Season 04 - Episode 05: Archaeological Identities - Part Three

Sep 28

This episode is the third (final) installment of a three-part series produced by Eleanor Neil, contributing editor at American Anthropologist and Anthropological Airwaves. From the African American Burial Ground in New York City to the memorialization of violence in Northern Ireland to professional archaeology in the eastern Mediterranean, Eleanor asks archaeologists with different regional and methodological specialties to choose a single object or site, and, in their own words describe how this this site or artefact speaks to the interaction between archaeology and political or social identity across time and place.

Closed-Captioning

Here, Eleanor, an archaeologist herself, takes up the very prompt she posed to Dr. Cheryl Janifer LaRoche and Dr. Laura McAtackney in first two episodes of the series: to consider the role archaeology plays in the creation of contemporary political social discourses in the context of her own research on community archaeology on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Special thanks to Professor Michael Toumazou & Professor Derek B. Counts for their whose generosity of time and conversation also made this episode possible.

Eleanor Neil is a PhD candidate in the Classics department at Trinity College Dublin. She is also a recipient of an AG Leventis educational scholarship and a Long Room Hub Early Career Researcher.

TRANSCRIPT:

SPEAKERS:

Eleanor Neil, Anar Parikh

Anar Parikh 00:00

Anthropological Airwaves is the official podcast of the journal American Anthropologist, whose main offices are located on the traditional and ancestral territories of the Nacotchank, Anacostia, and Piscataway peoples. The Anacostia and Potomac rivers have long been places of trade and gathering for Indigenous peoples, and Washington DC is now home to diverse Indigenous people from across Turtle Island. Throughout its history, American Anthropologist has published material that has taken knowledge from Indigenous peoples for a scholarly audience and has not required its authors or editors to be good relations to Indigenous peoples and communities. Acknowledging territory is only one step in repairing these relationships. The Editorial Collective of the journal is committed to deep listening and engagement with Indigenous scholars, peoples, and communities to explore ways to be a better relation.

[intro music begins]

Anar Parikh 01:08

Hi everyone! Thanks for joining us for another episode of Anthropological Airwaves – the official podcast of the journal, American Anthropologist. This is Season Four, Episode Five: Archaeological Identities - Part 3.

[intro music ends]

Anar Parikh 01:24

My name is Anar Parikh. In case we haven’t had the chance to be acquainted yet, I’m the Associate Editor of the Podcast at American Anthropologist and the Executive Producer of Anthropological Airwaves. I’m joined at the mic today with contributing editor Eleanor Neil.

Anar Parikh 01:39

If you've been tuning in for the past couple of months, you know that Eleanor has taken over the mic this summer. She's a PhD candidate in the Classics Department at Trinity College Dublin. And during the past year, Eleanor has been working on a collection of Anthro Airways episodes titled Archaeological Identities. For this series, Eleanor envisioned speaking to archaeologists working across thematic and geographic contexts about how archaeology forms and informs contemporary social and political dialogues across time and place. In the first two episodes, she does exactly that. In part one of this series, Dr. Cheryl Jannifer LaRoche, Associate Research Professor at the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation discusses the African American Burial Ground in lower Manhattan and the influence it had on public engagement, perceptions of slavery, in the northern United States, and the empowerment inherent in recognizing one's own past in the archaeological record. In part two, Dr. Laura McAtackney, Associate Professor in Sustainable Heritage Management at Aarhus University, Denmark uses the urban landscape of Belfast as a site for exploring the materiality of violence and partition, the nature of commemoration, and how archaeology of the recent past has an integral role in our understanding of politics, society and conflict. The third and final episode in this collection takes a somewhat unexpected turn instead of asking a fellow archaeologist to talk about a third archaeological site or object of their choosing. Eleanor, a researcher who studies community archaeology on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus takes up the very prompt she posed to Drs. LaRoche and McAtackney herself and shares how the material past makes its way into the present on Cyprus. For Eleanor, a self-identified New Yorker, working in an Irish institution, studying Cyprus, these three episodes make up a sort of rhyme that together demonstrate the nest in which her PhD research was hatched and illustrate archaeology's role in contemporary life across three very different contexts. So, with that, I will turn it over to Eleanor.

