of historical and science fiction I can get behind! If you're a fan of HBO's Westworld and need something to fill the void while waiting for the 3rd season, this is your ticket. The Allure of ArtifactsAs June can attest, the allure of an artifact is REAL. Some archaeologists catch this feverish compulsion at an early age from a trip to to a museum. A long-time friend of mine told me they remember seeing natural history exhibits at the American Museum in kindergarten and that was it for them; having never stopped learning about past people. For many of us, its the exhilarating high that comes from touching something no one else has for hundreds of years. The late, great, rock star American archaeologist Janet D. Spector wrote: "When I excavate sites and touch things that have lain untouched for centuries, I know why I am an archaeologist" (Spector 1998:359). Of course, objects do not have to be hundreds of years old to hook an archaeologist's heart. Some of us are just as fascinated by recent garbage. Give us those funky cone top beer and soda cans any day (I love coming across cone tops on survey and will fully admit to being excited by a 1950s Black Cherry Shasta can that was probably discarded by some construction worker from the last time the site, I was monitoring, was dug into...)! Or a tantalizing tell-tale green kick-up fragment belonging to a champagne/wine bottle, the solarized, pearlescent amythest of a milk bottle, a cobalt blue medicine bottle with a clever cap that reminds you when to take your next dose, the raised floral decal of a teacup fragment, or how about even Atari video games?! A mentor of mine recalled to me once how she was struck by the simple presence of a nail polish bottle, found in a trash pit, associated with a Depression Era homestead. She found it meaningful because here was a woman who undoubtedly couldn't have afforded to spend (much) money on a frivolous item like nail polish but did anyway to do something for herself. I loved hearing that because it made this faceless woman more tangible. Some of the most memorable artifacts I've encountered are also personal items. Recovered at the Joint Courts Archaeological Project in downtown Tucson, two of my favorite objects have been a mustache mug and a copper lipstick tube manufactured for the larger-than-life Polish opera singer Ganna Walska's makeup line (both dating from the first few decades of the 20th century). Who was this waxed, mustachioed man avoiding coffee in his whiskers? Who was this woman that slicked a classic ruby red onto her pout? Though I never was able to find out because the context of these finds were from a neighborhood with a high turn around (as so often happened in dynamic communities experiencing population growth in the 1910s), a link to the past and people's lives lingered from their purpose. Purpose is a strong theme throughout The Clockwork Dynasty. As a mechanism created specifically for Pravda--or the unity of truth and justice--Peter's function is literally engraved on the part of him that represents his soul and is the driving force for his existence. While I wouldn't say I live for a single principal as a complex, free thinking human, its that function and meaning (and the infinite variables) are intrinsically linked to our material culture that is the real allure of artifacts. When I followed up with Mallory Tripplett, a graduate student at Central Washington's Anthropology program, who had responded to my Instagram stories asking archaeologists to share what material culture they have found influential to them, Mallory said: "With the soda and alcohol artifacts, I like that they can sometimes indicate leisurely activities where people were indulging and hopefully having fun. The medicine bottles are interesting because they can indicate very personal issues (real or perceived) that people were trying to fix and we wouldn't have a chance to know about this intimate aspect of their lives unless we found the artifact." Learn MoreBe it 1000+ old chert debitage, a can dump, or a mysterious part belonging to a 5,000 year old robot, a major driving force for archaeologists is that grasp of intimacy connecting us to people of the past. If you want to dig deeper I can't recommend enough Janet Spector's What This Awl Means and Arthur Asa Berger's What Objects Mean as an intro to interpreting artifacts. Like Professor Lu Ann De Cunzo's short story 'A Future after Freedom' (discussed in another blog post mentioning archaeology and storytelling), Dr. Spector takes up penning a fictional story around the purpose of an awl handle found in a precontact Wahpeton refuse pit. From the experience, Spector explains how she regained her own lost connection to the past caused by decades of objectivity. In What Objects Mean, Berger simplifies different theoretical approaches like Freud, semiotics, sociological analyses, economics and Marxist approaches, culture theory, and archaeological concepts and then applies these to certain objects. For instance, Coca-Cola bottles can be understood as a means of globalization and cosmetics as a way of participating in gendered norms (given the growing representation of men in makeup advertisements--check out the Instagram feeds of cosmetic lines like Tarte and Benefit--I'd love to see a new edition incorporate this). I have hyper-linked to sources where appropriate/available. All links and sources electronically accessed between May 6 and 10, 2019. *Some links are affiliates* References CitedSpector, Janet D.
