Archaeology of Performance
Theaters of Power, Community, and Politics
Contributions by John Baines, Ian Hodder, Stephen D. Houston, Susan Kus, Jerry D. Moore, Victor Raharijaona, Adam M. Smith, Daniela Triadan Edited by Takeshi Inomata, Lawrence S. Coben
Publication date:
09 March 2006Length of book:
352 pagesPublisher
AltaMira PressDimensions:
236x164mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9780759108769
Performances in the premodern communities shaped identities, created meanings, generated and maintained political control. But unlike other social scientists, archaeologists have not worked much with these concepts. Archaeology of Performance shows how the notions of theatricality and spectacle are as important economics and politics in understanding how ancient communities work. Without sacrificing conceptual rigor, the contributors draw on the wide-ranging literature on performance. Without sacrificing material evidence, they try to see how performance creates meaning and ideology. Drawing on evidence from societies large and small, Archaeology of Performance offers an important new ways of understanding ancient theaters of power.
From the theatres of Inka power and ancient Egyptian ceremonies to Mayan spectacles and an Anatolian “festival of death and consumption,” this book is exemplary of a new and powerful archeology of performance. Using the tools of archeology, forensics, and performance theory, the authors of this collection lucidly explore theatre, the performative body, and ritual. What theyfind is not a “dead past” but rich repositories of living performances. Archeology of Performance is a must read for scholars in performance and the social sciences. Artists, too, will learn from this pioneering book.