Papers by Jerimy Cunningham
Editorial: A Space for Difference
EAZ – Ethnographisch-Archaeologische Zeitschrift, Mar 30, 2023
Modes of Production and Archaeology, 2017
Many readers (and especially those English-speakers under ~50 years of age) primarily employ seco... more Many readers (and especially those English-speakers under ~50 years of age) primarily employ secondhand knowledge of the writing of Marx and Engels. Basic Marxist concepts that structure analysis (such as mode of production) have been filtered through the writings of anthropologists and understood under different names and are now attributed to scholars of the second half of the twentieth century. We therefore begin by reviewing key concepts from Marx and Engels’ original writings and define basic Marxist terms.
Framing the "Ethnoarchaeological" Other: The Direct Historical Approach in Victorian Bible Customs Books
Ethnoarchaeology
The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences, 2018
The Ritual Mode of Production in the Casas Grandes Social Field
<p>This chapter introduces a mode of production approach focused on how social labor was ap... more <p>This chapter introduces a mode of production approach focused on how social labor was appropriated in the Casas Grandes Region of Chihuahua, Mexico. A domestic mode of production seems to have defined productive activities throughout the sequence beginning in the Viejo period (AD 600–1200) and continuing into the Medio period (AD 1200-1450). However, in the latter half of the Medio period, a ritual mode of production developed around Paquimé in which surplus labor was increasingly appropriated for site construction, communal agriculture for feasting and more elaborate craft production. Rather than a distinct mode, however, I argue that these new relations reflect an elaboration of the domestic mode that limited exploitation and elites power.</p>
Assemblages and Power in the Casas Grandes Region
Modes of Production and Archaeology
Modes of Production and Archaeology, 2017
Modes of production are used in a variety of ways by authors in this book but all employ the fram... more Modes of production are used in a variety of ways by authors in this book but all employ the framework as an analytical tool to explore the reproduction of society. Each chapter author provides examples of how one or multiple modes of production (in succession or simultaneously) promotes distinctive questions and new insights about the past. The aim of the volume is not to (re)affirm the value of mode of production analysis to those already convinced of its utility, but instead to suggest to a broader audience that such analyses can provide insights that are not available through conventional archaeological approaches. As a group, we follow Marx’s analysis of capitalism in making our cases for the utility of mode of production analysis by working through concrete examples.
Archaeological Dialogues, 2018
In recent years, ethnoarchaeology and the use of ethnographic analogy have come under increasing ... more In recent years, ethnoarchaeology and the use of ethnographic analogy have come under increasing criticism. Analogy seems necessary because, as post-industrial academics, archaeologists worry that they do not possess the knowledge necessary to interpret archaeological materials directly and thus must consult with coeval ‘premodern’ peoples to develop interpretive baselines. In this paper, we draw attention to a form of scholarly enquiry – 19th-century Bible customs books – that faced a similar challenge and used methodologies that parallel archaeology's use of ethnoarchaeological data. These were books written by missionaries who lived in Palestine for extended periods of time and studied Palestinian life to make sense of obscure elements of the biblical text, believing that life there had remained fundamentally unchanged for the past three thousand years. Using the Bible customs books as a kind of ‘cautionary tale’ typical of ethnoarchaeology, we argue that a consideration of t...
Ceramic Variation and Ethnic Holism: A Case Study from the \Younge-Early Ontario Iroquoian Border\ in Southwestern Ontario
RefDoc, THE reference in scientific document supply / Refdoc, la référence en fourniture de docum... more RefDoc, THE reference in scientific document supply / Refdoc, la référence en fourniture de documents scientifiques ...
Ethnoarchaeology Beyond Correlates
Ethnoarchaeology, 2009
... aim to be (1) nonparticipating, (2) outside, and (3) partitive. Schiffer (1995:101-103) ech... more ... aim to be (1) nonparticipating, (2) outside, and (3) partitive. Schiffer (1995:101-103) echoes similar sentiments when he cautions against ana-lyzing culture. Taken together, it would seem that a short stint to some village to observe traditional pottery production should be ...
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2003
Several commentators have argued that ethnoarchaeology will only become a productive part of arch... more Several commentators have argued that ethnoarchaeology will only become a productive part of archaeological research once both archaeology and ethnoarchaeology are unified by the axioms of a single theory of behavior. Through an examination of the different roles that ethnoarchaeological research has adopted, I demonstrate that ethnoarchaeology is already theoretically unified by a general concern with analogy. I argue that the problems that many commentators have recognized with ethnoarchaeologyÕs apparent eclecticism arise from an over-reliance on ''core universals'' by both processual and postprocessual researchers. Instead of implementing a single unified theory of behavior, I suggest that ethnoarchaeologists should adopt a pluralistic orientation that is sensitive to the contextual applicability of specific causal processes.