1998 What This Awl Means: Feminist Archaeology at a Wahpeton Dakota Village. In Kelley Hays-Gilpin and David S. Whitley (eds) Reader in Gender Archaeology, London: Routledge, pp. 359-363. What are you reading?...and what would you recommend for a blog that relates archaeology to fiction? Recently, I was talking to colleagues that work for tribal governments (either as consultants or directly employed within cultural resource protection programs) and two, long-standing New York Times Bestselling, mystery series came up: Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon and Tony Hillerman's (carried on by his daughter, Anne Hillerman) Leaphorn and Chee novels. Well, having never heard of these I had to find out more! Anna Pigeon, Park Ranger. It may come as no surprise that a former National Park Service archaeologist, that's now a tribal archaeologist, would recommend Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series since it features a park ranger sleuth who travels around the U.S. to various parks and historic places. One of the things that got this archaeologist excited about the series was that in one of the books a Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO) was mentioned. An actual THPO! :D This series has 19 books so far and takes the reader from the Guadalupe Mountains National Park (Texas) in Track the Cat (published 1993) to Acadia National Park (Maine) in Boar Island (published in 2016). Nevada Barr was a law enforcement ranger with the National Park Service, herself, and was inspired by her experiences to become a novelist. Joe Leaphorn, Jim Chee. Tribal Investigators. As a desert kid growing up in Southern Arizona with family living in Tucson and Albuquerque, I'm not sure how Tony Hillerman has escaped me 'til now. With 30 novels, 18 being the famous Navajo tribal police duo Leaphorn and Chee mysteries (of which 3 have been adapted by PBS), 12 nonfiction works, and an interactive website hosted by the Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico Libraries, to say Hillerman has had an illustrious writing career is an understatement. He has been especially regarded for using ethnographic and anthropological research to write the Leaphorn and Chee detective novel series, representing racial struggles, and advocating for Native American rights. With his daughter Anne Hillerman continuing the Diné detective series, I've got my work cut out for me! Now where to start... I have hyper-linked to sources where appropriate/available. All links and sources were electronically accessed April 13, 2019.
*some links are affiliate* "Dr. Jones," he said thoughtfully. "Yeah." I sighed. "At least you're not an archaeologist," he said, smiling". --Artifact, Gigi Pandian The 3rd book off TheArchaeoReader TBR is the entertaining, lighthearted mystery, Artifact by Gigi Pandian. Artifact introduces historian Dr. Jaya Jones, a scholar on the British East India Company--their trade routes and military skirmishes--at a university in San Francisco by day and tabla player by night. In this first installment of the five-book Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery series, Jaya finds herself mixed up in an adventure involving an "Indian treasure wrapped up in a Scottish legend." With the handsome UC Berkeley grad student Lane Peters Jaya discovers the armlet that her deceased ex, who was an archaeologist with pseudo leanings, sent her before his untimely death is part of an apocryphal Rajasthan ruby collection. Jaya may have some questionable taste in men (since her love interest, Lane Peters, turns out to be a retired jewel thief!) but her moral compass is not as she unravels the mystery behind her ex's demise and how an Indian treasure could be found at a Pictish archaeological site. I enjoyed Pandian's historian take on a Dr. Jones, Jaya's voice, and the landscape from Berkeley to the hallowed halls of the British Library and on to the lower Highlands of Scotland. Pandian shows she's no stranger to academia with commentary about proper research and quips like: "You have a lot of contemporary biases for a historian." Its fun without being too trope-y (fair-warning this contains a fedora wearing archaeologist ;D) and informative without bogging the narrative down with facts. This is not to say I didn't go on my own Indian history fact-finding expedition! I hardly know a thing about the East India Company or British rule in India besides what's in movies so I most enjoyed getting a little history lesson in Artifact on the Mughal Empire and the 1857 Sepoy Uprising that lead to creating the British Raj. When Jaya and Lane hit up the British Library's Asian and African Studies Reading Room I had to check out the website and explore its online archives where I discovered the East India Company at Home, 1757-1857 blog. Here, researchers with the University of Warwick and University College London ran a project looking at how colonial expansion into Asia influenced material consumption among British families. And since part of the story in Artifact involves an East India Company merchant who leaves India on the heels of the Sepoy uprising and sets up his estate in Scotland with his Indian-born daughter from an interracial marriage, exploring this blog was a great way to visualize the fictitious grand manor's museum displays from the monumental (e.g. the attar casket of Tipu Sultan) to the small (see the India Seal of Sir Francis Sykes). The V & A's South Asia Room website is a whole other rabbit hole to explore. I'm kinda obsessed with Tipu's Tiger. The resistance symbolism this man-sized musical object conveys as a tiger mauling a British colonial soldier is visceral. Watch this musician play the ca. 1780/1790s musical object; as he plays 'Rule Britannia' the irony is not lost. On Treasure Hunting
"Treasure" isn't really in an American archaeologist's vocabulary unless its maybe to be funny when describing something that is definitely not treasure, like when on survey coming across a can dump (lol, of which I am wholly guilty of, but I also happen to like recording can dumps anyway!). With "treasure hunt" in the title I was curious what kind of treasure seeking narrative would be in Artifact and am happy to see Pandian use treasure hunting less as an archaeology trope and more of a means to highlight issues of colonialism in India and put it in a legal context (as with the quote above). I won't say I wasn't a little uneasy that professional academics were doing the treasure hunting (and possibly for research funding no less) but there's more to the story and I don't want to give away any spoilers so you can read it for yourself! The book does open up the conversation about what is "treasure" and what is the legal framework for it in the UK, and how in the heck can it be possible for a professional archaeologist to get money from a government for finding said treasure. Its a foreign concept to me because treasure is not singled out for special treatment as an archaeological resource in the States. Whether its "treasure" or not, in the States, if an object(s) found meets the age threshold (typically 50 years or older but in some states the threshold can be higher--also depends on if its found on federal land) then its an archaeological resource and state or federal historic preservation laws kick in. But also, discussing artifacts in terms of monetary value is the quickest way to make most American archaeologists uneasy. If you're an archaeologist who works in the UK or know of one, I'd love to learn more about attitudes towards treasure and preservation, and how this system works! Drop me a comment below or email me at [email protected]! (P.S. I'd love to come back to this topic in another post and would welcome a guest post from a professional about it here.) There is a ton of sources online on the subject of treasure in the UK so I'm just going to focus on a summary on the legal framework for "treasure" and my question about archaeologists getting financial incentives. At the bottom of this post are links to sources that go in greater depth. Treatment of Treasure in the UK In 1996, the Treasure Act was implemented in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. "Treasure" is legally defined specifically to types of objects and age (typically those made of metal and generally at least 300 years old) but there are exceptions and anyone interested should head over to the Portable Antiquities Scheme website here. Interestingly enough in these countries, if treasure is found on an archaeological excavation or by an archaeologist there is no monetary reward. In Artifact, the story's excavation takes place in Scotland. The Treasure Act does not apply to Scotland, where the Treasure Trove exists. Here, the Treasure Trove unit defines objects, regardless of age or if they're made of metal, that hold archaeological significance in Scotland to be under their jurisdiction. Which means archaeologists work closely with the Treasure Trove on field investigations so this would be the authority Pandian is referring to in her book. It does appear that excavators on organized investigations are exempt from receiving a reward or ex gratia payment (good!) which means it doesn't look like Jaya's ex or the dig's principal investigator would have actually benefited financially from reporting a Rajasthan ruby collection to the Treasure Trove. Overall, a good read that offers an opportunity for educators or archaeologists to broach the subject of treasure hunting. I'll definitely be picking up the next book in the series, Pirate Vishnu, and recommend this well-paced mystery as an excellent summer/beach read--especially for crime caper fans, lovers of Agatha Christie, and Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart series! Learn MorePortable Antiquities Scheme Treasure Trove in Scotland Treasure Act and antiquities law in Northern Ireland Charted Institute for Archaeologists Historic Environment Scotland Council for British Archaeology The CBA has an amazing advocacy community. If you want to get in on the digging action in Britain, please reach out with the CBA who can connect you with like-minded individuals! *Treasure hunting and looting is not a victim less crime. Please get involved with the myriad of archaeological organizations or regional institutions in your area by becoming members and finding out how you can respectfully, responsibly, and legally "dig deeper".*
After reading Brenna Hassett's Built on Bones where she frequently talked about her archaeological excursions into Turkey, Syria, and Jordan, I was in the mood for my own literary adventure into the Levant. I hadn't read an Agatha Christie since December (for The ABC Murders adaptation with John Malkovich, did you see it?) and since reading about pioneering paleontologist Mary Anning last Fall, I've been wanting to learn about another TrowelBlazer, Gertrude Bell, and then what with March being Women's History Month and all, well, two books seemed the perfect pairing: They Came to Baghdad and A Woman in Arabia. "Are you the persecuted heroine or the wicked adventuress." --Richard Baker in They Came to Baghdad
Spies? Political intrigue? Savvy ladies? Exotic travel? Archaeology? And even a little romance? Can it be possible to find all of these things and more not just in an Agatha Christie novel but in real life? The answer is yes, yes you can, if you're Gertrude Bell. "We had...a most delicious camp in the top of a mountain, Jebel Rakham. I climbed the rocks and found flowers in the crevices--not a great bounty, but in this barren land a feast to the eyes..." Gertrude Bell, February 24, 1914 Part travelogue, part diary, and part poli-sci history, Georgina Howell's edited biography, A Woman in Arabia: the Writings of the Queen of the Desert encapsulates the life of one of THE most influential women in the last 100 years (her own death centennial is coming up in seven years (2026)). Using letters, diary entries, accounts from contemporaries, and white papers written on the British administration of Iraq, Syria, and India, Howell structures Bell's journey to becoming 'Queen of the Desert' in an unusual way. Rather than presenting Gertrude Bell's life chronologically she does so by the many roles and personalities Bell takes on throughout her life so what we see is is Bell as: The Linguist, The Poet, The Person, The Mountaineer, the Archaeologist, the Desert Traveler, The Lover, The Prisoner, The War Worker, The Intrusives, The Nation Builder, The King Maker, and The Courtier. Having read Michelle Obama's Becoming as my last biography/memoir not too long ago, where she describes 'being oneself' a constantly evolving process, I really liked this way of contextualizing a person's identity. Though, this framework might not be for everyone. If you crave linear story lines, this might not be for you. As a Nation Builder, Bell is notable for her role in creating modern Iraq. But don't be too quick to call her the female "Laurence of Arabia." This mountain-climbing, polyglot, was the first woman to receive first-class honors in history from Oxford AND an accomplished archaeologist in her own right. I found T.H. Lawrence and Bell's interactions with each other during WWI absorbing. Though they were never close friends I liked learning that they had a strong bond. Lawrence wrote of Gertrude to her sister (after her death) saying: "She stood out as the one person who, thinking clearly, saw the true work with the Arabs and, daunted by nothing, worked unsparing of herself toward it." In her role as an archaeologist, Bell is best known for founding the Iraq National Museum in Baghdad (1923), establishing excavation permits requiring standards, introducing early antiquity law that limited archaeological investigations and that a percentage of an investigations findings (i.e. artifacts) be curated with the Museum, as well as documenting such world treasures as the Palace of Ukhaidir and Tur Abdin. Of which you can read about in her reports: Palace and Mosque Ukhaidir (1914) Churches and Monasteries of Tur Abdin and Neighboring Districts (1913) As for romance, Bell's relationship with Dick Doughty-Wylie is the stuff of (dare I say it?) Downtown Abbey. A wealthy, intelligent, headstrong woman born in County Durham, England, making her place in the world (in this case Mesopotamia) meets her match in a married, British Army Lieutenant. Passionate letters and a tragic-ending at the Battle of Gallipoli had me all at once, smitten, crushed, and as a glutton for punishment, thinking about re-watching the 1981 film Gallipoli with Mel Gibson. At times, I did struggle keeping my interest in "A Woman in Arabia" (especially during the later chapters when some of the government documents were excerpted verbatim) and found the audio book a great way to keep me going. In fact, if it wasn't for the audio book I would have missed out on an amazing listening experience while getting lost in the Gertrude Bell Archive at Newcastle University. I definitely recommend listening to Bell travel from Aleppo to Istanbul via Baghdad, Mosul, and Konya while clicking your way through her photography collection!
