Human beings all hold a wide range of socially constructed and physically lived identities, expressed and experienced sometimes continuously and simultaneously, and sometimes only occasionally under specific circumstances. These identities might include, but are not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, social status, occupation, and health. Many of these identities, expressed and experienced in various tangible and intangible ways in our lived reality, can only be accessed indirectly through the physical proxy of the archaeological record when it comes to people living in the past. This course will explore a variety of archaeological methodologies for accessing the social identities of past lives, as well as the sometimes problematic role that archaeology has played in this type of research over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries (is ancient DNA bringing us back full circle to scientific racism?). The primary focus of the course will be on the ancient Mediterranean, with additional case studies drawn from other parts of the world serving to illustrate the cross-regional applicability of approaches to past identities. |