Choosing Building Materials: Multi-scalar Construction of Identities and Heritage Following Disaster

Summary

Scholars and communities have been discussing ownership of the past for the last few decades, and they have explored ways in which social and political movements empowered communities to reclaim ownership of their heritage. These communities use archaeology and material culture to construct their heritage. However, few scholars have discussed how communities are constructing heritage with respect to disasters and social upheaval. This paper explores the multi-scalar construction of heritage and identity through material culture and archaeology in a post-colonial and post-disaster environment. Through a case study in Ireland, I explore heritage construction motivations and techniques following the Great Famine and the fight for independence through the present day. I compare heritage and identity on a national scale to a regional scale in County Galway and a local scale on Inishbofin, an Atlantic island off the western coast of Ireland. The examination of mutli-scalar heritage compares uses of the past following the suffering, death, and mass migration of over a million Irish people. This paper sheds light on how small communities construct their identity with material culture, discusses the disparities between various scale of heritage in post-disaster and post-colonial environments, and explores the consequences of those differences.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22180