Hi all

sorry that this mail is late (I was away). Obviously both courses on
oral history and archaeology which were mentioned sound fascinating
indeed. What I am however wondering (and first explored in a TAG paper
about a decade ago) is why the significance of oral memory and oral
significance should be limited to 'historical archaeology' or 'recent'
periods. 
Surely oral history is at least as much about appreciating the
remembering process of people in the present (and thus these people
themselves for who they are) as it is about gaining additional
information about the past. Moreover, all memory is social memory and
can never be taken at face value (undisputed since Halbwachs). Recalling
the WW II can thus be as valuable and meaningful as recalling any other
period (for example, you might want to ask a dedicated New Age follower
to give an account of the Celts). 
I do accept that there might be less information to be gained about the
past from oral prehistories than from oral histories, but (a) this is
not the only (or even most important) thing that matters about oral
memory, and (b) it is well possible that some oral traditions do indeed
contain information that has either been transmitted over very many
generations (e.g. there are some wonderful ethnographic examples) or is
in other ways significant for better understanding the past (e.g.
possible uses of certain artefacts, experiences gained from experimental
archaeology).

Maybe Mary and John can enlighten me to what extent oral prehistories
are already part of these courses and I am running in open doors as it
were? (Note that I do not mean oral history in other periods or oral
traditions as in Homeric and Viking sagas. I mean interviewing people
today about prehistory.)

all best, Cornelius


Cornelius Holtorf
Riksantikvarieämbetet, Stockholm

>>> Mary Beaudry <[log in to unmask]> 01/05 5:40  >>>
CHAT friends,

Just to trumpet my own efforts a bit, I though I would mention that
since the mid-1980s I have taught at Boston University a course
titled Oral History and Written Records in Archaeology.  I'll be
teaching it again this coming spring, in fact.  I cover not only
historical archaeology (or recent or whatever you want to call it)
but also give some consideration to things like Homeric epics &
Viking sagas & so on as examples of oral traditions that get written
down eventually (so far I haven't dealt with the Bible as a source of
archaeological data but I suppose one could), and I also look at oral
tradition in African archaeology/history and at ethnohistory in the
Americas.  Among other things.

It is my conviction that all persons doing any form of historical
archaeology should be aware of analytical and interpretive approaches
that involve oral history, oral traditions, and folklore as well as
the impact of literacy and the written word upon cultures that
continue to store and pass on their histories through largely oral
means.  So I congratulate the folks at Bournemouth for stepping in to
meet a genuine need as archaeology of the recent past continues to
burgeon in the UK.

Cheers,
Mary B.


--
Mary C. Beaudry, PhD, RPA
Associate Professor of Archaeology & Anthropology
Department of Archaeology
Boston University
675 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215-1406 USA

tel. 617-358-1650
fax 617-353-6800
email: [log in to unmask]