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Revisiting Iron Age Ethnicity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 January 2017

Manuel Fernández-Götz
Manuel Fernández-Götz*
Affiliation:
Landesamt für Denkmalpflege Baden-Württemberg, Germany
*
[email: manuelferg@yahoo.es]
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Abstract

The possibility of exploring ethnic identities in past societies constitutes one of the most controversial fields of archaeological research. However, the reassessment of the conceptualization of ethnicity in the human sciences and the increasing transference of these theories to archaeological research is helping to develop new analytical frameworks for the study of this problematic subject. From this perspective, the aim of this paper is to attempt a theoretical and methodological approach to the complex relationships between ethnic identity and material remains from the standpoint of Iron Age studies, showing both the possibilities and difficulties of archaeological research on ethnicity. For this period, the incipient availability of written evidence allows the development of new interdisciplinary research strategies. Finally, an introduction to practical work in this field is presented, specifically focusing on two case studies: Ruiz Zapatero and Álvarez-Sanchís' approach to the identity of the Vettones of the central Iberian Peninsula, and the author's own work on the Late Iron Age sanctuaries of the Middle Rhine-Moselle region.

La possibilité d'explorer les identités ethniques des sociétés anciennes représente un des domaines les plus controversés de la recherche archéologique. Le réexamen de la conceptualisation de l'ethnicité dans les sciences humaines et la transmission croissante de ces théories vers la recherche archéologique aide néanmoins à développer de nouveaux cadres analytiques pour l'étude de ce sujet problématique. De cette perspective, le but de cet article est d'essayer d'établir une approche théorique et méthodologique des relations complexes entre identité ethnique et vestiges matériels du point de vue des études de l'Âge du Fer, montrant aussi bien les possibilités que les difficultés de la recherche archéologique sur l'ethnicité. Pour cette période, l'existence des toutes premières sources écrites permet le développement de nouvelles stratégies de recherche interdisciplinaire. Enfin, nous présentons une introduction au travail pratique dans ce domaine en se focalisant plus particulièrement sur deux études de cas: l'approche de l'identité des Vettons, habitants de la péninsule ibérique centrale, par Ruiz Zapatero et Álvarez-Sanchís, et le travail de l'auteur lui-même sur les sanctuaires de la fin de l'Âge du Fer de la région du Rhin moyen/Moselle. Translation by Isabelle Gerges.

Zusammenfassung

Zusammenfassung

Die Untersuchung von ethnischen Identitäten in frühen Gesellschaften stellt eines der kontroversesten Felder in der archäologischen Forschung dar. Dennoch helfen die Neubewertung der Ethnizität in den Sozialwissenschaften sowie die zunehmende Übertragung dieser Theorien auf die archäologische Forschung dabei, neue analytische Rahmen für die Erforschung dieser problematischen Fragestellung zu schaffen. Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrages ist es, eine theoretische und methodologische Annäherung zu den komplexen Beziehungen zwischen ethnischer Identität und materiellen Hinterlassenschaften aus dem Blickwinkel der Eisenzeitforschung vorzustellen, die gleichermaßen Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der archäologischen Erforschung von Ethnizität aufzeigt. Für diesen Zeitraum erlaubt die beginnende Verfügbarkeit von schriftlichen Quellen die Entwicklung neuer interdisziplinärer Forschungsstrategien. Schließlich wird unter besonderer Berücksichtigung zweier Fallstudien – Ruiz Zapateros und Álvarez-Sanchís' Annäherung zur Identität der Vettonen im Zentrum der Iberischen Halbinsel sowie die Arbeit des Verfassers zu späteisenzeitlichen Heiligtümern im Mittelrhein-Moselraum – eine Einführung in praktische Arbeiten auf diesem Gebiet gegeben. Translation by Heiner Schwarzberg.

Keywords

identityethnicityIron Agepoliticsethnic markerssanctuariesidentitéethnicitéÂge du Ferpolitiquemarqueurs ethniquessanctuairesIdentitätEthnizitätEisenzeitPolitikethnische MarkerHeiligtümer
Type
Articles
Information
European Journal of Archaeology , Volume 16 , Issue 1 , 2013 , pp. 116 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © European Association of Archaeologists 2013 

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