Looting deconstructed : a study of non-professional engagements with the material past in Kozani, Greece
In dominant archaeological discourse, looting has been primarily discussed in connection with its assumed profit-related motives and the destruction it causes to the archaeological context of antiquities. Such ways of thinking, however valid they may be in some instances, result in an inadequate representation and understanding of looting, which conflates diverse forms of non-professional digging and search for antiquities, ignores the socio-cultural contexts they are embedded within, and undermines or disregards the objectives or perspectives of those perceived as âlootersâ. This thesis addresses these problems and attempts to deconstruct the blanket conceptualisation of looting that assimilates and denounces a range of acts, from a failure to register an antiquity, the unauthorised possession of an artefact, to an objectâs sale for subsistence purposes. In light of this, I present and interpret cases of non-professional digging and collection (but not sale) of relics gathered from ethnographic research amongst local communities in Kozani in north-western Greece. The results of the ethnographic research, interwoven with the critically analysed impact of official archaeologyâs epistemology and practice
Antoniadou, Ioanna
CC Archaeology
Looting deconstructed : a study of non-professional engagements with the material past in Kozani, Greece. In dominant archaeological discourse, looting has been primarily discussed in connection with its assumed profit-related motives and the destruction it causes to the archaeological context of antiquities. Such ways of thinking, however valid they may be in some instances, result in an inadequate representation and understanding of looting, which conflates diverse forms of non-professional digging and search for antiquities, ignores the socio-cultural contexts they are embedded within, and undermines or disregards the objectives or perspectives of those perceived as âlootersâ. This thesis addresses these problems and attempts to deconstruct the blanket conceptualisation of looting that assimilates and denounces a range of acts, from a failure to register an antiquity, the unauthorised possession of an artefact, to an objectâs sale for subsistence purposes. In light of this, I present and interpret cases of non-professional digging and collection (but not sale) of relics gathered from ethnographic research amongst local communities in Kozani in north-western Greece. The results of the ethnographic research, interwoven with the critically analysed impact of official archaeologyâs epistemology and practice
deconstruct study non professional engagement material past greece dominant archaeological_discourse loot primarily discuss connection assume profit related motif destruction cause archaeological_context antiquity way_thinking however valid may instance inadequate representation conflate diverse form non professional search antiquity ignore socio_cultural context embed_within undermines disregard objectives perspective perceive address_problem attempt deconstruct blanket conceptualisation loot range act failure register antiquity possession artefact object sale subsistence purpose light present interpret case non professional collection sale relic gather ethnographic amongst local_community north_western greece ethnographic interwoven critically_analyse impact official archaeology epistemology practice