The view from the edge: the Proyecto Arqueológico Chihuahua (PAC) 1990 to 2010: an overview
Michael West and William Martin have suggested that the African Studies in North America finds it... more Michael West and William Martin have suggested that the African Studies in North America finds itself in moment of profound redefinition, caused by the combined influences of pan-Africanism, globalization and the reaffirmation of the traditional academic disciplines. Likewise, ethnoarchaeology’s once celebrated role in the New Archaeology has floundered in the face of postpositivist critiques. In this paper, I seek to define a space for ethnoarchaeological work in Africa that is sensitive to the daily realities of peoples’ lives while it simultaneously builds the types of knowledge necessary for ethnoarchaeology to meet its important epistemic role within archaeological research. Examples are drawn from research with potters and consumers in the Inland Niger Delta of Mali.
Power before Paquimé? Hypotheses on Political Economies in Casas Grandes
World Archaeology, 2016
Resumen. El presente artículo se basa en algunas cuestiones tecnológicas y sociales de una poblac... more Resumen. El presente artículo se basa en algunas cuestiones tecnológicas y sociales de una población indígena americana tradicional con el fin de aportar una reflexión sobre las dificultades para generar una interpretación holística de los cambios en la cultura material de una sociedad, en particular en aquellas ya desaparecidas. Se propone para ello recorrer el sentido inverso a las investigaciones etnoarqueológicas tradicionales: a partir de la revisión tecnológica de materiales cerámicos de un grupo étnico actual conservados en museo, se interactúa con las fuentes documentales, los alfareros indígenas, sus descendientes y otras personas cualificadas en el tema. De esta manera, la cerámica realizada por los alfareros qom durante distintos momentos de los dos últimos siglos se interpreta a la luz de varias alternativas: desde un mero elemento material definido por ciertas características tecnológicas y estéticas, a su documentación como objeto, la contextualización de la vida cotidiana y de la actividad cerámica en la sociedad qom tanto en el pasado reciente como en la actualidad, y la importancia que tiene en todo el proceso de cambio el apego a la identidad y a valores supramateriales como el territorio, factores que exceden la mera observación corpórea del objeto. Palabras clave: Cambio tecnológico; identidad; tradición; interpretación; colecciones de museo.
5. The Independence of Ethnoarchaeology
Human Expeditions, 2013
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 2009
This article examines how the consumption of domestic vessels allows women from the Inland Niger ... more This article examines how the consumption of domestic vessels allows women from the Inland Niger Delta of Mali to negotiate the political economies they enter following their marriage. Enamel serving vessels are the centrepieces of wedding trousseaus that decorate women's houses during the early years of their marriage. I suggest that these objects display a bride's social and economic power in a way that shelters her from exploitation within patriarchal households. Enamel consumption provides an example of how the 'materiality' of commodities may be enlisted to construct new senses of selfhood during periods of social liminality. More generally, my case study shows how women employ the ambiguities embodied in commodity consumption to confront patriarchal control of their labour and income.
The Archaeology of Identities: A Readerby Timothy Insoll
The Perils of Ethnographic Analogy. Parallel Logics in Ethnoarchaeology and Victorian Bible Customs Books
Archaeological Dialogues, 2018
In recent years, ethnoarchaeology and the use of ethnographic analogy have come under increasing ... more In recent years, ethnoarchaeology and the use of ethnographic analogy have come under increasing criticism. Analogy seems necessary because, as post-industrial academics, archaeologists worry that they do not possess the knowledge necessary to interpret archaeological materials directly and thus must consult with coeval ‘premodern’ peoples to develop interpretive baselines. In this paper, we draw attention to a form of scholarly enquiry – 19th-century Bible customs books – that faced a similar challenge and used methodologies that parallel archaeology’s use of ethnoarchaeological data. These were books written by missionaries who lived in Palestine for extended periods of time and studied Palestinian life to make sense of obscure elements of the biblical text, believing that life there had remained fundamentally unchanged for the past three thousand years. Using the Bible customs books as a kind of ‘cautionary tale’ typical of ethnoarchaeology, we argue that a consideration of this literature brings into focus some of the challenges faced by archaeologists’ use of analogy. Specifically, Bible customs books expose significant issues in how relations are conceptualized between archaeologists, others and ancients, and show how a strict empirical focus in ethnographic research can insulate key assumptions from critical scrutiny.
Craft Production and Capitalism: Intangible Interfaces
The Intangible Elements of Culture in Ethnoarchaeological Research, 2016