Germany's Ancient Pasts
Subtitle: Archaeology and Historical Interpretation since 1700
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: Nov 27, 2018
Language: eng
Format: paperback
Number of pages: 364
ISBN-13: 9780226593074
Description: The book offers a vivid portrait of the development of antiquarianism and archaeology, the interaction between regional and national history, and scholarly debates about the use of ancient objects to answer questions of race, ethnicity, and national belonging. While excavations in central Europe throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries fed curiosity about the local landscape and inspired musings about the connection between contemporary Germans and their?ancestors,? antiquarians and archaeologists were quite cautious about using archaeological evidence to make ethnic claims. Even during the period of German unification, many archaeologists emphasized the local and regional character of their finds and treated prehistory as a general science of humankind. As Maner shows, these alternative perspectives endured alongside nationalist and racist abuses of prehistory, surviving to offer positive traditions for the field in the aftermath of World War II. A fascinating investigation of the quest to turn pre- and early history into history, Germany?s Ancient Pasts sheds new light on the joint sway of science and politics over archaeological interpretation.
Notes: Source title: Germany's Ancient Pasts: Archaeology and Historical Interpretation since 1700