The Intrepid Pea

Nationalism is the identification with one's nation and the promotion of the interests of a country. Throughout history archaeology has been used by governments and national leaders for political purposes, serving to unify a nation and its people under a common ideology and narrative of the past. Here are two examples of how archaeology has been entangled in nationalism and used to promote political agendas. Fascist Italy and ancient Rome In 1926, Benito Mussolini established a dictatorship in Italy through his fascist party and emphasised the connections between his party and ancient Rome to establish supremacy. The term 'fascist' links to the Latin word fasces , meaning bundles of birch or elm rods with an axe on one end. In ancient Rome, fasces  was a symbol of the power of the magistrate and central authority. The version of the fasces  that was chosen as the symbol of Mussolini's party was the original symbol used in Roman times. The concept of Romanness or romanit

The history of archaeology and museums is closely tied with colonlialism over the last few centuries, with wealthy Europeans in particular travelling to Italy, Greece, Egypt and the Middle East , and collecting antiquities that could be purchased by tourists. These were often artefacts that were looted from archaeological sites, such as ancient Egyptian tombs, and sold by locals to wealthy visitors. As these artefacts were removed from their archaeological contexts, it often makes it difficult to study antiquities that have made their way from private collections to museums because we are missing much of the information about where the objects came from and what this tells us about them.  Humankind's fascination with its past is not just a recent phenomena, but is seen across the ancient world. Individuals from various cultures have been taking interest in objects and monuments both from other cultures and those in their own culture's past for a long time. The Middle East, as t

As someone of South Asian heritage, I have noticed a trend of economic migration from South Asia to the Middle East. While completing research for my PhD I came across evidence that this migration for economic purposes has been going on much longer than just the 20th and 21st centuries.  The region of South Asia encompasses the modern countries of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The initial movement of hominins (including homo sapiens , extinct human species and immediate ancestors) out of the African continent expanded into Asia, including both the Middle East and South Asia, and spread into Southeast Asia, then continuing into the Pacific, Australia and the Americas. During my research I found parallels between the ancient and modern migration of South Asians to the Middle East and the economic reasons for this movement. Ancient migration The ancient Indus Valley or Harappan civilisation, covering modern day Pakistan and northwest India, presents the earliest recorded exa

The concept of the New Year is something that exists cross-culturally, originating in ancient and possibly even prehistoric times, and continuing into the present day where the first day of the year is celebrated around the world. The new year is observed through the tracking of time in calendars, which can be organised by different principles. Given the passing of days as marked by sunrise and sunset, ancient practices of timekeeping were based on this regular occurrence.   Lunar Calendar Lunar calendars are based on the cycle of the Moon, measured by lunar (also known as synodic) months which cover the phases of the Moon including new, full, gibbous and crescent moons. The appearance of the Moon from Earth is determined by the position of the Moon in relation to the Sun and Earth, with the naming of the Moon phases referring to the portion of the Moon that is illuminated by the Sun at a point in time. This cycle covers about 29.5 days with small variations. Eight phases of the Moon,

Pilliga Forest is a large forest in central north New South Wales, about three hours west of the large regional centre of Tamworth by road. The forest is made up of multiple state managed parks, and covers an area of about 5000 hectares, double the size of Sydney. The Pilliga Forest is in the land of the Gamilaraay (also known as Gamilaroi or Kamilaroi) people, who are the original Indigenous inhabitants of this land. Evidence of the long-ranging presence of the Gamilaraay people in this area is seen in the archaeology distributed across their country, including in the Pilliga Forest. Due to the continuing ban on international travel for Australians and restrictions on interstate travel, a country roadtrip through NSW in late October seemed like a great opportunity to get out of the busyness of Sydney and explore some areas of the state that we otherwise may not ever have had the chance to travel to. Pilliga Forest Discovery Centre  The Pilliga Forest Discovery Centre is located in t

Origins of the word Civilisation may seem like an impartial concept as just another word in the English language. But the connotations of the word, and its use in archaeology, are rightfully contentious if you look deeper. The origins of the term in English relates to the French word civilisé , meaning 'civilised', which itself derives from the Latin civilis ('civil'). The Latin term is associated with civis , 'citizen', and civitas, 'city'.  M. Gossler 2005, Wikimedia Commons. The Eurocentrism inherent in the term 'civilisation' is clear when considering the history of this word. The ancient Romans contrasted themselves, who they viewed as civilis (civil), with non-Roman groups who were seen as being inferior or uncivilised. The ancient Greek term barbaros , used to refer to non-Greek speaking people of other cultures, was later adopted in Latin during the time of the Roman Empire. It is from this word that the English term barbarian is derived

As part of my PhD research I have been looking at early writing systems. Writing systems are the way that language is visually represented. In the case of archaeology, writing systems make languages accessible to us through recording. If we know how to interpret a writing system, we can reconstruct the writing back into the speech that it represents. In this way we can find out much more about an ancient society than from archaeological artefacts alone. The earliest languages that we are aware of include Sumerian, ancient Chinese, ancient Egyptian, and Indus Valley or Harappan writing (the subject of my PhD). The Sumerians are credited with the first invention of writing about 5000 years ago, which developed from earlier non-written symbolic communication. Their writing system of cuneiform consisted of wedge-shaped strokes that were initially used for keeping administrative records to support their society. Other uses of the language include religious purposes and royal communication.