Integrating identities: An innovative bioarchaeological and biogeochemical approach to analyzing the multiplicity of identities in the mortuary record

Christina Torres-Rouff, Kelly Knudson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

Despite our instinctive understanding of the importance of “identity,” archaeologists and bioarchaeologists continue to struggle to rigorously investigate this complex phenomenon. Here, we present a contextualized multiscalar bioarchaeological approach to studying identities in the past—individual and group, mutable and immutable—through the mortuary record. We argue that, while many scholars have moved beyond the single-focus study, archaeological individuals themselves are still neglected. A contextualized bioarchaeological approach brings together a variety of methods to investigate aspects of individual and group identities, provides a means of accessing biological facets of identity, and allows for more nuanced understanding of the complexities of social identities. We illustrate the utility of our model with a case study using archaeological, bioarchaeological, and biogeochemical data from northern Chile, stressing both the fixed and the dynamic aspects of different identities. We focus on the tumultuous transition between the Middle Horizon (AD 500–1100) and Late Intermediate Period (AD 1100–1400) in northern Chile’s San Pedro de Atacama oases and the neighboring upper Loa River Valley. Our research demonstrates a shift toward homogenizing representations of social identities as well as biological aspects of identities as societies began reformulating their social groups following the end of the complex and cosmopolitan Middle Horizon.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)381-409
Number of pages29
JournalCurrent anthropology
Volume58
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2017

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Archaeology
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Integrating identities: An innovative bioarchaeological and biogeochemical approach to analyzing the multiplicity of identities in the mortuary record'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this