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Eleanor Neil 04:21

Hi, everyone, I'm Eleanor. I'm a PhD candidate in the Classics Department at Trinity College, Dublin. My research looks at community archaeology in Cyprus. I have a BA in archaeology and history, and an MPhil in cultural heritage and public history. I've always had an interest in the ways in which academia and especially archaeology interacts with the public, especially with those who have a sense of ownership over the archaeology, but are not necessarily archaeologists themselves. Community archaeology includes a wide variety of practices, but at its heart, it is about the redistribution of power with an academic and professional archaeological work. I'm studying community archaeology in Cyprus in my PhD because despite its long colonial history, it has not developed community archaeology as a distinct set of practices in the way that many former British possessions have. It is important to situate my position as researcher as well. I'm not Cypriot, and so apparently my position is one of an outsider looking in. I can only know part of the story based on this perspective. However, it is a story worth knowing. And I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Cypriot archaeological narrative. Before I tell you about the archaeological site I've chosen to share with you all I think it's important to offer a little bit of historical and demographic context about Cyprus.

[Greek (Short Version 4) by Garna Vutka]

Anar Parikh 06:08

Hi, everyone, Anar here with a brief explanatory comma. Cyprus has more or less always been ruled, or at the very least been dominated by others. While the precise dynamics of various historical relationships are still debated, the archaeological record suggests that Cyprus has been under some form of colonial or imperial occupation since the Archaic period, roughly 750 to 500 BCE, where it is fairly clear that the Assyrians were heavily involved on the island, followed by the Egyptians and later the Persians. During the Hellenistic period, which is marked from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE to the rise of Augustus in Rome in 31 CE, Cyprus was ruled first by the Ptolemies one of the successors of Alexander, then annexed by the Roman Republic in 58 BCE, and ultimately became a senatorial province in 22 BCE, when the Roman Empire split into the Eastern and Western Empire, Cyprus remained under the control of the Eastern or Byzantine Empire. Though methods and degrees of control changed over time, it remained so until 1191, when Richard the Lionheart seized control of the island on his way to the Third Crusade. He in turn, sold it to the Knights Templar, who had little success in ruling the island and requested that Richard take back Cyprus. Richard had a little use for the island and gave it to his vassle Guy de Lusignan, who at the time, was struggling to maintain control over his position as King of Jerusalem, the Lusignan family would continue to rule Cyprus until 1489. When it was transferred to Venice, the island remained under Venetian control until 1571, when it became an Ottoman province. In 1878, the Ottomans leased the island to the British in return for support against the Russians to whom they had just lost the Russo Turkish war. While the terms of control shifted over time, the British would rule the island until 1960, when Cyprus finally achieved independence. Upon their exit from the island, the British set up a power sharing government between Greek-Cypriots, the ethnic majority on the island, and Turkish-Cypriots, Cyprus's largest ethnic minority. While this arrangement purported to equitably assign power between the two largest ethnic groups on the island, it in fact increased tensions between them. Intercommunal violence between Greek- and Turkish-Cypriots intensified even further in 1974. With a coup d'etat and the attempted assassination of Greek-Cypriot President Makarios III. The coup was carried out by a nationalist paramilitary group EOKA B, who supported union with Greece and were in fact backed by the Greek military junta, which itself was backed by the Nixon administration. However, Turkish-Cypriots shouldered the initial blame, and Turkey in turn used the ensuing violence as an excuse to invade Cyprus claiming to be acting in the interest of Turkish-Cypriots. The conflict escalated, continuing for several months and ending only tentatively through UN involvement and the institution of a border between the Turkish occupied northern part of the island and the Republic of Cyprus in the south. As a result, Greek-Cypriots who had lived in the northern part of Cyprus fled to the Republic and Turkish-Cypriots residing south of the new border were relocated to the occupied territories. Entire villages were repopulated with displaced people from opposite sides of the border, who to this day have not been able to return. Today, the occupied territory claims to be independent, but has not been recognized by any country except Turkey. And the border is still in effect, though it is now possible to cross at designated checkpoints. Okay, now back to Eleanor.

