Rethinking Representation and Animation
Archaeological interpretations of prehistoric humanoid figurines, made and used by the hunter-gatherers of the Stone Ages, have traditionally relied on Western concepts of hylomorphism and iconology. Consequently, these figurines are depicted as finished and static objects of art, often separated f...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Svenska Arkeologiska Samfundet
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Current Swedish Archaeology |
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| Online Access: | https://publicera.kb.se/csa/article/view/24748 |
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| _version_ | 1832586896585261056 |
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| author | Erik Solfeldt Anna Naglaya |
| author_facet | Erik Solfeldt Anna Naglaya |
| author_sort | Erik Solfeldt |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Archaeological interpretations of prehistoric humanoid figurines, made and used by the hunter-gatherers of the Stone Ages, have traditionally relied on Western concepts of hylomorphism and iconology. Consequently, these figurines are depicted as finished and static objects of art, often separated from their archaeological contexts. Analysis of these figurines has been focused on identifying what they represent, rather than considering what they do or how people used them. This paper draws on new animism and Indigenous knowledge, combined with visual ethnographic analysis to create a visual ethnoarchaeology of northwestern Siberian humanoid figurines, here viewed as material spirits, within their animistic contexts. We argue that archaeologists’ interpretative focus on representation should be abandoned in favour of attending to animation and the material and immaterial ecological relations these figurines shared with their prehistoric makers.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e5fcecab5d584785b639490520b98058 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1102-7355 2002-3901 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Svenska Arkeologiska Samfundet |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Current Swedish Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e5fcecab5d584785b639490520b980582025-01-25T01:41:25ZengSvenska Arkeologiska SamfundetCurrent Swedish Archaeology1102-73552002-39012025-01-013210.37718/CSA.2024.07Rethinking Representation and AnimationErik Solfeldt0https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7056-8602Anna Naglaya1Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies, Stockholm UniversityIndependent researcher. Anna Naglaya Photography, Netherlands Archaeological interpretations of prehistoric humanoid figurines, made and used by the hunter-gatherers of the Stone Ages, have traditionally relied on Western concepts of hylomorphism and iconology. Consequently, these figurines are depicted as finished and static objects of art, often separated from their archaeological contexts. Analysis of these figurines has been focused on identifying what they represent, rather than considering what they do or how people used them. This paper draws on new animism and Indigenous knowledge, combined with visual ethnographic analysis to create a visual ethnoarchaeology of northwestern Siberian humanoid figurines, here viewed as material spirits, within their animistic contexts. We argue that archaeologists’ interpretative focus on representation should be abandoned in favour of attending to animation and the material and immaterial ecological relations these figurines shared with their prehistoric makers. https://publicera.kb.se/csa/article/view/24748Figurines‘Idols’AnimismHylomorphismIconologyEthnoarchaeology |
| spellingShingle | Erik Solfeldt Anna Naglaya Rethinking Representation and Animation Current Swedish Archaeology Figurines ‘Idols’ Animism Hylomorphism Iconology Ethnoarchaeology |
| title | Rethinking Representation and Animation |
| title_full | Rethinking Representation and Animation |
| title_fullStr | Rethinking Representation and Animation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rethinking Representation and Animation |
| title_short | Rethinking Representation and Animation |
| title_sort | rethinking representation and animation |
| topic | Figurines ‘Idols’ Animism Hylomorphism Iconology Ethnoarchaeology |
| url | https://publicera.kb.se/csa/article/view/24748 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT eriksolfeldt rethinkingrepresentationandanimation AT annanaglaya rethinkingrepresentationandanimation |