Theme:
1. The Material Record: Current Trends and Future Directions
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Performativity, Networks and Agency in Geometric Iconography. Towards an Aesthetics and Visual Language Archaeology
Content:
Geometric patterns have accompanied human societies for thousands of years, from the Middle Paleolithic in Europe to the hunter-gatherers of the Early Holocene in America. They were developed in cave paintings, ceramics, textiles, sculptures, architecture, body ornaments, domestic tools, weapons, jewelry, among other materials. These patterns are found in various contexts and are associated with a wide range of periods. This broad range shows a complex manifestation, posing theoretical and methodological challenges for archaeological research. While some attention has been given to iconographic and semiotic analysis in recent decades, and new approaches have been incorporated from cognitive archaeology or material agency theories, we believe that the theoretical and methodological development of Aesthetic and Visual Language Archaeology remains limited.
This session examines geometric aesthetics as a historical and social process that legitimizes, conditions, or demands social changes. In this context, geometric patterns played a crucial role in shaping socioeconomic and symbolic structures, and this iconography was fundamental for the construction and consolidation of cultural dynamics. The session aims to showcase works that analyze the agency, networks, and performativity of geometric iconography in Archaeology and Anthropology. To achieve this, we contend that geometric language is not merely a passive accessory or a mere ornament without meaning; rather, it actively shapes historical trajectories.
From a diachronic perspective, we aim to explore various theoretical and methodological approaches that enable the analysis of geometric language and, in some cases, its integration with figurative iconography. The core themes of the session encompass investigations into: 1) the ontological and epistemological perspectives in geometric iconography; 2) new methodologies; 3) variability of materials linked to geometric patterns; 4) analysis of symbols, schemes, codes, and narratives; 5) levels of performativity of geometric language; and 6) connectivity between geometric and figurative language.
Keywords:
Geometric iconography, Performativity, Material Agency, Archaeology, Anthropology, Aesthetic
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
Main organiser:
María Isabel Moreno Padilla (Spain) 1
Co-organisers:
Cristina Alejandra Prieto-Olavarría (Argentina) 2,3
Affiliations:
1. Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Arqueología Ibérica. Universidad de Jaén (España)
2. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA). CONICET, CCT Mendoza (Argentina)
3. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Mengoza, Argentina)
THIS SESSION CAN NOT BE SELECTED AT THIS MOMENT