[Greek (Short Version 4) by Garna Vutka]

Eleanor Neil 10:30

For this episode I'm going to discuss the Kallinikeio Museum. The Kallinikeio Museum is located in Athienou, a primarily agrarian town, known nationally as a bread and cheese producer. A fact that has to some extent shaped the communal identity as much as the economic character of the region. The lasting consequences of the violence and turmoil of 1974 continue to reverberate across Cyprus, and each community feels it in its own way. Located in the Larnaca district of Cyprus, the entire town of Athienou is located within the United Nations buffer zone between the Republic of Cyprus and the parts of the island occupied by Turkey. While the buffer zone widens to accommodate the whole of Athienou 80 to 85% of the town's agricultural land now lies in occupied territory, and thus remains inaccessible. I've chosen a museum instead of an archeological site, landscape or object, because the essence of community archaeology is in fact, the community. And as we will see, this museum is equally enmeshed and representative of this small community in Cyprus. So I will begin with a description of the museum and talk a little bit about its history and development, and its role within Cypriot political and social settings. And finish by speaking a little bit about the role of archaeology in the construction of identity more broadly. So to begin with, the Kallinikeio Museum was opened in 2009, and is built on land gifted to the municipality of Athienou by the icon painter and Orthodox monk, Kallinikos Stavrovouniotis. Icons are religious works of art, usually paintings and are very common in Eastern Christianity of all types. They usually are portraits of Christ, the Virgin Mary, saints or angels are considered not just to be representations of these figures, but also are considered sacred in their own right. The building in which the museum is housed is impressive. And well It also houses municipal offices, including offices and storage space for the Athienou Archaeological Project, which we will return to shortly. The museum is large and takes up a considerable amount of space and focus. It is divided into three sections the archaeological section begins with a timeline of the area, with a single item demonstrating each period. This is followed by several display cases that show the many varieties of ceramics that have been excavated at the various sites around Athienou. It also includes a sample of the large number of statues and figurines from the area, a distinct find due to their number and variety. The ethnographic section includes examples of the local style of lace, historic photographs of weddings, boy scout pictures, examples of the traditional tools used for baking and food production, which while now modernized still represent a large part of the town's identity. At the end of the exhibit is a memorial to those who died or still missing after 1974 with photographs and personal items. The archaeological and ethnographic sections are separated by the collection of icon paintings, and other religious art either created or collected by Kallinikos. The stated aim of the museum is to quote, function as a center of instant communication between the museum exhibits and visitors, a source of knowledge for children and adults, a reminder of previous years and a tourist attraction sharing knowledge regarding the local and national history and culture.

[Greek (Short Version 4) by Garna Vutka]

