Added August 30, 1999. Updated January 8, 2002.
Symposium
Perspective
2000: Cultural Continuity and Social Change
At the 2000 SAA
ANNUAL MEETING
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
April 5 to 9
Organized by
Christel Chandler-Baldia
Weber State University
and
&
Max Baldia
Institute for the Study of Earth and Man
Southern Methodist
University
|
Mailing
Address: |
Symposium Abstract
Standing
at the threshold of the 21st century, it is clear that the
discipline of archaeology and especially its perspectives on social change and
cultural continuity have been modified over the last century. Based on current
research in the Old and New World, these changes will be evaluated from three
perspectives: The historical vantage point, new methods and theories, and
implications for the future.
Individual Abstracts
Monumentality
and Communication - Neolithic Enclosures and Long Distance Tracks in Neolithic
Central Europe.
By
Dirk Raetzel-Fabian
Herkulesstrasse 69
D-34119 Kassel
Germany
dirk.fabian@online.de
New investigations on monumental enclosures of the Michelsberg / Baalberge period (c. 4200 - 3500 cal BC) in Northern Germany show a close correlation between their location and medieval long distance roads, which are highly dependent on ground features and thus probably very constant in time. In some cases not only the position but also the architecture of enclosures seems to have been constructed deliberately in respect of ancient tracks leading by. Together with additional data from recent excavations the long discussed function of large enclosures can now be reassigned to the realms of representation, communication and mortuary ritual.
To download the full paper in PDF format click here.
Behavioral
Continuity on a Changing Landscape.
By
Douglas Frink and Allen Hathaway
Archaeology Consulting Team, Inc.
57 River Road, Suite 1020
Essex, VT 05452
For the past 20 years, the dominant locational
model for early sites in the Champlain Basin has focused on the margins of the
Champlain Sea. This model is based on several assumptions: 1) post glacial
weather patterns underwent a slowly moderating evolution between 14,000 to
9,000 ybp. 2) the margins of the Champlain Sea provided open terrain for
hunting large ungulates, and proximity to estuarine resources. 3) the Champlain
Sea constituted the dominant geomorphologic feature during earliest human
colonization. Recent research on paleoclimates, colonization of the western
hemisphere, and geomorphology of the Champlain Basin challenge these
assumptions, and suggest an alternative model demonstrating continuity between
early and later site locations.
The Role of
Bioarchaeology in Archaeological Research: Evidence from the Southern Coast of
Peru.
By
Michael Dietz
Anthropology Dept.
107 Swallow Hall
University of Missouri - Columbia
Columbia, Missoury 65211
USA
c722092@showme.missouri.edu
The 20th century has seen great change in methodology
and theory in archaeology. This paper explores changes in bioarchaeology at the
end of the 20th century, including advancements in the estimation of
age-at-death, diet and pathology. Preliminary research on the demography and
community health of the Chongos culture on the Southern coast of Peru
highlights the utility of bioarchaeology to an overall understanding of
archaeological populations.
Driving
Continuity.
By
Markus Vosteen
Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Belfortstr. 22
D-79098 Freiburg im Br.
Germany
mvosteen@gmx.de or vosteen@uni-freiburg.de
During the 20th Century
archaeological research has shown that wheeled transport in Europe is of
unsuspected antiquity, demonstrating thousands of years of technological
tradition linked to ritual. In Central Europe, ancient wagons are well known
from Early Iron Age burials. Most of them belong to the Hallstatt culture.
These wagons were used in a religious context during processions. This use is
not necessarily an invention of the Hallstatt-people. Rather it seems to
originate in the Bronze Age. Furthermore, the possibility of much older origins
exists which suggests a continuing sacred function of wagons from the Neolithic
to the Early Iron Age in Central Europe.
Archaeology in the 21st Century: Comparing Cultural
Continuity and Social Change Across Continents.