Learn MoreThe Gertrude Bell Society British Museum's changing role in Iraqi Archaeology U.S. Dept of Defense Cultural Property Training: Iraq I have hyper-linked to sources where appropriate/available. All links and sources were electronically accessed between March 11-16, 2019.
**If you like the information in this post please consider donating to the non-profits mentioned** *This post contains affiliate links. "...what we think of when we envision the human past is partly a myth that tells more about where we think we're going wrong with our own lives today than anything that happened thousands and thousands of years ago...But what we're interested in here isn't just a takedown of some ridiculous celebrity-fueled diet or fashion trend [i.e. the paleodiet]. What we want to know is: what happened to Spear Guy and Raquel? Why did they decide to give up the big savanna and start spending their time over at the river's edge, swapping a never-ending horizon for the manageable commute associated with settled life? And what did that decision do to his leg muscles or her baby-juggling skills. Because we can look at the couple eating fast food in their car in a nameless city, success stories and paragons of human achievement in terms of the race to urban living that has characterized the last 15,000 or so years of human history, and we can look at the legions and legions of our ancestors who died along the way to that fast food parking lot, and see, locked away in the cells and structures of bones and teeth and hair and skin, that we haven't just built cities. Cities have built us."---Brenna Hassett If you read the (admittedly, excessively long BUT totally necessary!) quote above and, like me, it left you wanting more, then Research Associate and bioarchaeologist Dr. Brenna Hassett's Built on Bones: 15,000 Years of Urban Life and Death is for you! The 2nd read off TheArchaeoReader TBR, is one helluva nonfiction, popular science, book on the development of cities and how, not only have we shaped them but how cities have shaped us. I absolutely loved the way Hassett balanced a dense topic with wit and humor. From her catchy, oft musically-theme titled, chapters like 'Papa Was A Rolling Stone' (Chapter 1), 'What's New Pussycat?' (Chapter 3), and 'Under Pressure' (Chapter 9)--incidentally publisher, Bloomsbury has actually made a Spotify playlist, and though it hasn't included any of the songs the chapter names are taken from, I may or may not be listening to it while I work on this post--to her jocular voice (many of her footnotes are hilarious), Hassett certainly keeps your interest peaked. Within two pages I could tell this was going to be a great archaeology read. Right out the gate, Built on Bones takes on our 'paleo-fantasies' of humankind's first family and the popular lifestyle trend that gives every archaeologist and anthropologist heartburn: the Paleo Diet. I'll spare you my own rant on how absurd the Paleo Diet is, as any kind of representation of what our pre-agricultural ancestors were eating, in lieu of Dr. Christina Warriner's well-known 2012 TED talk. Which is far more eloquent than I could be on the subject. Personally, if I had to promote a diet that considered our early hominid ancestors it would be Michael Pollen's Cooked. Have you seen the Netflix special?! So good. But I digress and as Hassett says above, her book isn't just about debunking myths. Bone by bone, tooth, and even historical documents, a fascinating discussion on the Neolithic Revolution, human migration and plant and animal domestication, what bioarchaeology, genetics, and Ancient DNA (aka aDNA) can tell us about violence and inequality, and our responses to infectious disease, all unfolds to answer her questions: why cities have been built the way they have, and what this has done to human populations.
