Multisited Research on Colonowares and the Paradox of Globalization

Abstract

Multisited ethnography was advanced by George Marcus (1995) as a way to address the spatial reach of communities linked by global flows of commodities, peoples, and institutions. Although the approach is usually applied within the context of modern globalization, many of the processes that define globalization accelerated with the onset of European colonization in the 1400s C.E. Multisited research is particularly suited to the analysis of the "paradox of globalization," the simultaneous unfolding of heterogeneity and homogeneity throughout the world, which became pervasive in the colonial era. An indigenous ceramic type in eastern North America known as colonoware expresses this paradox, where variable European influence in its morphology and surface treatment can be attributed to the intersection of local practices and large-scale population movements. [colonoware, globalization, colonialism] RÉSUMÉ L'ethnographie pluri-site est un concept avancé par George Marcus (1995) dans le but d'interroger l'influence dans l'espace de communautés liées par la circulation globale de marchandises, peuples et organismes.Normalement, cette approche est appliquée dans le contexte de la globalisation moderne; plusieurs des processus qui définissent la globalisation commencentà accélérer au début de la colonisation européenne dès le 14è siècle.La recherche pluri-site est particulièrement bien adaptéeà l'analyse du « paradoxe de la globalisation », c'est-à-dire le déroulement mondial et simultané de l'hétérogénéité et l'homogénéité, devenu envahissant dans l'ère coloniale.Un type de céramique spécifique trouvé en Amérique du Nord -le colonoware -exprime ce paradoxe, car certaines influences européennes variables de sa morphologie et du traitement de surfaces sont attribuablesà l'intersection de pratiques locales avec des mouvements de populationà grandeéchelle.RESUMEN Etnografía multi-situada fue presentada por George Marcus (1995) como una forma de abordar el alcance espacial de las comunidades vinculadas por flujos globales de productos, personas e instituciones. Aunque el método se aplica generalmente en el contexto de la globalización moderna, muchos de los procesos que definen la globalización se aceleró con el inicio de la colonización europea en los años 1400 CE. Multi-situado investigación es particularmente adecuado para el análisis de la "paradoja de la globalización," la despliegue simultáneo de la heterogeneidad y homogeneidad en todo el mundo, que se convirtió en dominante en laépoca colonial. Un tipo de cerámica indígena en el este de América del Norte conocida como "colonoware" expresa esta paradoja, que puede ser una influencia variable europea en su morfología y tratamiento de la superficie atribuida a la intersección de las prácticas locales y los grandes movimientos de población.A s reflected in a recent spate of publications (e.g., Cohn 2006;Falzon 2009b;Fitzgerald 2006;Kim 2009), the practice of multisited ethnography now appears to be cresting in a second wave following its initial formulation over 15 y...

Anthropological Archaeology in 2012: Mobility, Economy, and Transformation

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Technologies of Domination at Mission San Bernabé, Petén, Guatemala

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Expanding mission archaeology: A landscape approach to indigenous autonomy in colonial California

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