Marxism & Archaeology

What is the relationship between metaphysics and political revolution? Despite being two of the most widely discredited concepts in contemporary European philosophy, this chapter argues that we are witnessing the return of both in the work of French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Alain Badiou. Their return, however, is no mere repetition of the previous forms of classical metaphysics and modern revolution- defined by totality and the state. Rather, it is a differen- tial return: a return that changes something fundamental about these concepts and breathes into them a desperately needed new life. Many contemporary Eu- ropean philosophers have announced the "end of metaphysics" and the "death of philosophy." They have buried the ideas of metaphysics and revolution many years ago, but continue to pursue the endless task of vilifYing them- Jest their specters return from the grave.

This research focuses on prehistoric metallurgy and the key role it played for the human communities of the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula (the present-day area of the Autonomous Region of Catalonia and the Principality of Andorra). The study covers the period from the first use of gold and copper during the Late Neolithic to the structured production of the Bronze Age. The role played by metallurgy in each prehistoric community and its relationship with the other elements involved in social life is explained. Questions such as the origin of this technology, its social value in relation to the other productions or the importance traditionally given to it in the development and consolidation of social asymmetries are dealt with in depth in the context of each archaeological group.

ENGLISH version: McGuire, Randall H. & Rodrigo Navareete 2004 Between Motorcycles and Rifles: Anglo-American and Latin American Radical Archaeologies.  In Global  Archaeological Theory. Ed by. P. Funari, A. Zarankin, and E. Stoval, pp. 309-336, Routledge, London.

This paper examines the position in contemporary class structure of recently developed commercial archaeologists. His origin, as members of self-employed petty bourgeoisie, has evolved during prosperity market cycle towards a diversification of class position, with an apparent trend towards polarisation in small employers and semiproletariats. However, we observe how recent dynamic of domestic archaeological market is based on brief economic cycles of expansion and contraction. Ultimately, these cycles do not provoke class polarisation proposed by classical Marxism, but a cutback to sustainable selfemployment
and an expulsion of market of great part of laborforce. The future development as service sector and its own reproduction depend on temporary external factors, turning it into a highly unstable sector: reliance on socialdemocrat economic policy and advanced Capitalism cyclical crisis. We have selected Madrid as case study, paradigmatic because of its pioneer character in Iberian archaeological investigation, introduction of archaeological free market and extreme case of the development of archaeology in post-industrial context.

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SESSION ABSTRACT.

Identity has become a major touch-stone for archaeologists but have we neglected the roles of class and ideology in the construction and expression of different social identities?

Many archaeologists value the multi-vocal and ‘radically open’ character of postmodernism [1]. In academia generally, Marxian grand narratives, such as class, are out; ‘negotiated identities’ are in [2]. Meanwhile, class identity and ideology appear to be important in society: a 2010 study suggests that in Britain “There is high – and growing – concern about income inequality” [3]. Furthermore, 29% of people chose class-based terms (over gendered, age-specific, ethnic and religious identities) as their first choice to describe their social identity [4]. In this session we ask:

• What values do archaeologists hold and how are these generated, conceptualized and communicated to the public?
• Do web technologies really aid multi-vocality and a critical awareness of the past?
• How are class histories and conflicts portrayed by the UK heritage industry?
• Above all, in an increasingly unequal and class-aware society, should we place less emphasis on idealistic ‘being-in-the-world’ and rather more on the material realities of living, labouring and surviving within it?

This panel explores whether we do not actually require the concepts of class and ideology to be able to deal with social identity. Therefore, we ask: has postmodernism impoverished our ability to confront real inequality? The session culminates in a round table discussion of the individual papers and the issues raised, led by Iain Matheson (Philosophy, Glasgow).

