From human remains to powerful objects: Ancestor research from a deep-time perspective

Journal article

Buster, L. 2022. From human remains to powerful objects: Ancestor research from a deep-time perspective. Genealogy. 6 (1), p. e23. https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy6010023
AuthorsBuster, L.
AbstractFamily 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.
KeywordsArchaeology; Bereavement studies; Continuing bonds; Problematic stuff; Ancestors; Personhood
Year2022
JournalGenealogy
Journal citation6 (1), p. e23
PublisherMDPI
ISSN2313-5778
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.3390/genealogy6010023
Official URLhttps://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/6/1/23/htm
Publication dates
Online10 Mar 2022
Publication process dates
Deposited14 Mar 2022
Accepted22 Feb 2022
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Output statusPublished
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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