Digging Deeper: How Long 'til Black Future Month?, Homegoing, and African Diaspora Archaeology2/14/2019 "We believe the one who has power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must ask yourself, Whose story am I missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too. From there you get a clearer, yet still imperfect, picture.” ― Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing I've been reading N. K. Jemisin's recently published short story collection How Long 'til Black Future Month? lately and one particular story, 'Red Dirt Witch,' blew me away for flipping the script on stories of the past. In this deeply affecting magical tale, where a mother and daughter living in 1950s Alabama dream prophecies and battle (of the wits variety) with a fey 'White Lady' for the fate of all African Americans, Jemisin shows history as future. It conveys all at once, power and hope in the very face of an oppressive history enduring the generational impact of slavery and institutional racism. And it got me thinking about Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing again--a compelling, epic family saga unfurling two different branches of a family tree beginning with half sisters, Effia and Esi, in mid-18th century Gold Coast Africa and ending with Marjorie and Marcus, their sixth generation descendants, in present-day America. Gyasi skillfully tells a story of family, heritage, and destiny through vignettes; propelling the reader through time and unforgettable historical narratives. Uncovering hidden stories of the past are an important part of archaeology if not THE most important part (bones, stones, and fill in the blank with your favorite human made object are cool and all but how it all can tell us more about who we are is cooler!). To speak to Yaa Gyasi's quote above, a lot of historical archaeologists (myself included) like doing archaeology because it’s an opportunity to explore the lives of “those of little note.” As an example, some historical archaeologists study underrepresented populations including the African Diaspora or Hispanic and Asian communities (check out the archaeology of Japanese internment camps in another post on here); tying together the intersection between gender, biological sex, sexual orientation, race, and class. And as its Black History Month, I want to highlight some of the amazing archaeological research that has amplified what would otherwise be missing voices among the African Diaspora in America. African Diaspora ArchaeologyA considerable body of archaeological research into African Diaspora communities, especially in the U.S., is devoted to plantation life. These studies explore a wide-range of evidence for instance: the spatial distribution of artifacts in order to better understand plantation functionality (pre-and post-emancipation) as a whole or singularly as with the case of excavations at slave cabins, yard areas, and even surveillance spaces that comprise plantation sites. The (archaeo)reader might be gratified to learn historic plantations like Thomas Jefferson's Monticello and James Madison's Montpelier have dedicated archaeology programs focused on their roles as sites of slavery. Monticello hosts the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery (DAACS), where anyone interested in learning about excavations and architectural and material remains recovered from Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia sites can. Teachers of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders looking to incorporate plantation archaeology into their history classes might check out Project Archaeology and their curriculum guide, Investigating a Tabby Slave Cabin. Its an incredible resource (meeting Common Core Standards) for engaging young students in this important aspect of American history. For those who'd like to consider a critical look at how American heritage has been constructed at Antebellum era plantations including Friendfield (where Michelle Obama's enslaved ancestors have been traced), Antoinette T. Jackson's Speaking for the Enslaved: Heritage Tourism and Community is a must read. For a sample of archaeological scholarship, the Society for Historical Archaeology compiled 20 articles in their Perspectives series, The Archaeology of Plantation Life while archaeologist and professor, Theresa Singleton has put together The Archaeology of Slavery and Plantation Life. A Future after FreedomAs I think about Jemisin's commentary on Black history and a Black future, what her stories say about history as a future, (side note, Jemisin is without a doubt my favorite Science Fiction author and if you haven't read the 3-time Hugo award-winning Broken Earth Trilogy, stop what your're doing and go get The Fifth Season!) and the historical narratives in Homegoing I'm once more struck by archaeology's role in storytelling. Inspired by the findings from a cultural resource management transportation project, Professor Lu Ann De Cunzo published the journal article 'A Future after Freedom' (De Cunzo 2008)-- which can be found in the Society for Historical Archaeology's compiled Perspectives in African Diaspora Archaeology. In it she sheds the typical journal article format for fictional short stories about material representations of spirituality and celebration with two turn-of-the 20th century Delaware African American families, the Stumps and Walmsleys. De Cunzo points out in her abstract, "The Stumps and Walmseys drew on their pasts and looked to the future as they created a distinctive cultural style framed by racism and constrained opportunities." In her story of the Stumps we learn about Rachel's belief in the spiritual protection of iron or how wearing her best summer cotton dress at the Big Quarterly was a way to remember the suffering of her enslaved ancestors who had worked the fields. The story of David Walmsey is a rumination of African beliefs and American consumerism over the shattered fragments of a glass vase. More research into U.S. African Diaspora archaeology is considering places representing Black heritage from post-Civil War, on up through the mid-20th century. In the last few years historical archaeologist William White has examined a multi-racial urban neighborhood on River Street in Boise, Idaho and in my own state (Washington), a survey of historic African American sites is currently underway in the City of Pasco. Extensive investigations at Illinois' New Philadelphia, a community of previously enslaved and free-born African Americans living alongside European Americans, reveal lifeways of a town founded decades before the Civil War (in 1838). History in the Making- African American Burial Ground ProtectionJust yesterday (2/13/2019), it was announced that the Adams-McEachin African American Burial Grounds Network Act was introduced to Congress. This crucial piece of legislation would establish federal support, through the National Park Service, to help document and protect African American grave sites. Head over to this blog post at Succinct Research to learn more about why African American Burial Grounds needs protection and please write to your State Representatives to show your support of the bill. Learn MoreI have hyper-linked to sources where appropriate/available. All links and sources were electronically accessed between February 7 and February 14, 2019. I've barely scratched the surface on this subject. An incredible wealth of information can be found at: African Burial Ground National Monument The African Diaspora Archaeology Network The African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter Society of Black Archaeologists The National Museum of African American History and Culture *If you like any of the information in this post please consider donating to any of the organizations mentioned. * References CitedDe Cunzo, Lu Ann
