The legacy of racial violence through an archaeological perspective, specifically lynching, perhaps is one of the most relevant examples of how to present the idea that the discussion of how to ethically present histories from our past is intensely relevant today.

The ways that artifacts are presented create narratives that either fetishize or humanize the archaeological remains of such atrocities. For example, after the 1901 public murder of George Ward in Terre Haute, Indiana, the crowd immediately fought amongst one another in order to obtain any part of Ward’s body. His extremities were broken off and kept. His toes were auctioned off to the highest bidders (Young 168). The remains of lynching victims became a memory of the ritualistic murders to those who commoditized the black body. In contrast, the families and friends of the lynching victims would scour sites to find any remains, so that they could bury them (Young 183).

The infamous lynching postcards that were and are insensitively displayed in family photo albums bring this hate crime to life (Simon 1:Without Sanctuary). Postcards portraying lynching victims continue to circulate within the market, perpetuating a sort of looting that represents the way that we still view the victims of these violent acts. It evokes visions of the colonial past, creating a modern ‘cabinet of curiosity’ that continues to other and fetishize the secrecy and yet loudness of racial violence. It is obvious that systemic and violent dehumanization, social or physical, of black and brown bodies is not something that is limited to the past.

Figure 1. Rope used in the lynching of Matthew Williams in December of 1931. It is currently displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

This is not to say that archaeological remnants of lynchings should not be displayed in any circumstances.  Emmett Till’s family donated his casket to the Smithsonian Museum. A piece of the rope used to murder Matthew Williams is at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. James Allen and John Littlefield’s collection of lynching postcards and photographs literally take these artifacts from people’s collections and turn them into a condemnation and remembrance of the victims. All of these artifacts are intended to become materials for teaching and remembrance by those descended from victims and by allies, and this is what we must hope happens to as many cultural remains as possible.

But we must remember that certain voices must be put at the forefront. James Cameron, a victim of a botched lynching, founded a museum based on this black genocide. He is a living testimony to the remains that have become ecofacts to museums and collectibles to many others. America’s Black Holocaust Museum had wax figures of lynching victims on display, as well as rope used to lynch a man. It evoked such negative reactions that the exhibit was taken down. The Museum shut down in 2008, and although it reopened this year, its temporary failure serves to show which narratives continue to dominate and gain support. Archeology must be collaborative, because only those who have lived the repercussions of such horrors can adequately help to create the ethical narratives that such remnants deserve.

Figure 2. Emmett Till’s casket, donated to the Smithsonian in 2009.

Sources:

Evidence of Things Unsaid

Simon, Roger I. “The Public Rendition of Images Médusées: Exhibiting Souvenir Photographs Taken at Lynchings in America.” Presence: Philosophy, History, and Cultural Theory for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Ranjan Ghosh and Ethan Kleinberg, Cornell University Press, Ithaca; London, 2013, pp. 79–102. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt32b58z.8

Young, Harvey. “Housing the Memory of Racial Violence: The Black Body as Souvenir, Museum, and Living Remain.” Embodying Black Experience: Stillness, Critical Memory, and the Black Body, University of Michigan Press, ANN ARBOR, 2010, pp. 167–208. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.3998/mpub.235634.7.

Image Sources:

Figure 1.

Emmett Till’s Casket Donated to Smithsonian

Figure 2.

Rope Used to Lynch Michael Brown

Further Reading:

Lynching Site Still Stands in Mississippi

http://time.com/4314310/hanging-bridge-excerpt-mississippi-civil-rights/

Postcards of Lynchings by James Allen and John Littlefield

http://withoutsanctuary.org/main.html

Example of Exploitation of Cultural Property: Postcards of Racially Motivated Violence for Sale Online

https://www.biblio.com/book/negro-homes-burned-rioters-sprinfield-race/d/609677283?aid=frg&utm_source=google&utm_medium=product&utm_campaign=feed-details&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIisj-vZCV1wIVVQaGCh2nPAkQEAkYAyABEgJLI_D_BwE

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Early-1900s-RPPC-Real-Picture-Post-Card-Unused-Execution-Hanging-Lynching/362119740700?hash=item545004bd1c:g:NokAAOSwjDZYaewA

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The Western world considered Egypt to be one of the greatest civilization in history.  Most of its fame arose from the sense of wonderment surrounding its massive pyramids, and from its legendary people and histories.  Cleopatra was a main figure that American children learn about when they first begin to discuss Egypt.  The fall of her empire was often attributed to the Roman victory over Egypt in the Battle of Actium in 30 B.C..  Whereas this loss was previously comprehended by conditioned notions of Egyptian weakness through infighting, decadence, and incest, recent archaeological findings hinted that the environment and climate may have had a larger impact on the outcome of the battle.  Evidence from ice core data, Islamic records of the water levels in the Nile River, and “ancient Egyptian histories” written on papyrus suggested that a volcanic eruption in 44 B.C. had a massive impact on the stability of Egypt under Cleopatra’s reign.

