Words that Archaeologists Choose

Abstract

Writing is the means by which archaeological knowledge is produced, shared and negotiated, which is why, as part of a wider reflexive archaeology, writing within the discipline has come under scrutiny. When writing, archaeologists make choices about what words to use to express their ideas about the past (even if these choices are sometimes subconscious). This study examines such choices via the application of methods from two linguistic subdisciplines, corpus linguistics and discourse analysis, to a case study of Maltese archaeological texts and terms for a specific yet problematic type of Maltese artifact (axe-amulets/pendants). Using these methods, we connect political and theoretical shifts to changes in English-language use and terminology across three periods of Maltese archaeological history, demonstrating how authors choose words that reflect the broader assumptions and understandings that inform their work. In sum, this paper contributes to an increasingly critically aware understanding of the history of colonial and postcolonial archaeology in Malta and other Mediterranean islands and encourages writers to have a heightened awareness of the taken-for-granted but fundamental part that language plays in their poetics and politics.

Andrea Pessina and Nicholas C. Vella, eds. Luigi Ugolini's Malta Antica I: i templi neolitici di Tarscien. The Tarxien Neolithic Temples (Valletta: Midsea Books Ltd, 2021, 531pp., 395 figs, hbk, ISBN 978-99932-7-397-4) - Andrea Pessina, Nicholas C. Vella and Anton Bugeja, eds. Luigi Ugolini's Malta Antica II: i maggiori templi neolitici e l'ipogeo. The Major Neolithic Temples and the Hypogeum (Valletta: Midsea Books Ltd, 2021, 271pp., 233 figs, hbk, ISBN 978-99932-7-398-1) - Andrea Pessina, Nicholas C. Vel

“…My first impression was much less positive. However, I decided to put this to the test by examining and comparing in detail Ugolini's treatment of a category of Maltese artefact I know well: axe-amulets/-pendants (Skeates, 2002; Burkette & Skeates, 2022). Ugolini (MA I: 273‒274) documents their total number, shapes, dimensions, smoothed surfaces, perforations, fractures and state of preservation, rock types, and colours, including with reference to a photograph of a selection of them.…”