From Human Remains to Powerful Objects: Ancestor Research from a Deep-Time Perspective
Family history research has seen a surge in popularity in recent years; however, is this preoccupation with who we are and where we come from new? Archaeological evidence suggests that ancestors played crucial and ubiquitous roles in the identities and cosmologies of past societies. This paper will...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Genealogy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/6/1/23 |
| _version_ | 1797471425889566720 |
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| author | Lindsey Büster |
| author_facet | Lindsey Büster |
| author_sort | Lindsey Büster |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Family history research has seen a surge in popularity in recent years; however, is this preoccupation with who we are and where we come from new? Archaeological evidence suggests that ancestors played crucial and ubiquitous roles in the identities and cosmologies of past societies. This paper will explore how, in the absence of genealogical websites and DNA testing, kinship structures and understandings of personhood beyond genealogy may have influenced concepts of ancestry. Case studies from later prehistoric Britain will demonstrate the ways in which monuments, objects and human remains themselves created bonds between the living and the dead, prompting us to reflect on genealogy as just one aspect of our identity in the present. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:48:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6ea7157ab154464682072405b1978ff0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2313-5778 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T19:48:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Genealogy |
| spelling | doaj.art-6ea7157ab154464682072405b1978ff02023-11-24T01:17:29ZengMDPI AGGenealogy2313-57782022-03-01612310.3390/genealogy6010023From Human Remains to Powerful Objects: Ancestor Research from a Deep-Time PerspectiveLindsey Büster0School of Humanities & Educational Studies, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury CT1 1QU, UKFamily history research has seen a surge in popularity in recent years; however, is this preoccupation with who we are and where we come from new? Archaeological evidence suggests that ancestors played crucial and ubiquitous roles in the identities and cosmologies of past societies. This paper will explore how, in the absence of genealogical websites and DNA testing, kinship structures and understandings of personhood beyond genealogy may have influenced concepts of ancestry. Case studies from later prehistoric Britain will demonstrate the ways in which monuments, objects and human remains themselves created bonds between the living and the dead, prompting us to reflect on genealogy as just one aspect of our identity in the present.https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/6/1/23archaeologybereavement studiescontinuing bondsproblematic stuffancestorspersonhood |
| spellingShingle | Lindsey Büster From Human Remains to Powerful Objects: Ancestor Research from a Deep-Time Perspective Genealogy archaeology bereavement studies continuing bonds problematic stuff ancestors personhood |
| title | From Human Remains to Powerful Objects: Ancestor Research from a Deep-Time Perspective |
| title_full | From Human Remains to Powerful Objects: Ancestor Research from a Deep-Time Perspective |
| title_fullStr | From Human Remains to Powerful Objects: Ancestor Research from a Deep-Time Perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | From Human Remains to Powerful Objects: Ancestor Research from a Deep-Time Perspective |
| title_short | From Human Remains to Powerful Objects: Ancestor Research from a Deep-Time Perspective |
| title_sort | from human remains to powerful objects ancestor research from a deep time perspective |
| topic | archaeology bereavement studies continuing bonds problematic stuff ancestors personhood |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/6/1/23 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lindseybuster fromhumanremainstopowerfulobjectsancestorresearchfromadeeptimeperspective |