Eleanor Neil 14:15

So, to understand how this museum is able to act as a conduit between archaeological material archaeologists and non-specialists, we have to begin with a bit of background on the archaeological environment in which the town of Athienou is located. The Athienou Archaeological Project or AAP was begun in 1990 by Dr. Michael Toumazou, Professor of Classics Emeritus at Davidson College in North Carolina, and a Cypriot with strong familial and cultural ties to Athienou specifically.The archaeological significance of the area has been well known since at least the 19th century, and Athienou-Malloura was a popular site among antiquarians. Antiquarianism is often seen as the precursor to modern archaeology and is the term given to the 18th and 19th century study and collection of ancient objects, mostly from the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East. It was often a pastime or hobby pursued by wealthy men, and some women, from Western Europe and the United States, inc luding the infamous Luigi de Palma Cesnola who would later use his collection of Cypriot artifacts to leverage himself as the first curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Antiquarianism, even in the 18th and 19th centuries, was understood to be a tool of empire and on Cyprus, many of the foreign dignitaries were actually expected to undertake excavations at their own expense as part of their duties to their own nations. Over time, as archaeology became professionalized, and more scientific, archaeologists working in Cyprus shifted their focus away from inland settlements like Athienou to large urban centers and inland sanctuaries and cemeteries. Despite these trends, the area around Athienou was the subject of two excavations in the mid-20th century, first by a team from the University of Thessaloniki in Greece between 1969 and 1972, and later by the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, which included a surface survey conducted by the Department of Antiquities between 1971 and 1972. The AAP differed from these previous archeological initiatives in both purpose and method, proposing to take a holistic approach to the material, rather than limiting its scope to one time period or functionality, religious, domestic, industrial, funerary, etc. The AAP uses a lens that looks at cultural change over time, examining how exchange networks across the island within smaller regional contexts interacted with an integrated rural areas. Prior to the AAP excavation beginning in 1990, the town of Athienou was considered both by its own inhabitants and outsiders to be rustic and relatively inconsequential compared to other towns from a production standpoint, as well as from a tourism perspective. Local community leaders saw the AAP as the vehicle through which they could raise the town's profile, both in terms of tourism, but also in terms of the entire Cypriot network of archaeological sites and museums. Through publicizeation of the archaeological patrimony, the AAP would bring opportunities to showcase the town and its citizens. Civic pride has the possibility to galvanize significant economic and political movement. And archaeology can play an important role, often helping to confirm contemporary values and ideologies. In Athienou, the ties to the land and landscape are very strong, and the archaeological material confirms that that land has held importance since ancient times. This view has been exponentially strengthened by the construction of the Kallinikeio Museum in the town, especially as important finds from past excavations are now being returned from larger museums to be housed in Indiana. To realize these intertwined economic and civic ambitions at the newest private citizens and public bodies alike have offered substantial support to the AAP. For example, the town council has authorized the use of a municipal owned truck for the field seasons and co-purchased a minibus, which the town maintains and licenses and provides the vehicles fuel and insurance. The local government, as well as private citizens, have both provided housing and space for laboratory facilities for the project, utilities, and sometimes the rent were also provided for by the town. Furthermore, successive mayors and town secretaries have also provided logistical support for the project. This includes everything from helping with photocopying needs to mediating misunderstandings due to the breakdown of UN military command, which have on occasion necessitated the interceding of local authorities on the archaeologists behalf. The frequent turnover of UN personnel means that it's not always effectively communicated that the archaeologists have permission to dig in the buffer zone. In turn, AAP contributes to the economic health of Athienou through project level outlays such as food purchases, hiring drivers, renting housing, etc. And through personal purchases such as food, drinks, and other items and services, including the local travel agent made by project members. There's a celebratory dinner at the end of each season, which is hosted by members of the community in Athienou and the town has given project members small tokens of appreciation. These acts can be seen in a rather cynical light as a reciprocal gift exchange dynamic, though not an obligatory one for either town residents or AAP participants. But a more optimistic and I believe realistic view is that these celebrations are the product of a genuine community embracement of AAPs work, genuine interest and mutual emotive attachment. The museum and its embracement of archaeological material is a physical manifestation of that intangible truth, which is that the identity of this town, the one that wishes to demonstrate nationally and internationally is not one dimensional, is not a place that lives exclusively in the shadow of the UN green line. It's not only a place of industrial food production or lacemaking. It is all of these things, and the archaeological patrimony is an essential part of that multi-dimensionality. The Kallinikeio Museum is a small museum on the scale of world museums. But it manages to integrate the material past into the present in ways that are unique to this place. The archaeology is allowed to create the counterpart to intangible heritage that is represented in the ethnographic collection, by both being tangible and by its age. It allows the narrative to exist in the present and in the past. And while the yearning for the land and places that have been lost, and the pain of the violence that occurred in 1974, and its wake, still keenly felt, the AAP and the Kallinikeio Museum have aided in creating and reaffirming identities that are not solely based on lacking and absence. Instead, this archaeological project has been an integral part of the ignition and reaffirmation of an intensely local narrative that has an affirming and richly textured depth. It is a narrative that is deeply rooted in the past: in the archaeological past and the recent past. But it is one that is looking forward and expresses a deep belief in the qualities and shared histories that make Athienites unique and still deeply communal.