Antony and Cleopatra — Battle of Actium, 30 B.C.

The result of the eruption was widespread vulnerability.  The intrusive eruption disrupted the flooding of the Nile River, thus impacting agriculture, trade, and social organization.  Famine ensued due to lack of fertility in local soils to produce essential crops and sustenance for consumption and trading.  Additionally, immune systems severely declined with the lack of proper nutrition or energy, which contributed to the widespread disease and famine which swept the nation.  Lastly, social unrest surrounding the irregular patterns of the river caused strained trade and social relations between groups of people and caused either conflict or the need for migration.  All of these consequences of the volcanic eruption in 44 B.C. contributed to the immense vulnerability of Egypt at the time, making Cleopatra’s reign less authoritative, and making it easier for the Roman empire to claim victory over Egypt in the Battle of Actium in 30 B.C..

A map of the Battle of Actium with Cleopatra and Antony’s respective positions labelled.

I found this finding interesting because it proved the necessity of critical thinking and revisitation of academia’s previously conceived notions and ideas surrounding political and social phenomena.  While infighting, decadence, and incest may have contributed to the instability that Egypt felt at the time, it was important to search for more context in order to reveal clues about the rise and fall of “past” civilizations and empires.  Looking at history with such a critical lens could elucidate perceptions of the future cycle of empires in the world and help to understand the meanings behind and implications of international interactions today.

Sources and Additional Readings:

https://www.archaeology.org/news/6027-171017-egypt-volcano-nile

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/17/asp-or-ash-climate-historians-link-cleopatra-demise-volcanic-eruption-nile

http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00957-y

http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub366/item2032.html

https://thisblogisratedpgforpropheticguidance.wordpress.com/tag/battle-of-actium/

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As with many countries around the world, Cambodia carries a complicated and destructive history. These conflicts have aided in the looting and destruction of its heritage sites, especially ancient temples.

One of the most famous Cambodian examples is Angkor Wat, a Hindu temple built in the 12th century in honor of the god, Vishnu (Glancey 2017). During the Khmer Rouge regime and collapse, heritage sites like Angkor Wat became places of destruction caused by war in the latter half of the 20th century. Protection, maintenance, and access to Angkor Wat was limited because of the Rouge’s presence in the surrounding area (Glancey 2017). Even if the fighting wasn’t going on at the site itself, surrounding fights made the area dangerous and abandoned by tourists, locals, and site caretakers (Reap 1997). This hurt the influential tourist trade, meaning less money to fund the upkeep and protection of the site (Reap 1997).

Hindu Temple Angkor Wat (Image by Vincent Ko Hon Chiu)

However, it is not just oppressive regimes that directly destroy archaeological sites. The Khmer Rouge looted heritage sites and temples, but also prevented the protection and continued study of temples like Angkor Wat. In addition, the Khmer Rouge contributed to the desecration because its collapse meant that Cambodia was no longer shut off to the world, therefore open to foreign looters and the illegal antiquity trade. People like Khmer Rouge leader, Ta Mok, had 20 to 30 tons of stolen artifacts at his home when he was arrested in the late 1990s, but “as the Khmer Rouge communist insurgency [collapsed]…many hidden site have suddenly become open to the raiders” (Mydans 1999).

Looted artifacts from the Cambodian temple, Koh Ker (image from Fresh News Asia)

In Cambodia’s case, the attempt to protect archaeological sites can also create conflict. Cambodia and Thailand clashed when the temple, Preah Vihear, was declared to be in Cambodian territory in 1962. This was only exacerbated when Preah Vihear was promoted to World Heritage status by UNESCO in 2009, a “conflict resulting in several civilian and military deaths” (O’Reilly 2009). Throughout the 2000s, the dispute resulted in various damages to the temple itself by both Cambodian and Thai gunfire (UNESCO 2011).

Cambodian temples, and heritage sites in general, are not only culturally significant for their origins, but also for the power struggles that they create. These conflicting power struggles can be over the sites, in the case of Preah Vihear, or damage the sites, as seen at Angkor Wat and Preah Vihear. While looting and raiding erase important archaeological evidence and context for the purpose of an individual’s gain, the occurrence themselves is another chapter in the story of the history of the sites.

Additional Reading:

http://www.dw.com/en/how-cambodias-temples-fell-to-looters/a-17735835

https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/legacy-angkor

Sources:

Glancey, Jonathan. “The surprising discovery at Angkor Wat.” BBC. March 14, 2017. Accessed October 24, 2017. http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170309-the-mystery-of-angkor-wat.

