The Semantics of Local Knowledge
Using Ethnosemantics to Study Folk Taxonomies Represented in the Archaeological Record
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2966035 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Christine S Vanpool, T L Vanpool (0000-0002-2004-9667) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 65 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 529-554 |
| Publication date | 2009-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Anthropological Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0091-7710 • E-ISSN: 2153-3806 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.3998/jar.0521004.0065.401 |
| OpenAlex | W2316914682 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
A culture's semantic structure reflects and affects local knowledge (the conceptual structure used to interact with the environment). Archaeological analysis of iconography reflecting folk taxonomies and other aspects of local knowledge will consequently provide insight into many different aspects of past cultures. A methodology for modeling folk taxonomy is introduced. Both Linnaean and folk taxonomies are based on gross morphological traits, creating correspondence between them at the generic-species level. However, differences are likely at higher taxonomic levels and will be portrayed by depictions of "anomalous" taxa at odds with Linnaean taxonomy. Using archaeological context, symbolic associations, and analogy, archaeologists can use these anomalies to determine the underlying semantic connections. We apply this model to Casas Grandes effigies and find that owls, rattlesnakes, coral snakes, and shamans are associated with each other under the semantic domain "night" and are central to Medio period cosmology and leadership
Analogy · Archaeology · Biology · Context (archaeology) · Geography · Iconography · Linguistics · Sociology · Taxon · Taxonomy (biology) · Anthropology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Ecology · History · Language and cultural evolution · Philosophy
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Have You Come to Take the King Away
Pour ramener l’été
Trance, posture, and tobacco in the Casas Grandes shamanic tradition
Pursuing an overarching commodification script through country-specific interventions? The EU's New Economic Governance prescriptions in healthcare (2009-2019)
The Reality of Casas Grandes Potters
Bridging Biology and Ethnohistory
Dressing the Person
| Unique citing works | 9 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,53 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2024 (16) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |