Make Context Great Again: Reconnecting Context with the Archaeological Record

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Digging Deep: Close Engagement with the Material World" , at the 2021 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Each archaeological site contains a tangible archaeological record, meaning the commingled artifacts, features, and soils that form contexts and proveniences at each site are unique and in fact existed in three dimensions in space and time. Beyond the physical description and recordation of these contexts, everything else—how the artifacts and features got there, what purpose they served, what they might mean—is up for interpretation. Lately, I fear that some of my historical archaeological brethren have gradually forgotten that an archaeological context is a fixed entity that does not change. Instead, context for some has become something contingent and pliable, a framework that expands and contracts at will. To illustrate this, I present three cases related to African-based spirit management where archaeological context appears to have been tailored to serve a specific research goal. Tune in to find out which cases I put under the microscope!

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2021   •
• Digging Deep: Close Engagement with the Material World

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology