Archaeology of spiritualities

Archaeology of Spiritualties provides a fresh exploration of the interface between archaeology and religion/spirituality. Archaeological approaches to the study of religion have typically, and often unconsciously, drawn on western paradigms, especially Judaeo-Christian (mono)theistic frameworks and academic rationalisations. Archaeologists have rarely reflected on how these approaches have framed and constrained their choices of methodologies, research questions,hypotheses, definitions, interpretations and analyses, and have neglected an important dimension of religion: the human experience of the numinous - the power, presence or experience of the supernatural.Within the religions of many of the world’s peoples, sacred experiences – particularly in relation to sacred landscapes and beings connected with those landscapes – are often given greater emphasis, while doctrine and beliefs are relatively less important. Archaeology of Spiritualities asks how such experiences might be discerned in the archaeological record; how do we recognize and investigate ‘other’ forms of religious or spiritual experience in the remains of the past?The volume opens up a space to explore critically and reflexively the encounter between archaeology and diverse cultural expressions of spirituality. It showcases experiential and experimental methodologies in this area of the discipline, an unconventional approach within the archaeology of religion. Thus Archaeology of Spiritualities offers a unique, timely and innovative contribution,one that is also challenging and stimulating. It is a great resource to archaeologists, historians, religious scholars, and others interested in cultural and religious heritage. Kathryn Rountree is an Associate Professor at the Social Anthropology Programme, School of People, Environment, and Planning, at Massey University, in Auckland, New Zealand.Christine Morris is the Andrew A. David Senior Lecturer in Greek Archaeology and History in the Department of Classics, in the School of History and Humanities, Trinity College, Dublin.Alan A. D. Peatfield is a College Lecturer at the School of Archaeology, University College Dublin. INDICE: SECTION I: LIFE, DEATH AND ANCESTORS 1. The Spirituality of Prehistoric Societies: A View from the Irish Megaliths Muiris O’Sullivan 2. Fragmentary Ancestors? Medicine, Bodies and Personhood in a Koma Mound, Northern Ghana. Timothy Insoll, Benjamin W. Kankpeyeng, and Samuel N. Nkumbaan 3. Negotiating Archaeology/Spirituality: Pagan Engagements with the Prehistoric Past in Britain Jenny Blain and Robert J. Wallis SECTION II: RELATIONAL ONTOLOGIES AND ENGAGEMENTS WITH LANDSCAPE 4. Spirituality and the Material World in Post-Medieval Europe Vesa-Pekka Herva 5. Breath and Being: Contextualizing Object Personsat Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico Christine S. VanPool and Todd L. VanPool 6. In Search of Cosmic Power: Contextualizing Spiritual Journeys between Cahokia andthe St Francois Mountains John E. Kelly and James A. Brown SECTION III: PLAYING THE FIELD: ARCHAEOLOGY, ETHNOGRAPHY AND ORAL TRADITIONS 7. Accessing Past Cosmologies through Material Culture and the Landscape in the Philippines Victor Paz 8. From Holy Hiis to Sacred Stone: The Diverse and Dynamic Meanings of Estonian Holy Sites Tõnno Jonuks 9. Magical Signs in Prehistory: Near Eastern Celestial Symbols in the Ancient Carpathian Basin Emília Pásztor SECTION IV: EMBODIED SPIRITUALITIES: THE CASE OF THE MINOANS 10. ‘Nature’, the Minoans and Embodied Spiritualities Lucy Goodison 11. Dynamic Spirituality on Minoan Peak Sanctuaries Alan Peatfield and Christine Morris 12. Dusk at the Palace: Exploring Minoan Spiritualities Anna Simandiraki-Grimshaw

• ISBN: 978-1-4614-3353-8
• Editorial: Springer
• Encuadernacion: Cartoné
• Fecha Publicación: 31/05/2012
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés