Phenomenology in archaeology: space, water and fire

I have been to the recent World Archaeological Congress (WAC-6) held in Dublin, and I was very pleased of discovering a separate program of events, “WAC Fringe”, running in between the academic program. In short, it was a series of events displaying hands-on the activities of experimental archaeologists, but intriguingly it also included exhibitions of modern art. An unofficial detailed program is still available on the Internet. The events included trials of ancient music, metalworking and pottery making, as well as art exhibition, and were a very welcome addition to the general program. I shall not comment here on the individual projects presented, I was just pleased to see experimental archaeology playing such a significant role.

Visiting several events in a short time has brought back to my mind a project (space, water and fire) by Professor Dragos Gheorghiu, of the National University of Arts of Bucharest, who is pioneering the research in this field by recreating artefacts and using ancient techniques, but is also re-enacting the use of space, water and fire to reproduce perceptions that are both ancient and inspiring for the new generations. His project is part of a new field in archaeology, often labelled as archaeology/anthropology of perceptions/senses, which merges art, cognitive sciences, archaeology and especially experimental archaeology, anthropology and philosophy, or phenomenology in archaeology. Since his project is not concerned with a single archaeological site (the research is being carried out in the Danube area) or technique, and was not represented at WAC, it has been chosen to represent a new trend in archaeology that is going mainstream.

Hut on fire at Vadastra

The space, water and fire project aims to understand the mental mechanisms of the design process (incorporating both the pragmatic and the symbolic dimensions) and to reconstruct the perception of traditional people. In particular, the eco-relationships between traditional populations and their built or natural environment are being addressed. The research is also looking into the human perception of paleo-landscapes, or of the ancient human settlements’ spatial organisation. To achieve this, some dwellings and tools are being reconstructed employing experimental archaeology, and water and fire are added to the resulting landscape. These two natural elements were present in the past in the same form as today, and they help in recreating living ancient landscapes. Of course, the study of ancient techniques, artefacts and landscapes also affects modern perceptions and has the potential of influencing contemporary art. However, this project in particular is also using art as an instrument of research by using the sensitivity of living artists in re-created landscapes to produce new art as well as to focus on significant elements or aspects. The initial study was carried out in the village of Vadastra, and a comparative anthropological study led by Dr Heinrich Dosedla has examined the validity of the initial results using a large set of ethnographic evidence.

The inclusion of two natural elements such as water and fire, present in the ancient landscape as part of artificial and natural events at different scales has proven to be a powerful tool to recreate ancient landscapes that could be re-lived. Most projects of which I am aware of stop at the recreation of a fragment of past or at the demonstration that the landscape surrounding individuals affects their perceptions and can be the start of cognitive processes (perception by contemporary artists). This one instead finds a way forward into the ancient mind. The result is not a sophisticated (read: theoretical) debate (e.g. on cognitive processes) or a “hymn” to the significance of a class of artefacts (e.g. pottery; metals; etc.) or technique, which has been the focus of the study. The result is that archaeologists are reconstructing ancient experiences and understanding them for what they are. For instance, fire could be seen as a shaping force giving “birth” to objects such as ceramics and metals, and as a destructive force (see figure of burning hut), like in the natural world. Of course, natural cycles come to mind here.

Creation from fire

Destruction from fire

Water often determines the choice of space and sets boundaries. The association of an artefact with some powerful natural elements can also affect its significance as much as its function, and perhaps even more.

Water and rites of passage

In short, the project aims to see through eyes sensitive as similarly as possible to the ancient ones the ancient world, by recreating fragments of the past and experiencing them, and through them see the artefacts in their archaeological, functional and cognitive context. Conceptually, the research is similar to what particle physicists do to understand the material world: they recreate special conditions in the lab, and can witness on a microscopic scale fragments of realities that happened or will happen at much larger scale, and by doing so understand things they cannot possibly study directly.

So, what do we learn from all this? This project reveals the deep connection between ancient people and the natural world. The separation between human world and natural world was not that sharp until recent times. I think that this project more than others is showing the true potential of current research, albeit with less detail than some projects in experimental archaeology, less promises than cognitive science and less theory than some pure phenomenological studies. Yet, it gives us a chance to see the ancient world with the eyes of an ancient person (through sensorial perception of artists rather than cognition guided by our understanding), perhaps just a fragment, but it is well worth mentioning. And I hope that the flourishing experimental archaeology seen in Dublin will give us more of this.

Credits:

Dragos Gheorghiu, Catalin Oancea, Marius Stroe and Stefan
Ungureanu (The Prehistoric House)
Marius Stroe and Dragos Manea, (The Furnace)
Adrian Serbanescu and Ion Anghel, (The Bridge)
Dragos Gheorghiu, students and villagers (Black ceramics)

[experiments funded by CNCSIS and Dr. Romeo Dumitrescu]

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Archaeology, Humanities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.