References:
1. E.g. Hodder 1999. The Archaeological Process. London: Blackwell.
2. Hobsbawm 2010. How to Change the World. London: Little Brown.
3. National Centre for Social Research. 27TH Annual Report, 2010: http://www.natcen.ac.uk/media/606943/nat%20british%20social%20attitudes%20survey%20summary%201.pdf
4. National Centre for Social Research: British Social Attitudes Survey 2008: http://www.britsocat.com/Body.aspx?control=BritsocatMarginals&AddSuperMap=LBIdent1N&JumpCrossMarginals=yes

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PAPER TITLES AND RUNNING ORDER

1. Adrian Davis and Robin Weaver (Organisers). Introduction: Have Archaeologists Lost the Capacity to Talk About Inequality?

2. Athena Hadji, Open University of Cyprus: Gnosiotopia, the heterotopy of knowledge: archaeological academic practices and the creation of a disciplinary (fantasy) topos.

3. Lorna Richardson, University College, London: The Internet Delusion and Public Archaeology Online

4. Stella Souvatzi, Hellenic Open University: Re-approaching inequality, ideology and identity through contemporary social theory

5. David Sables, Trinity St. David’s: Class, Heritage and the Archaeology of the Peoples’ Century

6. Discussion: Ian Matheson, (Philosophy, Glasgow) as Discussant.

Il volume ha come tema centrale l’uso che è stato fatto, nel corso dei secoli, delle antichità della Calabria ai fini della costruzione di una identità regionale. Partendo dall’epoca romana si cerca di fare luce sulla percezione che, per due millenni, gli abitanti della Calabria hanno avuto di se stessi e sull’immagine che ne hanno rimandato all’esterno. In estrema sintesi si potrebbe dire che la calabresità, l’identità culturale dei calabresi è stata rappresentata, fino a tutto l’Ottocento ed oltre, dai topoi letterari della tenacia, della sobrietà e dell’onore. Essi hanno costituito l’ossatura di un mito arcaico, di un’identità in parte orgogliosamente cercata, ma, soprattutto, inconsciamente subita dalla cultura nazionale ed europea che, a partire dal XVI secolo, aveva, sì, un atteggiamento d’attenzione, ma in fondo godeva di un sottile divertimento, rispetto a questa cultura “altra”. Il brigantaggio e la povertà, endemica come le malattie, avevano contribuito -in parte grazie anche all’auto-esaltazione letteraria di alcuni valori che l’arretratezza portava con sé- a cristallizzare nell’immaginario culturale europeo questa idea della Calabria e dei calabresi che, del resto, poco o nulla hanno fatto per scrollarsela di dosso.
L’identità culturale dei calabresi non è che, così come ancora si configura dopo tanti secoli, un insieme di invenzioni, perlopiù basate su un uso disinvolto delle antichità, che si ritiene sia necessario seppellire per sempre perché falso e dannoso.

A central metaphor within politically conscious archaeologies is that we are recovering silenced histories or giving voice to those without power. Yet sometimes, when we look deeper we find that the histories we seek to recover are not that silent or waiting for archaeologists to recover them but are jealously guarded by strong constituencies.
Ludlow is such a site. The Ludlow massacre is, like many similar episodes of class struggle in the United States, a silence within “official” histories, but nonetheless it is an event that has great importance in the construction of working-class identity and struggles right up to the present. This chapter discusses the histories of Ludlow as memory, an understanding of the past that to a certain extent creates, and is created in, the practices of everyday life. Ludlow is a living memory; and, as such, the debates over the control of this memory are fractious and on-going. Incorporating alternative understandings of the past is an important facet of a politically conscious archaeology. But this work is not straightforward. In recasting these alternative histories as memory and contrasting them with the academic practices of archaeology, this article chapter highlights some of the complexities and also the necessity of this work.

Within the railroad industry, the most powerful labor unions were exclusive craft organizations that concentrated on defending the privileges of a few skilled workers. Data from archaeological work conducted by Sonoma State University during the Cypress Freeway Replacement Project is used in an historical materialist exploration of class-consciousness among railroad workers in a late-19th-century working-class neighborhood in West Oakland, California. Comparing aspects of diet and dining, this study focuses on divisions among the railroad workers along the lines of craft-skill and nativity, examining the ways skilled craft unionists used the assumptions of Victorian ideology to organize against both their employers and other groups of workers, especially immigrants.