[Greek (Short Version 4) by Garna Vutka]

Eleanor Neil 21:34

So, the wider context in which this museum came into existence is very much an international one. Cyprus has a long tradition of international teams conducting archaeological projects across the island, and using archaeological material in cultural diplomacy. Even here in Dublin and the National Museum of Ireland, there's a permanent display of Cypriot ceramics and glass. And in terms of research, it is really important to have diverse ideas and backgrounds examining material. But it's also an interesting continuation of colonial power structures, because most, though not all of these projects are by universities in Western Europe and North America. Of course, the Department of Antiquities also conducts its own work, and has the ultimate say in who can excavate and where. So it isn't as if Cyprus is just powerless and overrun by foreign archaeologists. Also, now in the research, there is a more Cypriot centered trend, which is an interesting new perspective that chimes very well with my interest in community based work. So now we are seeing a focus that is much more on Cypress as a unique entity in itself, as opposed to being defined by who had control over it, or in opposition to other societies, cultures, etc. And that's not just in the actual practice of archaeology, but also in the perspectives on the interpretation of material as well. So I see the Kallinikeio Museum as a wider part of that trend of taking ownership of and pride in being unique and in having layers to an identity. And archeology gets to play a role in that it gets to interact with the other facets of identity. And is not just something for academics to puzzle over, but also for the people who interact with it every day to fit into their own sense of place, and sense of heritage.

[Greek (Short Version 4) by Garna Vutka]

Eleanor Neil 23:37

So, one of the questions I was really interested in exploring through this series is what are the ways in which archaeology interacts with politics? And is it inherently political? We have discussed throughout this series the ways in which archaeology interacts with and informs contemporary political discourse. But archaeology is also part of the political framework of society and is a political process in and of itself. In other words, the practice and study of archaeology is hardly neutral, but rather inextricably tied up with questions of identity and representation, and who has a say in it. In the context of this episode, it is important to remember that Cyprus has only been independent since 1960, which means it's only been allowed to express a unique national identity and officially steward it for just over 60 years. As recently as 1960, regardless of rhetoric and of practicalities, all archaeological material belong to the British Empire for nearly a century. And in that way, the material past has been another thing extracted from the island under colonialism, which is an inherently extractive political system. Less than two decades after independence, Cyprus was once again invaded this time by Turkey. The continued occupation and partition of the island are in themselves acts of violence, ones that are not so much history in the way of other conflicts of the recent past, but a lived present. Since 1974, no official archaeology has been conducted in the occupied territories, which account for the entire northern third of the island. Lack of access to this part of Cyprus means that our knowledge and understanding about the islands past is necessarily partial. But this gap in the archaeological record is also a product of political ideas. And this one demonstrates the ways in which archaeology is used as a tool to further political agendas, whether we agree with it or not. Doing archaeology in the occupied territory would require applying for permits to conduct excavations, and in turn implicitly, or even explicitly condoning an illegal government Athienou and the archaeological sites in its vicinity have seen the development of archeology, the professionalization of the field and the advent of scientific methods. Athienou has been a site where antiquarians from a number of Western European countries and the United States collected artifacts throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Such forms of archaeology were expressed tools in the destructive project of empire, and a regrettable part of archaeology's professional history. In the present, archaeologists are quick to critique the ways that archaeology was used as a tool in the project of empire, but often without explicit acknowledgement of the ways in which imperial ideals and practices persist today, but in the present, where Cyprus is no longer in Imperial possession, and archaeology is no longer the pursuit of the aristocratic class alone, in what ways to Cypriot archaeology, remain hitched to institutions that exert political power, whether it be the state, the museum, or the university? After all, the archaeological terrain in Cyprus is complex, and some histories in archaeology are minimized, and others are uplifted. There is no scarcity of material culture, even with the lack of access in the occupied territories. But there is a hierarchy of sites, which is heavily influenced by governmental funding and academic acclaim. Archaeologists, regardless of who is hired them, or where they are in their careers, must contend with these hierarchies, and navigate the reality of Turkish occupation and acknowledge that some histories are privileged over others. As with all aspects of our society, archaeology is not immune to broad and deep questions surrounding unconscious bias, not only in carrying out the work, but also in the ways in which the material is interpreted and presented. The act of excavation and recording even when a project is deeply embedded in a community, the destructive nature of archaeological practice, and the agreed upon methodologies for recording that destruction, are built upon Western definitions of knowledge, knowledge, transmission and preservation. This extends beyond the field and into the classroom, and other sites of intellectual discourse, which are built on foundations of debate, conflict and individual ownership rather than consensus and collaboration. Academic culture and larger political systems mirror one another, in their hierarchies and in their understandings of what is and is not knowledge. And through this imitation, archeology and academia are not just tools used to advance dominant political agendas. They are part and parcel of dominant political systems themselves. While the Athienou Archaeological Project follows the traditional model of an international field school, it has also supported the community self-expression and self-identification through the Kallinikeio Museum. This type of symbiosis between the community and the archaeological project represents a type of empowerment for the local community, and for the archaeologist steps towards collaboration, and lessons and what community-based archaeology might need in order to succeed in Cyprus.

