Andrés Zarankin

Social archaeology of housing from a Latin American perspective A case study

This article discusses the structuring of domination in everyday life, studied through private housing material culture, over a period of several centuries. Our case study deals with the processes of use of space and the changes in middle-class households in Buenos Aires since the late eighteenth century, highlighting both world and Latin American contexts. We show how morphological and spatial changes in households are related both to the wider world capitalist context and to local conditions, shaping people’s lives. We focus on the controlling features of housing, affecting not only the middle classes, but potentially the whole spectrum of social classes. Capitalism tends to individualize space, create private environments, restrict movement and control movement in general, and houses as material artifacts reflect these tendencies. We conclude that the study of Buenos Aires housing enables us to note that there has been a growing tendency to restrict circulation within the house, enforcing a controlling, bourgeois way of life.

Después de la tormenta. Arqueología de la represión en América Latina

En este trabajo ofrecemos un panorama general sobre los estudios en “arqueologia de la represion” (sensu Funari y Zarankin 2006), centrandonos en el caso de America Latina. Nos referimos a las investigaciones que discuten las practicas represivas de las dictaduras de la region durante las decadas de 1960 y 1970.

Sealer's sledge excavated on Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands

Details are provided of a sledge, possibly of late nineteenth/early twentieth century provenance, discovered on Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, in 2007.

The Engineering of Genocide: An Archaeology of Dictatorship in Argentina

Dictatorships and state terrorism were sociopolitical realities shared by most Latin American countries from 1960 to 1980. These regimes pursued the persecution and extermination of ideas and people considered to be dangerous. The history of political repression in Latin America was frequently silenced by official discourses. Archaeology represents an alternative way to learn more about the 1960–1980 period of violence. In this chapter, we discuss the role played by certain material devices in the identification and punishment of political opponents. We will take the most recent dictatorship in Argentina (1976–1983) as our case study, and we will focus on two different but interrelated expressions of material culture: architecture and dress. Both of these were fundamental in the engineering of genocide, as they were used in the definition and denial of victims’ identities.

“Looking South”: Historical Archaeology in South America

An overview of the history and development of historical archaeology in South America from its beginnings to the present is presented here, covering the origins, theoretical frameworks, and subjects of investigation. Historical archaeology in South America has experienced an accelerated growth since the mid-1980s. Taking these circumstances into account, some of the most outstanding projects headed by South American archaeologists during the last decades are analyzed.

Geoecology and Historical Heritage in the Ice-Free Area of Elephant Point (Antarctica). Proposal for Future Environmental Protection

The Antarctic Treaty provides the general environmental policies for all areas south of parallel 60° S. In addition, some enclaves have a higher degree of environmental protection regulated by three categories: Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPA), Antarctic Specially Managed Areas and Historic Sites or Monuments. Most of the protected areas in Antarctica have been designated based on the national geopolitical strategies, giving special attention to those areas where access and logistics are easier. This paper focuses on Elephant Point (Livingston, South Shetland Islands), an ice-free area of 1.16 km2 where activities are only regulated by the Antarctic Treaty System and no further environmental protection exists. By using a geoecological approach based on the geomorphology together with the distribution of the fauna and flora existing in the area, we have distinguished six geoecological environments in Elephant Point: Rotch glacier, proglacial environment, moraine system, bedrock plateaus, marine terraces and present-day beach. The distribution of fauna and flora is highly conditioned by the age of deglaciation as well as by the glacial, paraglacial and periglacial geomorphological landforms and processes. Besides this, five well preserved archaeological sites have been found in Elephant Point. These sites were used for sealers and whalers who sailed across the Maritime Antarctic during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The rich biodiversity together with the high geomorphological and historical significance of this peninsula within the Maritime Antarctic constitutes the scientific basis to propose Elephant Point to be designated an ASPA in order to preserve the unique scientific heritage existing in this small peninsula.

Discussing the Spaces of Memory in Buenos Aires: Official Narratives and the Challenges of Site Management

In this chapter we consider the spaces of memory in the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. We focus our attention on those spaces officially recognized by the government in the last decade or so. They comprise a series of former clandestine detention centers, parks, and some other sites (small squares, commemorative plaques, etc.) which refer to the tragic consequences of the latest military dictatorship in the country, and are declared to be of public importance. All of these places allow us to discuss the relationship among memory, space, and narrative in Argentina, highlighting the role of government authorities in the elaboration of the bond. From an archaeological standpoint, we approach the materiality of the official spaces of memory and the narratives they help to create on the recent past of the country. We consider whether these places can effectively achieve their goals, and we point out some of the tensions they involve regarding the construction of an official memory in an always situated present. Finally, we discuss the ethical commitment necessary for authorities to work in places connected to trauma.

Against the Domain of Master Narratives: Archaeology and Antarctic History

This chapter aims at exploring the relationship between typological thought and the construction of the master narratives of the Antarctic past. Antarctica was the last continent to be incorporated into the space dominated by modernity. Its official discovery, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, marks the beginning of a history that presents certain particularities, not only in its content, but also in the way that it is usually told. We identified the master narratives that in their written and material dimensions produce and reproduce the visible and accepted history of Antarctica. As classifications and exclusions, these narratives structure a way of looking at the past that is accepted as true, rarely questioned, and assumed as representative of a whole. Our perspective proposes to make explicit the artificial nature of categorizations and established orderings, generating new analytical proposals and forms of knowledge. We present the studies of material culture and archaeology as a disruption in the schemes of thought that are implicit in the Antarctic history. At the same time, we propose to challenge forms of typological thought that obscure plurality and present a homogeneous past of Antarctica.

Tierra de nadie: Arqueología, lugar y paisaje en Antártida

In this paper we discuss some of the ways in which certain areas of the Antarctic continent intended to be transformed into a series of ‘places’ not only known but also dominated by the modern world. With that aim in mind, we consider the materiality of the cultural landscape, making reference to the multiple practices that could have shaped it. We focus our attention on the first human settlements on the South Shetland Islands, which were established by sealers and whalers at the early nineteenth century.

The Heritage Horror Show: A Critical Analysis of the Relationship Among Monuments, Power, and People

This article presents a critical discussion on issues relating to the concept of “heritage” and their political-ideological implications. From this discussion, I develop a comparative analysis of three case studies, historical sites in Antarctica, places of memory about the military dictatorship (1976–1983) in Argentina, and my family’s house in Buenos Aires (which is a building listed as a historic landmark by the government of the city of Buenos Aires).