Archaeological Entanglements: Negotiating Power in the Archives of Belgium’s Early Archaeologists
(2021) ASOR Annual Meeting (9.December.2021)
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- Authors
Van de Ven, Annelies 
- Abstract
- When we talk about the diplomatic powers active in the early archaeology of the Ancient Near East, we often think of the big colonial and economic powers of the time. The archives of archaeologists supporting the national agendas of the US,the UK, France and Germany have all been the focus of extensive research. The international fame of the actors involved and the clout of their associated cultural institutions has ensured widespread scholarly interest in these histories. However,the scale of these cases can lead to a one-way writing of history,overlooking some of the complex interplays between science,politics and industry that entangled not just the colonizer and colonized,but also numerous other powers engaging on an international stage. This presentation will explore these entanglements through the archives of Belgian scholars working on the archaeology of the Ancient Near East in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Though Belgium certainly enacted a practice of direct extractionism within its own colonies,its relations in the Near East were more heterogeneous. At a time when Belgium was moving from a reliance on the political, cultural and academic structures of neighbouring countries to its own nationalized institutions,the discipline of archaeology became a forum for collaboration as well as competition. By critically considering two case studies -Franz Cumont and Fernand Mayence -within their wider historical context,this paper will examine the role of the archaeologist as a colonial intermediary intricately entangled within networks of political,scientific, cultural and economic power.
- Affiliations
Citations
Van de Ven, A. (2021). Archaeological Entanglements: Negotiating Power in the Archives of Belgium’s Early Archaeologists. ASOR Annual Meeting. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/213650