ABSTRACT

In this introduction to the special edition, we argue that the theories of philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce have the potential to bridge some of the deepest divides in archaeology. We also demonstrate that the adoption of an extreme ‘anti-representational’ position in thing-centred turns in the discipline is misguided, as scholars recognize diverse modalities of representation beyond symbols and immaterial signifiers. By combining the insights of Peircean semiotics, assemblage theory, and new approaches inspired by the ontological turn, we rehabilitate representation as a fundamental material process in the exercise of agency and the making and transformation of ‘meaningfully constituted worlds.’ Mobilizing theories on semiotic ideologies in particular, we further contend that the material worlds assembled through representational processes can often be harmful, unjust, contradictory, challenged and potentially reconfigured. Ultimately, as a semiotic science in its own right, archaeology must devise new ways to analyse the mediated representations of the past subjects they study. The diverse articles of this issue have made an important contribution exploring this central problem in archaeological research.

摘要

在特刊的介绍中，我们认为哲学家查尔斯·桑德斯·皮尔斯的理论有可能弥合考古学中一些最深的分歧。我们还证明，在学科中以事物为中心的转向中采用极端的“反表征”立场是错误的，因为学者们认识到超越符号和非物质能指的多种表征方式。通过结合 Peircean 符号学的见解、组合理论和受本体论转向启发的新方法，我们将表征恢复为一种基本物质过程，用于执行能动性以及“有意义构成的世界”的制作和转换。动员关于符号意识形态的理论，特别是，我们进一步认为，通过再现过程组装起来的物质世界往往是有害的、不公正的、矛盾的、受到挑战的，并可能被重新配置。归根结底，作为一门独立的符号科学，考古学必须设计新的方法来分析他们研究的过去主题的中介表征。本期的各种文章为探索考古研究中的这一核心问题做出了重要贡献。