Eleanor Neil 28:27

What might in archaeology that has shed these paradigms of destruction and invasion look like? One that moves towards a truly collaborative pattern of work? The discipline has not quite arrived at this future. But in Athienou and elsewhere, we see glimpses of possibility. Here I come back to something Dr. LaRoche said in the first episode of this series, that uncovering the marginalized and minimize stories of the past is paramount. And it is worth using the tools we have to hand. We as archaeologists can imagine possible futures and at once, question these tools and use them to reflect on the choices that we make, not just in the field, but also in the lab, in the museum, in our interactions with community stakeholders, and in our participation in our respective communities of practice.

[Greek (Short Version 4) by GarnaVutka]

Anar Parikh 29:43

Thanks for listening to another episode of Anthropological Airwaves. Hearty thanks and congratulations to Eleanor Neil for her fantastic work on “Archaeological Identities.” This episode was written, produced, and edited by Eleanor Neil with support from Anar Parikh. With each episode, Eleanor has also curated a list of additional readings for listeners who are interested in learning more. We’ll link to these readings in the show notes and include them on the episode transcript, which, as always, you can find on the Anthropological Airwaves page of the American Anthropologist website! The intro and outro music you hear is titled “Waiting” by Crowander. The transition music features the track Greek (Short Version 4) by GarnaVutka.

Anar Parikh 30:28

As always, a closed caption version of all Anthropological Airwaves episodes, including this one will be available on our YouTube channel and a full transcription on the episode page on the American Anthropologist website. Links to both are included in the show notes. If you enjoy this conversation, be sure to subscribe to Anthropological Airwaves wherever you listen to podcasts. Also, don't forget to rate and review us while you're there. A five star review in particular can help other listeners find the show. We would also love to hear from you in general. If you have feedback, recommendations, or thoughts on recent episodes, send an email to amanthpodcast@gmail.com. You can also reach out to us on our Facebook page or on Twitter with the handle @AnthroAirwaves. Find links to all of our contact information in the show notes and on the Anthropological Airways section of the American Anthropologist website. That's all for now. We'll be back in your ears next month with more great anthro audio. Take it easy y'all

[outro music]

SEAN MALLIN

Season 04 - Episode 05: Archaeological Identities - Part Three

TRANSCRIPT:

Season 05 - Episode 01: Who’s Afraid of Universals?

Season 04 - Episode 04: Archaeological Identities - Part Two