In response to the email written by Cornelius Holtorf I would like to
suggest that oral history of people in contemporary society should be seen
as important to a number of arcaheologist and in a number of ways.
As part of a Survey project in Cyprus (TAESP) last year I was involved in
the oral history project and we often found that local knowledge of the
landscape and its past helped us not only to identify new sites but also to
understand the features that we were coming across. While you inevitably
hear about stories of hidden treasure and lost cities you also learn about
how things got to be where they were, not to mention people's perceptions of
the past. This last point is something which I feel particularly strongly
about. By talking to people about the past we can gain
archaeological/historical knowledge as well as knowledge about how
archaeology is used in a particular society and what it means to people. We
can also learn new ways of trying to engage with people and learn new ways
to present our information to people outside the academic community.
angela michael
>From: Cornelius Holtorf <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Cornelius Holtorf <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [CHA] Ang: Re: Oral History in Archaeological Practice
>Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 16:33:21 +0100
>
>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]
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