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61
G
ustavo
G. P
olitis
Reflections on Contemporary Ethnoarchaeology
PYRENAE,
núm.
46
vol.
1
(2015)
ISSN: 0079-8215 EISSN: 2339-9171 (p. 41-83)
scattered on the surface. The Nukak told me that they belonged to their “grandparents”,
a generic reference that implies several generations back. Generally,
chontaduro
orchards
are found deep in the rainforest, far from colonized areas. They were established by “the
elders” and can be traced at least three generations back. They also say, “Now we no longer
plant
chontaduro
; all that there is was planted by our grandfathers; now we harvest the
fruit”. These places are related to the ancestors, since the palms connect past and contem-
porary generations. The elders planted them or used these plots for cultivation, and now
their descendants consume the
chontaduro
fruit. Some of the major representations of the
symbolic aspect of the
chontaduro
orchards are the performance of
baak-wáadn
(a gathering
ritual) in or near these spots and the inhumation of the deceased. Therefore, these palms
and the sherds materialize the connection in time between generations (Politis, 2007: 280).
Besides the sharing of the colonial origin of anthropology and the neocolonial sce-
nario where most ethnoarchaeological projects are carried out, there are more concrete
and obvious ethical issues related to the practice of this subdiscipline. The ethical aspect of
fieldwork is one of these issues, and, surely, one of the most important (Fewster, 2001a;
Hodder, 1982: 39). Unfortunately, very little has been written about ethnoarchaeological
fieldwork (for exceptions see David and Kramer, 2001: 84-90; Fewster, 2001a; Politis,
2014). The governing ethical and good practice standards that are applied to general
Fig. 6.
Food processing. Nukak women (Colombian Amazon) breaking cumare fruits (Astrocaryum aculeatum), with a thick stick
and an anvil stone, to feed the kids of the band. Such activities are usually carried around the household hearth, where a palimpsest
of remains accumulates, 1995. Photo of the author.