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Animating by Association: Index Objects and Relational Taxonomies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2009

María Nieves Zedeño
María Nieves Zedeño
Affiliation:
Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, School of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Email: mzedeno@email.arizona.edu
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Abstract

Despite great variability in archaeological and ethnographic material culture across North America, a handful of objects are ubiquitous in assemblages of different ages and geographies. These index objects are clues to ontological principles, such as animacy, that guide the interactions between Native Americans and the material world. The impact of relational ontologies on the formation of heterogeneous archaeological assemblages may be evaluated through analyses of index objects and contextual associations. To this effect, this article presents the outline of an assemblage-based relational taxonomy, where spatial, temporal, and formal dimensions are combined with object biographies, interactive roles, and social relations.

Type
Special Section: Animating Archaeology: of Subjects, Objects and Alternative Ontologies
Information
Cambridge Archaeological Journal , Volume 19 , Issue 3 , October 2009 , pp. 407 - 417
Copyright
Copyright © The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research 2009

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