Dissertation Research: Archaeology and Artifacts: Unearthing Identity

论文研究：考古学与文物：发掘身份

• 批准号: 0522538
• 负责人: William Maurer
• 金额: $ 1.15万
• 依托单位: University of California-Irvine
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-08-15 至 2007-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0522538&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Archaeology; Artifacts; Unearthing

Abstract This project focuses on the scientific and cultural production of knowledge at archaeological sitesthrough an ethnography of archaeologists working in Pompeii, Italy. The exacting "scientific" nature ofarchaeology has played a pivotal role in the construction of cultural and national identities. This projectseeks to understand the micro-processes by which artifacts become scientific objects and how, asscientific objects, artifacts become objects of signification: of "Italian-ness", "European-ness" and finally"World Heritage". Italy is a country fraught with a continual crisis of cultural and/or national identitybut the narrative of a shared Roman ancestry became important in attempts to generate "Italian-ness". Historically archaeology helped establish and legitimize this "common" identity. Intellectual Merits The intellectual merit of the proposed research is to examine how archaeology is currently being enrolled in the project of identity formation. As one of the most important sites in Italy, Pompeii offers the best opportunity to examine these processes at work. In 1997 Pompeii was "inscribed" by UNESCO and designated a "World Heritage" site. As such it is a particularly interesting place to potentially locate theformation of a new yet not fully defined European or world identity. This project not solely concerns the uses that archaeology has been put to in the social and political arena, but also with the practice of archaeology itself and how these practices construct scientific objects that are then employed to make larger truth claims. While general conclusions have been offered as to the work of archaeology as a nation-building tool, this project seeks to understand how archaeology as science is a "sign producing" activity and exactly how it is that the archaeological sign comes into being and circulates to producenarratives of heritage, identity and nation.Broader Impacts UNESCO's declaration of Pompeii as a "World Heritage" site points to the broader impacts ofthis study. Archaeological artifacts have long been caught up in important and contentious policy debatesover the disposition of such objects: not just who owns them, but who can use them for proprietary andnarrative projects. This study will contribute to those policy debates, as well as the broader discussion inpolicy circles in Europe: the Council of Europe explicitly stated in its Forward Planning Project of 2001that archaeological heritage would be used to "Europeanize" Europe. This project will thus have broaderimpacts in addressing the policy and scientific debate about the interface between the science and thepolitics of archaeology in the new Europe. Finally, Italy has recently passed legislation allowing theprivatization of Pompeii. How can privatization be reconciled with the larger collective projects ofUNESCO and the Council of Europe (which themselves may be at odds)? The data collected through theproposed research will be useful to scholars and policy makers attempting to navigate this increasinglyfraught legal and proprietary terrain.This award is being co-funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering

摘要 该项目的重点是通过对意大利庞贝古城考古学家的民族志研究，在考古遗址进行科学和文化知识生产。考古学严格的“科学”性质在文化和民族认同的构建中发挥了关键作用。该项目旨在了解文物成为科学对象的微观过程，以及作为科学对象的文物如何成为具有意义的对象：“意大利性”、“欧洲性”以及最终的“世界遗产”。 意大利是一个充满持续的文化和/或民族认同危机的国家，但共同的罗马血统的叙述在试图产生“意大利性”的过程中变得很重要。从历史上看，考古学帮助建立了这种“共同”身份并使之合法化。智力优点 本研究的智力优点是考察考古学目前如何参与身份形成项目。作为意大利最重要的遗址之一，庞贝古城提供了检验这些工作流程的最佳机会。 1997年，庞贝古城被联合国教科文组织“列入”并指定为“世界遗产”。因此，它是一个特别有趣的地方，可以潜在地定位新的但尚未完全定义的欧洲或世界身份的形成。该项目不仅涉及考古学在社会和政治领域的用途，还涉及考古学本身的实践以及这些实践如何构建科学对象，然后用于提出更大的真理主张。虽然对于考古学作为国家建设工具的工作提出了一般性结论，但该项目旨在了解考古学作为科学如何是一种“符号产生”活动，以及考古符号到底是如何产生并传播到世界各地的。产生关于遗产、身份和民族的叙述。 更广泛的影响 联合国教科文组织宣布庞贝古城为“世界遗产”，表明了这项研究的更广泛影响。考古文物长期以来一直陷入关于此类物品处置的重要且有争议的政策辩论：不仅谁拥有它们，而且谁可以将它们用于专有和叙事项目。这项研究将有助于这些政策辩论，以及欧洲政策界更广泛的讨论：欧洲委员会在其2001年的远期规划项目中明确指出，考古遗产将被用来“欧洲化”欧洲。因此，该项目将对解决新欧洲考古学科学与政治之间的界面的政策和科学辩论产生更广泛的影响。最后，意大利最近通过了允许庞贝古城私有化的立法。私有化如何与联合国教科文组织和欧洲委员会（它们本身可能存在分歧）的大型集体项目相协调？通过拟议研究收集的数据将对试图驾驭这个日益令人担忧的法律和专有领域的学者和政策制定者有用。该奖项由国际科学与工程办公室共同资助