2008 [1998] A Future after Freedom. In Perspectives from Historical Archaeology: African Diaspora Archaeology. The Society for Historical Archaeology. "Professor Slade said, ah well, after all, authenticity was impossible and not really the goal anyway, the point was to have a flavour of Iron Age life and perhaps some insight into particular processes or technologies." --Ghost Wall, Sarah Moss First up off the ArchaeoReader TBR is Sarah Moss's Ghost Wall. It follows 17-year old Silvie, on a summer holiday, as she sleeps in a roundhouse with her parents on splintery deerskin-lined bunks, wears a scratchy tunic and moccasins, eats a kind of gruel porridge for breakfast and fish and rabbit caught for dinner, helps gather wild roots and berries, and even attempts her hand at basket weaving. The obvious archaeological aspect to the story is experimental archaeology--a branch devoted to participating in manufacturing techniques to better understand how past people lived (like this cool project that experimented with stone tools and abalone shell to better grasp fishing techniques among prehistoric peoples off the coast of today's California). It all sounds innocuous enough, if not even a little boring to Silvie since she's there not for her own interest but to live out some fantasy of her father's who has a passion for early British history. We quickly perceive Silvie's father, a middle class bus driver, is controlling and even violent (Trigger Warning: this story addresses the effects of domestic abuse) towards women. A man that feels slighted by missed opportunities in education and social mobility, that feels out of his time you might say, and desires the idea of one before the Romans and other "foreigners" began invading England. Silvie's own name, short for Sulevia (a Celtic goddess), is another example of her father's desire to uphold some kind of model for Britishness. As the story progresses we see just what kind of toll her father's behavior and his disturbing fascination with bog burial rites takes on Silvie; from her own dark thoughts frequently reflecting upon a notion of just what an innate sense of violence Iron Age Britons would have held to her anxious interactions among fellow participants. With her father and Professor Slade becoming steadily more invested in re-enacting aspects of Iron Age life, an alarming event unfolds that challenges how far is too far in a scientific experiment. Ghost Wall was my most anticipated read for 2019 (a tall order considering its only January!) and it did not disappoint. Moss manages to intertwine nationalism, classism, androcentric ideas of prehistoric divisions of labor, and domestic abuse that proves this short story is so much more than a campfire tale of experimental archaeology gone wrong. To me Ghost Wall is a bit of a love letter, albeit a dark one, to my archaeologist heart for touching on two important dialogues in archaeological scholarship: gender and critical theory. In a nut shell, a critical theory lens applied to archaeology recognizes how ideology influences our interpretation of the past and acknowledges that studying the past is not neutral or an objective science. Intentional or not, there have been lots of ways archaeology has been used to promote some religious, economic, or political beliefs over others, legitimize one group over another, or uphold contemporary societal viewpoints. "[As archaeologists, we] can properly be accused of being acolytes...to our culture, unaware of what we have been doing, and whom we serve" (Leone 1973:132). Since the 1970s many archaeologists, like Mark Leone, have applied critical theory to their research--leading to a common understanding in the field that writing about the past cannot be separated from the context of the present. In Ghost Wall, more than once the professor is caught by Silvie's father's opinion that early Britons excelled over others: "Aye, said Dad, maybe so, you're thinking of the carnyes, but they had their horses and swords as well, didn't they, put up quite a fight and after all sent them packing in the end, there weren't dark faces in these parts for nigh on two millennia after that, were there?"--Sarah Moss, Ghost Wall (page 36) Archaeology of GenderMoss doesn't just toss around an idealized national myth but goes further in spotlighting gender myth (roles) too. Assumptions about gender roles in the past, especially the deep past, have been problematic for archaeology. These assumptions run the gamut and we've all heard 'em: that men are naturally dominant and women passive, men's place is the public sphere and women's is in the private (domestic), and of course, Man-the-hunter. It comes as no surprise to find stereotypical assumptions in the division of labor playing out among the group in Ghost Wall. Silvie's father, unsurprisingly, is the primary agent but luckily Moss contrasts him with Molly, the only other female participant besides Silvie (and her mother) and the only female college student. Numerous studies criticizing gender stereotypes and an androcentric view of human development arose in the 1980s and 1990s. This has led to fascinating research into gender since then, exploring female and male identity more fully and reconsidering gender-specific features and material remains as it relates to division of labor, power and social hierarchies, and even gender ideologies themselves (Mother Goddess anyone?). Check out these six foundational scholarly reads if you want to get into the marrow of Gender Archaeology: The Archaeology of Gender: Separating the Spheres in Urban America by Diana diZerega Wall Engendering Archaeology: Women and Prehistory by Joan Gero and Margaret Conkey Reader in Gender Archaeology Kelley Hays-Gilpin and David S. Whitley (Eds). Ancient Bodies, Ancient Lives: Sex, Gender, and Archaeology by Rosemary A. Joyce Historical Archaeology of Gendered Lives by Deborah Rotman Historical and Archaeological Perspectives on Gender Transformations Suzanne M. Spencer-Wood (Ed.) Needless to say, Ghost Wall is utterly brilliant. References CitedLeone, M. P. (1972) Issues in Anthropological Archaeology. In Contemporary Archaeology, edited by M. Leone. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press.
