Ethnic Identity and the Archaeology of the Aduentus Saxonum

A Modern Framework and Its Problems
Erscheinungsjahr 2021
ISBN: 978-94-6372-931-4
Verlag: Amsterdam University Press

Buch, Englisch, 314 Seiten, Format (B × H): 158 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 620 g

Reihe: Amsterdam University Press

For centuries, archaeologists have excavated the soils of Britain to uncover finds from the early medieval past. These finds have been used to reconstruct the alleged communities, migration patterns, and expressions of identity of coherent groups who can be regarded as ethnic 'Anglo-Saxons'. Even in the modern day, when social constructionism has been largely accepted by scholars, this paradigm still persists.

This book challenges the ethnic paradigm. As the first historiographical study of approaches to ethnic identity in modern 'Anglo-Saxon' archaeology, it reveals these approaches to be incompatible with current scholarly understandings of ethnicity. Drawing upon post-structuralist approaches to self and community, it highlights the empirical difficulties the archaeology of ethnicity in early medieval Britain faces, and proposes steps toward an alternative understanding of the role played by the communities of lowland Britain – both migrants from across the North Sea and those already present – in transforming the Roman world.

Autoren/Hrsg.

M Harland, James M

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Archäologie spezieller Regionen und Zeitalter
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder England, UK, Irland: Regional & Stadtgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein Historiographie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Tables and Figures

Acknowledgements

1 Introduction

Historical Approaches to the aduentus Saxonum

A Note on Terminology

The Structure of the Book

A Note on Contemporary Political Resonances

2 Ethnicity and Archaeology

Ethnicity: General Conception and Theorisation

Ethnic Theorisation and Archaeology

Ethnicity in Anglo-Saxon Archaeology

The Freiburg School

3 Empiricism and Metaphysics

Differential Ontology

Derridean Deconstruction

Deleuze, Guattari, and the Rhizome

Applying Differential Ontology

Earlier Applications of Differential Ontology to Archaeological Interpretation

Some Final Methodological Principles

Selecting and Approaching the Case Studies

4 Deconstructing Anglo-Saxon Archaeology

Introduction

John Hines and Culture History

Catherine Hills: The Migration Debate

Sam Lucy: ‘Deconstructing’ Ethnicity?

Howard Williams: Remembering ‘Germans’ and ‘Ancestors’?

James Gerrard: Ethnicities or ‘Ideologies’?

Toby Martin: The Cruciform Brooch and ‘Anglian’ Identity

Conclusion

5 The Material Evidence Reconsidered

Critical Issues

A Summary of the Present Evidence Base and Problems with Its Use

‘Germanic’ Artwork? The Saxon Relief Style and Salin’s Style I

Searching for Ethnicity in ‘Folk’ Costume and Weapon Burials

Non-Empirical Uses of Data in Action

Conclusion

6 Building an Alternative

The Case Studies

Wider Implications from the Case Studies

The End of Roman Rule in Britain and the Transformation of the Roman World

‘Re-use’ of Roman Material

Conclusion

7 New Approaches and Final Reflections

New Approaches to Communal Organisation

Avenues for Further Research

Appendix: Spong Hill Data

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

M Harland, James M
James M. Harland works on the history and archaeology of the late Roman Empire and its early medieval successor states. After receiving his PhD in History from the University of York, he took up a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Tübingen. He is currently a Research Fellow at the University of Bonn.