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G
ustavo
G. P
olitis
Reflections on Contemporary Ethnoarchaeology
52
PYRENAE,
núm.
46
vol.
1
(2015)
ISSN: 0079-8215 EISSN: 2339-9171 (p. 41-83)
the main cultural dimensions of the Awá society, such as technology (González-Ruibal
et
al
., 2011), settlement (González-Ruibal
et al
., 2010), discard patterns (Politis
et al
., 2013a),
mobility (Politis
et al
., 2013b) and gender and power (Hernando
et al
., 2011). The project
had some peculiar characteristics that are not frequent in the study of hunter-gatherer
societies. Firstly, a strong emphasis was put on studying the Awa taking into account
their history, neocolonial context, and the current sociopolitical scenario (Hernando
et
al
., 2006; González-Ruibal and Hernando, 2010). This explicit concern, which shaped
research methods in the field and impacted upon the research goals, is not obvious in
most studies of hunter-gatherer societies, which are usually under the constant threat of
illegal mining and timber-cutting, furtive hunters, coca growers and so on. Secondly, one
of the objectives was to generate useful information that would assist the Awá to improve
their living conditions, and to take effective political actions in order to protect them. This
approach, quite original in the field of ethnoarchaeology, was preceded in Amazonia by
Wüst, (1998, see below) and has to be also placed in the theoretical framework of the
postcolonial critique (Lydon and Rizvi, 2010). It is based on a strong commitment to
the people under study (see also García Roselló, 2008: 33-34). Among other actions, all the
papers generated by the project were translated into Portuguese and published in Brazil
(Hernando and Beserra Coelho, 2013) with the goal of making all the information gathered
and the proposed interpretations available in the country for the design of protection and
sustainability policies.
In addition to Hernando and González-Ruibal, the other Spaniard who has conducted
ethnoarchaeology in Latin America is Jaume García Roselló, who has undertaken research
on pottery production in Chile. In a vast list of contributions, which includes a monograph
(García Roselló, 2008) and several papers (García Roselló, 2006, 2007), García Roselló
puts forward the concept of “productive strategy”, which is intended to go beyond the
concept of an operative chain, which is based only on technological aspects. As a result,
this study not only incorporates an analysis of pottery production, but also considers the
study of social, economic and ideological aspects, as well as the use of the space and the
pieces produced (García Roselló, 2008). Another interesting approach has been the study
of Mapuche pottery from a historical perspective, analyzing changes in this technology
caused by the Spanish conquest (García Roselló, 2007).
Inés Domingo (2011) has undertaken ethnoarchaeological research in Arnhem Land
in northern Australia, directed toward the study of rock art in the region, and paying atten-
tion to the social context. Her research focuses on building a more critical approach to the
archaeological study of past rock art, including the often latent discussion of the possibilities
and limitations on interpreting the meaning of symbols (Domingo
et al
., in press). She has
also discussed the information encoded in rock art and how its production and consumption
is embedded in sociocultural practices (Domingo and May, 2008; May and Domingo, 2010).
A series of studies of Galicia’s current rural populations carried out by José Manuel
Vázquez Varela should be mentioned as well. These studies have dealt with a variety of
subjects, including gold extraction (Vázquez Varela, 1995), pottery production (Vázquez