Do you have a goal this year to read more? Read more diverse genres... or more female authors...or more authors of a different background than you...or of a different community? I know I do! In the last couple of years I've been ramping up my reading and its been incredible to immerse myself in not just any book that strikes my fancy but one that gets me to read diversely in all sorts of ways. Where before I tended to exclusively read historical fiction, I have opened myself up to genres like sci-fi, contemporary romance, Young Adult (YA), nonfiction, classics, and the odd graphic novel or two. On top of which I had been a staunch physical book reader. It wasn't that I opposed ereaders (kindles, nooks, etc.) I just never thought they were for me. With almost 40 audiobooks and a dozen ebooks under my belt last year I can say unequivocally boy, was I wrong and I'm so glad to have embraced diverse formats too (oh audiobooks, I don't know how I lived without you before). And what a difference reading diversely has made in my life. I feel more connected to people that aren't just friends and family (though its always a joy to be able to connect more fully with them). I feel like even if I don't share a similar background or experience with someone reading diversely has allowed me to at least be more understanding and engaged. Attributes I feel essential for archaeologists when making interpretations about past behaviors. Will Schwalbe and George R.R. Martin said it best: “And reading all different kinds of books is not simply reading all different kinds of books; it’s a way of becoming more fully human and more humane.” ― Will Schwalbe, Books for Living “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” ― George R.R. Martin, A Dance with Dragons One big thing that has worked for me in keeping my reading diet varied is a dedicated TBR (to-be read) stack. From time to time I've gone without dedicated monthly TBRs (great for honing your reading and finally getting to that book you always say one day to!) when reading for mood is the only way I keep reading. With the start of the new year I began pulling a list of some books I'd like to get to throughout 2019 with this reading blog project and thanks to some great recommendations on Instagram, I've put together the ArchaeoReader 2019 TBR! I've got 10 books planned, though I hope to discover more as the year unfolds, featuring stories about archaeologists/anthropologists/archaeological digs or center around culture with themes like culture contact or the lived experience. In keeping this TBR diverse there's sci-fi/fantasy, historical fiction, cozy murder mysteries, nonfiction, suspense/thriller, literary fiction, and a Middle Grade-Children's read. Now, I do realize the majority of these are written by women. I tend to gravitate towards female writers so if you're looking to bring more women into your reading life I've got seven talented ladies to check out. Historical Fiction Labyrinth- Kate Mosse* On an archaeological dig in "present-day" France, a volunteer comes across skeletal remains and cryptic rock art in a cave that leads her on a path intertwined with a 13th c young woman that gets caught up in crusades and the holy grail secret. Sarum- Edward Rutherfurd This one was highly recommended to me by a friend who is a professor of Roman history and archaeology. It's described as a sweeping epic saga about a number of families in England from prehistoric times to modern day (circa 1985-around the time it was published). I haven't decided if I want to read this on Kindle or as an audiobook. Sci-fi/Fantasy The Clockwork Dynasty- Daniel H. Wilson An anthropologist discovers a secret world populated(?) by human-like mechanical beings linked to a past set in early 18th c Russia. The author holds a doctorate in robotics so I'm thinking this could be pretty interesting. I don't know if this has Doctor Who vibes but I hope so! Mystery Artifact- Gigi Pandian Written by an Indian American woman who has cultural anthropologist parents, this book about a college history professor, Jaya Jones, specializing in the relationship between India and Britain has got adventure written all over it but with a whole 'nother Dr. Jones. It being $4.99 on Kindle, this one will be an ebook for me. Some reviews on Goodreads say this book and its series (Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery) is in the Elizabeth Peters vein of mystery and archaeology. Lion in the Valley- Elizabeth Peters Speaking of Elizabeth Peters...Its been a decade since I read an Amelia Peabody Mystery so I'm going to jump back in with Book #4 where I believe I left off but may have already read... For an entry into the world of Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, highly recommend starting out with Crocodile on the Sandbank. As a cozy mystery, I'm going to give this one a listen on audio. The Bone People- Keri Hulme** Another recommended read from a friend of mine is this 1985 Man Booker Prize winning novel that explores postcolonial Maori-New Zealand experiences. I've heard the language in this one is superb and is recommended for fans of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible (of which I am a great fan!). Suspense/Thriller The Anomaly- Michael Rutger Okay, with the tag line "If Indiana Jones lived in the X-files era" I don't have high expectations for this story about a rogue archaeologist (what does that even mean?) that has a documentary series and goes off retracing the steps of a turn-of-the-20th c explorer of the Grand Canyon. I'm going to keep an open mind when I pick this one up and hope it has good suspense and thrills since its written by a Hollywood screenwriter. Ghost Wall- Sarah Moss** Now this short story (130 pages!), about a young woman participating in an experimental archaeology class in England (living like Iron Age people) with her history-obsessed father is my most anticipated read of 2019! From the book flap, author and professor of Creative Writing at University of Warwick, Sarah Moss asks: "How far have we come from the primitive minds of our ancestors?" Check out this great book review by The Book Family Rogerson. Children's lit-Middle Grade The Birchbark House- Louise Erdrich I was originally going to put Erdrich's The Round House on this list but when I saw the award-winning tribal member of the Chippewa (Anishinaabe) Nation had a children's book about a 7-year old Native American girl of the Ojibwa tribe who lives on an island in Lake Superior in 1847, I knew I needed to put it on here. The Birchbark House itself won the 1999 National Book Award for Young People's Fiction. Non-fiction Built on Bones: 15,000 Years of Urban Life and Death- Brenna Hassett Bioarchaeologist Brenna Hassett (University College London) takes on the question of whether agriculture and civilization are all that its cracked up to be through the examination of skeletal remains and artifacts from sites all over the world. *Labyrinth can also be found under fantasy fiction. ** The Bone People and Ghost Wall are also considered literary fiction. What do you think? Are there any books not on the list you think I should read? And have you read any of these?
"At nine o'clock they were marched on board the Kehloken, with the white people gaping at them from the hill above, and Gordon Tanaka's daughter-she was eight years old-fell on the dock and began to cry. Soon other people were crying, too, and from the hill came the voice of Antonio Dangaran, a Filipino man who had just married Eleanor Kitano just two months before. "Eleanor!" he shouted, and when she looked up he let go a bouquet of red roses, which sailed gently toward the water in the wind and landed in the waves below the dock pilings." --David Guterson, Chapter 15 A few weeks back I finished Snow Falling on Cedars and it sparked all kinds of thoughts and feels for my nerd brain. I'm just gonna jump right in and start off with the scene in the excerpt above; talk about heart breaking. Like most Japanese living in the U.S. during WWII (including any American-born children (aka nisei) & grandchildren (aka sansei)), the fictional island of San Piedro's own Japanese immigrant community (aka nikkei), here, were forced out of their homes to be incarcerated in one of 69 detention sites . As we follow Hatsue Imada, her mother, and sisters--her father having already been arrested and sent separately to a Montana labor camp-- 1000+ miles to Manzanar, California, Guterson helps the reader imagine what an awful existence living in prison camp barracks were like. "Everyone wandered around like ghosts beneath the guard towers with the mountains looming on either side of them...The camp was only half-finished; there were not enough barracks to go around. Some people, on arriving, had to build their own in order to have a place to sleep. There were crowds everywhere, thousands of people in a square mile of desert scoured to dust by army bulldozers, and there was nowhere for a person to find solitude."--David Guterson, Chapter 15
Archaeological interpretation & analysis varies across these sites and runs the gamut of daily life, the intersections of gender, ethnicity, childhood, and resistance/resilience. If you were incarcerated for simply looking like the enemy how might you have persevered? Would you have brought heirlooms, special dishes (china), or foods? Perhaps you would have turned to graffiti as an outlet? Maybe like Hatsue's mother Fujiko, you feel a compunction to post a letter with the stamp intentionally placed upside-down. Or tried to adapt your surroundings by gardening or playing games and sports. These are the many research avenues archaeologists have taken. The duality of being both Japanese and American is something archaeologists and Guterson explore. For example, archaeologists have found evidence of internee-built baseball diamonds and basketball courts at relocation camps (Burton et al 2002). Hatsue's conflicted sense of identity is masterfully portrayed by Guterson as she struggles with being the nisei daughter of issei parents, publicly pretending to not be friends let alone dating a white classmate, and later struggling with post-war prejudice throughout her husband's trial. A few of my favorite material cultural studies have been: Brewing Behind Barbed Wire, a Master's Thesis by Christian A. Driver, explores the production and consumption of saké at Amache. The Role of Toys in the Archaeology of Self, a blog post by Thomas Carr who was influenced by April Kamp-Whittaker's Masters thesis "Through the Eyes of a Child" (which is also worth reading!) Artifacts of Loss: Crafting Survival in Japanese American Concentration Camps by Jane E. Dusselier Further reading into other material culture and landscape studies of Japanese internment camps can be found in the Society for Historical and Underwater Archaeology journal Historical Archaeology. Insitu: The Chrysanthemum and the Sword The (Archaeo)reader might be interested in learning more about how American cultural anthropology played a role in the war effort facing Japan. Published in 1946, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword is a hallmark ethnographic study (of and for its time) into Japanese culture. For the professional American historical archaeologist, mentioning this nonfiction book may come as no surprise but I'll be the first to admit I hadn't thought about this classic--that's still assigned to Cultural Anthropology 101 students--in years. After reading Snow Falling on Cedars it was interesting to skim through some of Ruth Benedict's analysis. One of the most fascinating things about The Chrysanthemum and the Sword is that fieldwork in Japan could not be conducted. With the war on and only one prior ethnography conducted (by John Embree), Benedict turned to government intelligence about the Japanese, history books (authored by both Japanese and non-Japanese alike), autobiographies, and interviewing Japanese internees (Vogel 1989: ix-x). The modern reader will immediately pick up on 1) the intended audience are U.S. government policymakers and 2) the use of such language as "primitive" and "simpler" in regards to societies. As I say, it is a study of and for its time but there's a reason it's still taught in anthropology courses across the States. Although Guterson does not appear to have consulted Benedict's research for his novel, according to the acknowledgements, it is easy to draw parallels to some aspects of his character's behavior. While I could point out examples, specific behavior isn't really what I'm aiming for here since the same parallels could be said of other sources; sources actually consulted by Guterson. My main point in bringing up The Chrysanthemum and the Sword is to highlight one avenue for contextualizing what the U.S. government understood (and arguably misunderstood as well) about Japanese culture during the WWII-era. The reader will find Benedict toeing a delicate line in informing American policymakers of Japanese culture while comparing and contrasting American culture. "One of the handicaps of the twentieth century is that we still have the vaguest and most biased notions, not only of what makes Japan a nation of Japanese, but what makes the United States a nation of Americans, France a nation of Frenchmen, and Russia a nation of Russians. Lacking this knowledge, each country misunderstands the other. We fear irreconcilable differences when the trouble is only between Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and we talk about common purposes when one nation by virtue of its whole experience and system of values has in mind a quite different course of action from one we want. We do not give ourselves a chance to find out what their habits and values are. If we did, we might discover that a course of action is not necessarily vicious because it is not the one we know."--Ruth Benedict
Sources and More Links: I have hyper-linked to sources where appropriate/available. All links and sources were electronically accessed between January 2 and January 4, 2019. For a one stop, in-depth overview of "Archaeology of the Japanese American Incarceration" look no further than Mary M. Farrell's article on the Densho.org** encyclopedia. Burton, Jeffery, Mary Farrell, Florence Lord, Richard Lord, and Tetsuden Kashima 2002 Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites. University of Washington Press: Seattle. Vogel, Ezra F. 1989 Forward. In The Chrysanthemum in the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture. Ruth Benedict; Houghton Mifflin: Boston. Manzanar National Historic Site Minidoka National Historic Site Japanese American Life During Internment Digital Public Library of America: Prisoners at Home Exhibit Manzanar Committee ** Amache Preservation Society ** Kooskia Internment Camp Project Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i ** Asian American Comparative Collection at the University of Idaho ** Idaho Japanese Association** Japanese American National Museum** If you enjoyed the information in this post please consider donating to the above "**" (they're non-profits!) and help support our shared global heritage! |
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