By
John Staeck
College of DuPage
425 22nd Street
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137-6599
USA
staeck@cdnet.cod.edu
and
Maximilian O. Baldia
Institute for the Study of Earth and Man, Heroy Science Hall
Southern Methodist University
3225 Daniel Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75275-0274
USA
Comparative Archaeology is an intercontinental
approach to prehistoric culture change and social continuity. Its purpose is to
ascertain the causes for similarities and differences in human development in
different parts of the world. This objective has yet to be realized. However,
modern communication technology will make this kind of research the focus of
the 21st century. This first attempt compares the development of
building mounds and enclosures at sites, such as Sarup, Calden, and Rmíz, in North and Central Europe
with North American sites from Watson Break to Cahokia. The research leads to
new questions about current paradigms in the study of social change through
archaeological data.
Questions
from the Time/Space Periphery at the Fringes of a Culture: Cultural Continuity and Social Change or Social
Continuity and Culture Change?
By
Miroslav Smíd
Ústav archaeologické památkové péce Brno
pracoviste Prostejov
Krízkovského 12
796 01 Prostejov
Czech Republic
and
Maximilian O. Baldia
Institute for the Study of Earth and Man
Heroy Science Hall
Southern Methodist University
3225 Daniel Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75275-0274
USA
mobaldia@earthlink.net
Puzzling cultural juxtapositions occur at the
Funnel Beaker culture time/space periphery in Central Europe. This is most
apparent in the hilltop villages of Moravia, where early multi-component sites
contain stratigraphically coexisting assemblages, until recently thought to be
from successive cultures (Late Lengyel Painted Ware,
Jordanów, Michelsberg,
Retz, Balaton, Baden, etc.). This diversity may be the
result of successive cultural discontinuity. Alternatively rapid social change
among related people, or the coexistence of different groups, undergoing
differential rates of assimilation may be at work. Changes along the time/space
axis are too rapid to be archaeologically perceptible through traditional
methods, to favor a particular hypothesis. However, new methods and excavations
help to distinguish cultural continuity and social change from social
continuity and culture change.
Culture
Change and Social Continuity: West and Central African symbolism in
Historic American Textiles.
By
Christel Chandler-Baldia
Weber State University
College of Social & Behavioral Sciences
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
3750 Harrison Blvd.
Ogden, UT 84408
USA
and
Amish Cancer Project Research Assistant
A. James Cancer Hospital & R. J. Solove Research Institute
Human Cancer Genetics
300 West 10th St.
Suite 519
Columbus, OH 4321-1240
Mailing Address:
3616 Dinsmore Castle Dr.
Columbus, OH 43221
USA
Symbolism was rooted in philosophical,
historical, religious, political and ethical constructs within the West and
Central African cultural experience. As slaves, descendants of these peoples
applied these symbols onto textiles that they produced after they were brought
to the Americas. These textiles were not only used as clothing or bedding, but
they also functioned as markers of identity, conjuring and healing implements,
a medium for expression and to socialize the young. This ensured the
continuation of African cultural traits under most difficult circumstances.
Adjusted to the new context, some facets of symbolic meaning changed, while
others remained surprisingly true to the African originals.
The Tyranny
of Paradigms: An Americanist's Participant Observation of Archaeological
Practice, Methods and Theory in Europe.
By
Maximilian O. Baldia
Institute for the Study of Earth and Man
Heroy Science Hall
Southern Methodist University
3225 Daniel Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75275-0274
USA.
mobaldia@earthlink.net
As an American trained archaeologist, dealing
largely with Northern European archaeology, one is enabled to perceive the
diverse paradigms that guide European archaeologists from various countries in
the analysis of a single North European archaeological culture. This
involuntary participant observation provides amazing insights into what is and
is not considered archaeological fact. Examples are provided that show the
weight that diverse paradigms bring to bear on chronology, explanations of
culture change, and even the measurement and reconstruction of archaeological
monuments from what may or may not be a single archaeological culture.
Please send comments or questions to Max.Baldia