Archaeology and the Senses: Human Experience, Memory, and Affect

272 Pages·2014·6.74 MB·English

by  Yannis Hamilakis

ARCHAEOLOGY AND THE SENSES
This book is an exciting new look at how archaeology has dealt with the
bodilysenses,showingatthesametimehowthedisciplinecanofferaricher
glimpse into the human sensory experience. Yannis Hamilakis proposes a
sensorial archaeology that can unearth the lost, suppressed, and forgotten
sensoryandaffectivemodalitiesofhumans.UsingBronzeAgeCreteasacase
study,heshowshowsensorialmemorycanhelpusrethinkquestionsranging
fromtheproductionofancestralheritagetolarge-scalesocialchangeandthe
culturalsignificanceofmonuments.Hamilakisthuspointsthewaytorecon-
stituting archaeology as a sensorial and affective multi-temporal practice,
offering at the same time a new framework on the interaction between
bodily senses, things, and environments, which will be relevant to scholars
inotherfields.
Yannis Hamilakis is Professor of Archaeology at the University of
Southampton.Hisresearchfocusesonthearchaeologyofthebodilysenses,
thepoliticsofthepast,archaeologicalethnography,socialzooarchaeology,
and the archaeology of Greece. He has been a member of the School of
AdvancedStudyatPrinceton,ascholarattheGettyResearchInstituteinLos
Angeles,aMargoTytusFellowattheUniversityofCincinnati,andavisiting
scholar at Princeton University. He serves on the editorial board of many
journalsincludingtheAnnualReviewofAnthropology,theAmericanJournalof
Archaeology,theJournalofContemporaryArchaeology,Archaeologies:TheJournal
oftheWorldArchaeologicalCongress,theJournalofMediterraneanArchaeology,and
theAnnualoftheBritishSchoolatAthens.Healsoco-directstheKoutroulou
Magoula Archaeology and Archaeological Ethnography Project, focusing
ontheexcavationofthetellsiteofKoutroulouMagoulaincentralGreece.
He has published many articles and has authored, edited, or co-edited 11
books,includingTheNationandItsRuins:Antiquity,Archaeology,andNational
ImaginationinGreece(2007),whichwontheEdmundKeeleyPrizeandwas
shortlistedfortheRuncimanPrize.

ARCHAEOLOGY AND
THE SENSES
Human Experience, Memory,
ff
and A ect
YANNIS HAMILAKIS
UniversityofSouthampton
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,NY10013-2473,USA
CambridgeUniversityPressispartoftheUniversityofCambridge.
ItfurtherstheUniversity’smissionbydisseminatingknowledgeinthepursuitof
education,learning,andresearchatthehighestinternationallevelsofexcellence.
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521837286
©YannisHamilakis2013
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2013
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Hamilakis,Yannis,1966–
Archaeologyandthesenses:humanexperience,memory,andaffect/YannisHamilakis.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-521-83728-6(hardback)
1. Archaeology–Methodology. 2. Sensesandsensation. 3. Crete
(Greece)–Antiquities. 4. Materialculture–Psychologicalaspects. I. Title.
CC75.7.H37 2014
930.1028–dc23 2013028541
ISBN978-0-521-83728-6Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceoraccuracyof
URLsforexternalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredtointhispublication
anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuchWebsitesis,orwillremain,
accurateorappropriate.
Στην κυρία Νίκη, και στηθεία Ριρίκα
To Mrs Niki (my primary school teacher), and toAuntie Ririka

CONTENTS
ListofFigures pageix
Preface xi
1 DemolishingtheMuseumofSensoryAb/sense 1
2 WesternModernity,Archaeology,andtheSenses 16
3 RecapturingSensorialandAffectiveExperience 57
4 Senses,Materiality,Time:ANewOntology 111
5 SensorialNecro-Politics:TheMortuaryMnemoscapes
ofBronzeAgeCrete 129
6 Why‘Palaces’?:Senses,Memory,andthePalatial
PhenomenoninBronzeAgeCrete 161
7 FromCorporealitytoSensoriality,fromThings
toFlows 191
Notes 205
References 209
Index 239
vii