Organizer: Erika Evasdottir, Harvard University
Chair: Cao Yin, Harvard University
Discussant: Clare Fawcett, St. Francis Xavier University
In recent years, the archaeological community has become increasingly aware of the ways in which archaeological knowledge has been put to political and ideological use. This panel proposes to look at a related phenomenon, but one which has received less attention: the ways in which the social and political environments have influenced the practice and interpretation of archaeology in parts of East and Southeast Asia. The papers will expand on the traditional definition of socio-politics to include not only nationalist ideologies and state politics, but also the small-scale politics of archaeologists in the field and in scholarly institutions. Topics to be covered in the panel include the relationships between archaeologists and local people, the effects of popular ideas of the past on archaeological interpretation, financial tensions and archaeological practice, and the impact of historic and modern regional rivalries. Focusing on East and Southeast Asia is useful due to the wide variety of governmental systems, economic situations, and ethnic affiliations represented. The panel will draw examples from several regions in order to highlight the similarities and differences in the ways in which archaeologists work within these different contexts. In addition, our discussant will contribute her familiarity with these topics as well as bring to the discussion her knowledge of yet another geographical area. In an era of increasing political, economic and social exchanges between countries, these topics are relevant to broadening understandings of the different kinds of constraints on interpretations of the past.
The Three Gorges Dam and Shih-san Hang: Archaeological Practice and Political Participation in the PRC and ROC
Erika Evasdottir, Harvard University
Ethnographic data are drawn from the PRC and ROC to examine the political and social conditions constraining archaeological practice in these two regions. The ideas of de Certeau, Goffman, and Bourdieu on resistance and power in everyday life are used to describe and understand the particular ways in which archaeologists negotiate their responsibilities to their profession, home institution, and national government while interacting with local people and other archaeologists. Two examples are explored: one being that of the archaeologists at work in the Badong region of the Yangtse River, an area slated to be significantly affected by the building of the Three Gorges Dam; the other being that of the archaeologists who engaged in the salvage of the Shih-San Hang site near Taipei, Taiwan. Both groups of archaeologists found themselves enmeshed in conflicts among local-level politics, popular imagination, and state agendas, yet the resulting impact on archaeology as a discipline and the archaeologists as political participants was very different. While China and Taiwan share academic and cultural traditions, the relationship between the three main interest groups—archaeologists, government officials, and local people—is quite different. In the example of the Three Gorges Dam, archaeologists find themselves caught up in the tensions between the state and the people, while in Taiwan, both the state and the local people find themselves in disagreement with the archaeologists. This paper will examine how the archaeologists in both contexts manage these conflicts and the subsequent effect on archaeological practice and interpretation.
"The Hung Kings Founded This Nation": The Dong Son Archaeological Culture as Symbol of Vietnamese National Unity
Tracy A. Hoffman, Harvard University
This paper will examine the confluence of national interests, popular images, and archaeological discourse in Vietnam. The particular example to be examined is that of the Dong Son archaeological culture of the Red River Valley. Due to its impressive bronze works that appear in every museum in the country, this archaeological culture has assumed importance on a national level. Its relevance is reinforced by the mythical history associated with the same region at approximately the same time period. The legend of the Hung kings refers to an indigenous state predating Chinese influence. In recent decades, the Hung kings and the Dong Son culture have become synonymous, both in the popular imagination and in archaeological discourse. Beginning during the Vietnam War and continuing to the present, the communist government has promoted a particular fusion of the Hung kings myth and the Dong Son culture as the first recognizable Vietnamese nation-state. Popular culture has also embraced the Dong Son as a source for defining images of Vietnamese identity. In particular, people have rallied around the image of the Dong Son drum, using it for a wide variety of commercial purposes and to promote local tourism. This paper will explore how both state agendas and popular interests affect archaeologists by describing how researcher’s interests, interpretations, and actions are shaped and constrained by the needs and concerns of different interest groups.
Labor, Education, and Interpretation in the Archaeology of the Former Soviet Central Asia and Mongolia
Joshua Wright, Independent Scholar
The paper compares the practice of archaeology in former Soviet Central Asia and Mongolia to explore how the dismantling of the Soviet academic system has affected archaeologists. As the effects of Soviet ideology on archaeology have been previously explored, it is the effects of the loss of a centralized academic structure that are considered here. Three aspects in particular are discussed: issues relating to academic standards, to excavation logistics, and to the control and dissemination of archaeological data. During the Soviet period, academic standing and thus the reputation of individual archaeologists were linked to the prestige of a small number of institutions, all today located in Russia. The change in political borders has made uncertain the status and acceptability of archaeological interpretations developed previously by scholars linked to these universities. At the same time, large-scale Soviet style excavation still defines what constitutes ‘real’ and ‘effective’ research, yet in the present economic situation, archaeologists who once could deploy the needed resources today must rely on foreign funds and suffer the supervision of Western directors. In this atmosphere of academic uncertainty, archaeological data have become precious resources, the control of which can lead to direct financial gain and significant lifestyle amelioration. The goals of archaeology as an academic profession come under severe strain in these circumstances. These topics are investigated using comparative ethnographic data from Central Asia and Mongolia to illuminate the ways archaeologists negotiate their place in the post-Soviet era.
Politics, History and Regionalism in the Archaeology of Dian (Yunnan Province, China)
Francis Allard, University of Pittsburgh
Encouraged by the discovery of impressive remains dating to the first millennium b.c., archaeologists in the province of Yunnan in southwest China have supported an archaeological program which focuses on the identification of wealthy burials and the recovery of a distinct and technologically advanced material culture which they associate with the historically recorded "Kingdom of Dian." While the culture historical orientation of such an archaeology is in keeping with a strong historiographical tradition in China, one must also consider a number of other forces shaping such a scholarly program. These include the increasing importance of regionalism in China, as well as economic considerations. It is also argued that Marxism, often regarded as a guiding light of archaeology in China, has in fact played only a superficial role, particularly in the last decade.