Enigmatic Lives:
The Early Bronze age in Europe (1900-1500 BCE) is characterized by a dramatically shifting social and economic landscape. Populations expanded, trade networks grew, and the use of bronze exploded. Although the typical life cycle of bronze artifacts was cyclical as they were melted down and recycled, some bronzes were treated differently and were instead deposited in graves, hordes, and on their own. Yet, as Bradley (2013) notes, though the deposition of bronzes has been well studied, understanding them has been limited by restrictive interpretations that fail to include the objects’ biography. Object biographies create a platform for researchers to examine the relationships between people and objects and how they change over time, creating a more holistic view of the culture and the object. This methodology is particularly suited for exploring the famous Trundholm Sun Chariot. Although featured extensively in writings on the Nordic Bronze age, research has typically been limited to the object’s significance in explaining early religion, or exchange networks and has ignored the complex relationships this unique bronze object can reveal. Through this object biography, interpretations of the Trundholm Sun Chariot can move beyond singular foci and explore how relationships around bronze are changed and meanings are created as the Chariot moves from raw material to a ritually ‘extinguished’ object and beyond.
Archaeologist, Adventurer, and Archetype:
In his short life, Archaeologist and British Intelligence Officer John D.S. Pendlebury achieved great acclaim as an archaeologist who studied both ancient Greece and Egypt, becoming director of excavations at both Knossos and Amarna. Called a vigorous romantic, Pendlebury would often immerse himself fully in his work, getting to know each of his sites intimately, which ultimately aided him when he joined British Intelligence. John Pendlebury is your classic hero, a personality that became the archetype for what would later become fictionalized archeologists including but not limited to Indiana Jones, Ramses Emerson, and Julius Kane. Though many may not know his name, they certainly know his profile – an intelligent and ruggedly handsome Englishman who is not afraid to get his hands dirty and ultimately gives up his career in order to save the world from evil forces. On the 80th anniversary of his death, this piece analyses the myth, the man, and the legend of John Pendlebury and shows his influence on fictional depictions of archaeologists even to this day.
Cultural Consumption, Colonialism, and Nationalism in an Egyptian Alabaster Scarab Beetle
Within a scarab beetle that was acquired during my travels in Egypt, one can read evidence of Egyptian history, both the European imperialist efforts as well as the Egyptian nationalist past, each often expressed through cultural consumption that continues even into today. Ultimately, my scarab beetle is a souvenir from my own travels in Egypt and thus is also taking part in this cultural consumption like so many other souvenirs. I argue that while my scarab beetle is representative of Egyptian culture, it is also part of this broader history of colonial consumption which then triggered the subsequent Egyptian response of manufacturing souvenirs for this demand. Eventually, modern Egyptians also came to foster nationalist sentiments and contest colonial rule, which then encouraged further consumption of Egyptian material culture, although from a place of nationalist pride. These nuances will be further examined throughout this paper, through the use of contemporary literature such as British news articles and short stories, as well as the Egyptian nationalist responses.
To Walk Like an Egyptian:
The experience of coming to know the individuals of the past through their material culture displayed within museums offers an understanding distinctive from those of the individuals who used and created them. In discussing how closely the modern museum visitors experience with artefacts on display reflects one’s relationship with material in the past, the different analytical theories, museum contexts and visitors are considered. The complexities of these interpretations and presentations of the past are showcased in the material of ancient Egypt as its various exhibitions and popularity have influenced just how accurately one can come to understand past individual experiences.
Imperialism, Identity, and Image:
This article explores how objects provenanced in once colonized territories carry a history of both its country of origin and its colonizing power. By evaluating the presentations of the Rosetta Stone from Egypt, a wampum belt from the United States, and the Throne of Maharaja Ranjit Singh from Pakistan, all of which are displayed in British institutions, this piece claims that tangible culture can create a necessary cognitive dissonance within their own historical identities. The British hegemony over these objects provides a conundrum for the presentation of their object biographies, namely that their later history in England takes precedence over their original history in their country of origin, reinforcing the identity of Imperial Britain and the power that it once held. The author utilizes theories of Orientalism, museum presentation, and the western conceptualization of heritage and historiography to argue that to create a full object biography of these pieces a complete picture of its full history must be presented, which is necessary for the fuller understanding of the object as it relates both to its place in history and its physical place in the museum.
