This final discussion visits recent uses and considerations of ethnohistory in archaeology. The general trends in ethnohistory and archaeology over the last few decades will be outlined along with some predictions for the future based on current thoughts and practices in the field. At the present we are witnessing a surge in the number of research projects and publications in archaeology that have a substantial eth-nohistorical component. Archaeologists continue to turn to ethnohistory for direct historical analogies to reconstruct past cultures. To give one example, the religious symbolism and supernatural worlds of Native Americans in the midwest and southeast regions of the US have been resurrected by comparisons of archaeological, historical, and ethnographic information from these culture areas. This ‘Archaeology of the Soul’ by Robert Hall is achieved through the interpretations of the historic, material, and ethnographic data sets from the select cultures.
Additionally, more archaeologists are utilizing eth-nohistory and ethnographic information in their study areas to do historical anthropology. With these developments we now have diachronic perspectives on specific anthropological issues such as agrarian reform, ethnogenesis, long-term adaptations to colonialism, symbolism and religion, material culture and identity, and the role of trade in culture change. The results of these studies create a wide, long-term perspective with links between history, ethnography, and archaeology; no longer are historical, cultural, or archaeological treatments given at the beginning or the end of a book, for instance, they appear hand-in-hand throughout the narrative. In recreating the lives of farmers and communities during the nineteenth-century Caste War of Yucatan, for example, the complexities of the political and economic causes and effects of the conflict and what they mean for today’s inhabitants have come to light.
Importantly, scholars are increasingly becoming more sophisticated in the practice of ethnohistory. For one, they are more critical of the historic sources since other documents and archaeology often provide missing or conflicting information. Oftentimes documents provide a narrow window on past indigenous societies, especially if they were produced by European elites in their lifetimes. Investigators then have persisted in seeking additional historical information to confirm their analyses and cultural reconstructions. Conversely, they do not take the historical information at face value and continue to seek additional corroborating documentary or archaeological information. For example, Spanish reconstructions of Mesoamerican religious practices, especially bloodletting and human sacrifice, can be ambiguous or exaggerated depending on the authors. Therefore, a careful checking and comparison with other historical and material evidence is warranted for a more accurate view of past behaviors.
When available, ethnohistorians today have more frequently turned to native writings or documents directly concerning indigenous people, such as wills and court proceedings, to widen their perspectives and obtain an emic or native view of past societies. This approach is difficult since both native languages and Colonial Period writing have to be mastered. With these sources new data on specific topics in native records and lifeways including marriage practices, language, land tenure, community identity, and ritual become available. Research on indigenous Yucatec Mayan language testaments in Colonial Yucatan, for instance, revolutionized Maya ethnohistory and provided additional analogies for ancient Maya culture for archaeologists.
Moreover, the growing number of indigenous scholars in ethnohistory, archaeology, and anthropology is producing fresh ideas and new perspectives on the past through ethnohistory and archaeology. An indigenous renaissance with regard to native views on history and nuanced interpretations of archaeological data is producing an emic view of culture and how it changes or remains the same over time. It can be argued that a closer, insider/emic view of native archaeological culture can be realized in general with information from historic accounts interpreted by their descendants. This insider’s view will be obscured if documentary evidence is lacking or if no indigenous people study available sources.
Scholarly attention to oral history also continues to grow. Spoken and remembered information about the past is more commonly accepted alongside written and archaeological data at the present. The combination of the historical data sets and archaeology has led to the construction of ‘alternate histories’ which follow indigenous perspectives for indigenous ends. In this case, insights from native informants and local colleagues help generate new models on the social and political structures of past societies and how they should be presented to readers, for example. The study of new ethnicities following culture contact between Europeans, Africans, and indigenous peoples in Latin American history and archaeology and the use of the past to counter colonialist political positions are just two examples of this non-Western perspective.
Finally, as indigenous people around the world continue to organize politically, they have stressed their desire to obtain a more complete picture of their past and of the social and economic conditions of their ancestors. This movement will cause a growth in historical anthropology where ethnography, cultural studies, archaeology, and history meet. Through the urging of native or first peoples, a new awakening of hybrid research in ethnohistory, archaeology, and ethnography carried out by people of different backgrounds and disciplines is upon us. This approach counters many studies in anthropology and archaeology today that are overly synchronic, ahistorical, and colonial. Thus, ethnohistory in archaeology and ethnography is here to stay because of its utility in providing useful information and analogies with regards to the past and since it is important to indigenous societies who are preserving their culture and identity for the future.
See also: Americas, Central: Postclassic Cultures of Mesoamerica; Ethnoarchaeology; Historical Archaeology: As a Discipline; Political Complexity, Rise of; Post-processual Archaeology; Processual Archaeology.
World History