Mydans, Seth. “Lost temple looted by Cambodian raiders.” The Guardian. April 01, 1999. Accessed October 24, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/world/1999/apr/02/cambodia.

O’Reilly, Dougald J. W. . “Cambodia: Cultural Heritage Management.” 2009. Accessed October 24, 2017. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_1189.pdf.

Reap, Matthew Chance Siem. “Cambodia’s war threatens Angkor Wat.” The Independent. July 13, 1997. Accessed October 24, 2017. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/cambodias-war-threatens-angkor-wat-1250666.html.

UNESCO World Heritage Centre. “UNESCO to send mission to Preah Vihear.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre. February 8, 2011. Accessed October 26, 2017. http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/708/.

Photo Sources:

Chiu, Vincent Ko Hon. “Angkor (Cambodia).” Digital image. UNESCO World Heritage List. Accessed October 26, 2017. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668.

Fresh News Asia. Looted Cambodian Artifacts. Digital image. Fresh News. March 30, 2016. Accessed October 26, 2017. http://en.freshnewsasia.com/index.php/829-looted-cambodian-artifacts-displayed-at-phnom-penh-museum-after-decades-in-france.html.

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I spent my October break in Ireland this year and while I was there, found something that directly relates to our class. My dad and I visited a visitors center near Connemara National Park and found that they were featuring an exhibit on “People of the Bog”. Specifically, the Mennybraddan Woman.

People of the Bog exhibit in the Connemara National Park’s Visitor’s Center.

The Mennybraddan Woman is a body that was found by turf cutters in Mennybraddan Bog in 1978. Her body was found relatively well preserved because of the presence of peat in the bog. As the textbook claims, “bod bodies… are undoubtedly the best-known finds from the peat bogs of northwest Europe” (57). The organic material found in these bogs would not have survived outside the waterlogged environment. In the case of the peat bogs, “peat dramatically slows the process of decay” (Dr. R. O. Floinn, National Museum). The bog preserves organic material by sealing it in an airless environment. Places such as lakes, swamps, and bogs play important roles in archaeology because of their ability to effectively maintain organic remains.

Pile of peat positioned near a bog in Ireland.

A lot of the individuals whose bodies were preserved in the Irish bogs met their deaths through either sacrifice or through violence. The textbook references the Clonycavan Man who “had been killed with axe blows and possibly disemboweled” and the Oldcroghan Man who had been decapitated (58). The Clonycavan Man’s body was actually displayed in a museum in Dublin alongside the Mennybraddan Woman, though the bodies were found in different locations. However, the Mennybraddan Woman’s cause of death is unknown (Dr. R. O. Floinn, National Museum). She has not been suspected of being murdered, though, because her body does not show signs of a violent end.

The Remains of the Mennybraddan Woman

In an article written about the discovery, she was described as being buried without any other items around her. Her only accompaniment was a woolen blanket that she had been wrapped in. Could this statement about being buried with no items be premature? What if looters took the items? Could the items have decomposed even though her body had been preserved? As archaeologists, we must consider all the possibilities. However, if it is true that if she had been buried without anything, her death may imply sacrifice or suicide. PBS concludes that her death was either a result of either a murder or a suicide. Because her death did not appear violent, I would guess suicide. 

The Mennybraddan Woman is a fascinating archaeological discovery. Centuries-old bodies give us a glimpse into what life was like for individuals. Tattoos imprinted on bodies and tools the individuals carried teach us about the persons’ life and the lives of others at the time. The wool blanket found with the Mennybraddan Woman indicates that she had access to sheep to make wool. It tells us that the climate of the time was cold enough to require a blanket. If her death was sacrificial, it could imply something about the religious beliefs of the time. In conclusion, the discovery of mummified bodies in archaeology can supply a lot of information about past societies and ways of thought.

Sources:

Lewis, Susan K. “Bog Bodies of the Iron Age.” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 22 Oct. 2017. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bog/iron-nf.html

Deem, James M. “Meenybradden Woman.” Mummy Tombs. Web. 22 Oct. 2017. http://www.mummytombs.com/bog/meenybradden.html

Renfrew, Colin and Paul Bahn. Archaeology Essentials. Thames & Hudson. 2007, 2010, and 2015.

Picture Sources:

Deem, James M. “Meenybradden Woman.” Mummy Tombs. Web. 22 Oct. 2017. http://www.mummytombs.com/bog/meenybradden.html

“Bogs of Ireland.” Culture and Heritage Tours Ireland. http://www.cultureheritagetours.ie/?pagid=bogs-of-ireland

“People of the Bog.” A picture I had taken while on my trip. I took it on October 9th, 2017.

Further Readings:

http://nautil.us/issue/27/dark-matter/the-curious-case-of-the-bog-bodies

https://archive.archaeology.org/online/features/bog/

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