Biweekly Colloquia: "Time in Three Dimensions"

Dec 04, 2023 from 04:15 PM to 05:45 PM

Olshausenstraße 40, R. 13

Gavin Lucas - University of Iceland

"Time in Three Dimensions"
One of the more significant issues to emerge from the Anthropocene discourse has been the apparent incommensurability of human and natural history and the vastly different timescales involved. More generally, it raises critical questions about the very different way time is conceptualized in the natural sciences as opposed to the social sciences and humanities. This paper seeks to contribute to these issues and build bridges between the two disciplinary domains by foregrounding the materiality of time. It uses a partly allegorical approach inspired by Edwin Abbott’s nineteenth century novel Flatland to investigate a notion of three-dimensional of time. The paper argues for the concept of thick time, which emphasizes the importance of time as constituted by things, whereby things make time rather than exist within it. I also explore the implications of this for the role of narrative in archaeology.

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Biweekly Colloquia: "The Linearization and Historicization of Temporality and the Deification of the Dead"

Jan 08, 2024 from 04:15 PM to 05:45 PM

Olshausenstraße 40, R. 13

Koji Mizoguchi - Kyushu University

"The Linearization and Historicization of Temporality and the Deification of the Dead"
This paper contends that the linearization and historicization of temporality are intrinsically linked to the deification of deceased individuals, phenomena notably prevalent during the state formation process. The term 'historicization' in this context implies the perception that events preceding a given moment (Time t-1) exert causal influence on subsequent events (Time t). In contrast to the cyclical perception of time, where world events are seen as either continuations or disruptions of an atemporal 'norm,' historicization posits that these events are the results of contingent occurrences, encompassing both natural and human/social factors.

As societies grew in scale and complexity, instances of unmet expectations arising from individual or communal actions became increasingly frequent. These unfulfilled outcomes demanded explanations rooted in what occurred before the event, thereby reinforcing a sense of historical contingency and the imperative to reference and commemorate the past. Simultaneously, the need to attribute these causes to otherworldly or transcendental forces emerged, leading to the deification of those who guided communities and made communal decisions.

This paper examines the coalescence of linear time marking and the deification of the deceased, notably observed during the transition from complex-chiefdoms to early-inchoate state formations within Japan and other regions. It offers a theoretical model of this process and provides concrete supporting evidence, primarily drawn from Japanese historical contexts.

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Biweekly Colloquium: "Climate and human induced changes to floristic diversity in Europe since the last ice age”

Jan 22, 2024 from 04:15 PM to 05:45 PM

Olshausenstraße 40, R. 13

Thomas Giesecke - Utrecht University

"Climate and human induced changes to floristic diversity in Europe since the last ice age”
 

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