{"id":7060,"date":"2025-04-24T08:01:58","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T08:01:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/?page_id=7060"},"modified":"2025-04-25T03:42:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T03:42:13","slug":"t24-s03-papers","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/t24-s03-papers\/","title":{"rendered":"T24\/S03: Archaeologies of Cities: Critical Perspectives on Ancient, Historical and Contemporary Cities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Format: Paper presentations with discussion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Convenors:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cristopher Gonz\u00e1lez, Departamento de Antropolog\u00eda, Universidad de Tarapac\u00e1, Arica, Chile,\u00a0cristopher.castro.gonzalez@alumnos.uta.cl<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roc\u00edo Fuenzalida, Departamento de Antropolog\u00eda, Universidad de Tarapac\u00e1, Arica, Chile, rocio.fuenzalida.caceres@alumnos.uta.cl<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alfredo Gonz\u00e1lez-Ruibal, Institute of Heritage Sciences, alfredo.gonzalez-ruibal@incipit.csic.es<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The advent and origin of urban life was a critical and revolutionary moment in history that brought significant changes to the social and material life of human beings. In times of planetary urbanisation, it is expected that the vast majority of humans will live in cities in the near future. This includes both practitioners of the discipline and their audiences, who participate in urban life and its local and global dynamics. Archaeology has contributed to our understanding of cities through its perspective, which focuses on the material world, deep time, and a comparative effort. This has allowed it to investigate the origins of cities, as well as its subsequent development in historical and contemporary times. Archaeological research focused on cities has contributed to knowledge and sparked discussions on cultural evolution, complexity and sociopolitical inequality, architecture, ecology and sustainability, technology, infrastructure, identities, among others. In the process, it has been able to observe the continuities and differences in urban settings over time and space, and is prepared to provide innovative answers to the problems and phenomena that define life in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This session calls for a critical discussion of the various methodological and theoretical aspects involved in the study of cities, whether ancient, historical, or contemporary, that we inhabit and\/or study in the Global North and South. We believe that paying attention to cities and how we approach them is crucial. We aim to answer questions such as (but not limited to): What methodological and theoretical challenges exist in the archaeological understanding of cities? How can urban archaeology contribute to current urban issues? Which groups and which places of the city have received less attention and what can we do to visibilise them? And, primarily: What differences and similarities exist in urban archaeology research in the Global North and South?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Papers:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Archaeology of an Amazonian City: When Theory and Method are Entangled<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Denise Maria Cavalcante Gomes, Museu Nacional, Dept of Anthropology, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of this presentation is to discuss theoretical and methodological aspects related to the development of archaeological research in the city of Santar\u00e9m, Lower Amazon, Brazil. This revealed the spatial configuration of the largest Indigenous archaeological site existing today in an urban area in Amazonia, formed by two large villages separated by a seasonal lake, occupied between AD 1000-1600. In areas of greater density, augering and stratigraphic excavations were carried out in backyards of residences, while in less impacted places a tractor excavator and geophysical prospecting with the use of GPR were also adopted. The proximity to local residents and emergent Indigenous leaders from the wider region of Santar\u00e9m showed contradictory reactions, but the materiality of the artefacts, the mapped places and the chronology obtained gave visibility to the long-term Indigenous presence in an Amazonian city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dimbulagala Archaeological Complex and the Indigenous People in the Context of Ancient Sri Lankan Urbanisation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harendralal Namalgamuwa, Dept of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka<\/em>
Kier Strickland, Dept of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Australia<\/em>
Prishanta Gunawardhana, Dept of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka<\/em>
Paul Penzo-Kajewski, Dept of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Australia<\/em>
Umanga Roshani Rammungoda, Dept of Archaeology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka<\/em>
Jayani Fernando, Central Cultural Fund, Sri Lanka<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early urban communities in Sri Lanka developed in Anuradhapura, Magama, Jaffna, and Matota around the middle of the first millennium BCE, due to intricate relationships between the centre and periphery areas and external influences. Using historical documents and archaeological data, this study critically analyses the urbanisation of the Dimbulagala region and evaluates the contribution of the native Vedda (Yaksha) populations. According to recent archaeological studies, the outskirts of Dimbulagala, like Sorivila and Welikanda, have seen a gradual urban change. This claim is supported by the discovery of prehistoric burial sites and inscriptions from the first to second centuries BCE in the area. Monastic centres in the region developed under the patronage of royals and the elite class according to inscriptions. This changing urban landscape was largely shaped by the Indigenous communities of Dalukana, Millana, Yakkure, and Sorivila, where Veddas have inhabited monastic caves up to the recent past. This study adds to the larger conversation on ancient Sri Lankan urban development by highlighting the important role played by the native Yaksha or Vedda communities in the urbanisation of Dimbulagala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Old, the Ugly, and the Good: Archaeology, Urban Informality and Sustainability in the Global South<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federica Sulas and Christian Isendahl, Dept of Historical Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, much urban growth takes places through informality in settlement, housing, and production modes. There are conflicting attitudes to informality in the urban development discourse, where it is considered either a plague to eradicate or a right for emancipation, especially in the Global South where urbanisation is largely\u2014and falsely\u2014considered a modern phenomenon. In the Global South, many megacities in greatest peril today are those founded on the place-making goals of the colonial enterprise, erasing earlier urban traditions and implementing new urban geographies. In archaeology, cities tend to be identified based on properties assumed to form the material expressions of formal, centralised decision-making and elite agency (e.g., centralising civic, ritual, and economic monumental architecture and urban space). These approaches depend on assessments that ultimately tame the urban archaeology record to binary frameworks and circular arguments (formal\/informal, but also large\/small, centre\/periphery). In contrast, a focus on socioecological processes and emergent properties of human behaviours may capture a greater diversity of urban landscape development and the role of informality in long-term urban dynamics. Eliciting archaeological records from sub-Saharan Africa and Mesoamerica, we discuss how informality sustained past urban systems over the long run, and its contribution to urban sustainability in the Global South.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tracing the Ancient Roots of Lahore: Archaeological Evidence, Myths, and Historical Narratives<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muhammad Talha, Assistant Director (Historic Research) Walled City of Lahore Authority\/ MPhil Scholar at Institute of Global and Historical Studies<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lahore has long been regarded as the cultural capital of Pakistan and a hub of art and literature for over a millennium. However, the earliest written record of the city dates back only to 982 AD. Due to the scarcity of historical documentation predating the Muslim era, Lahore has often been perceived primarily as a Muslim city. Yet, its origins extend far beyond this period. To uncover the deeper past of Lahore, this study examines archaeological findings and the myths surrounding the city’s foundation. The historical significance of the region, particularly Punjab, is considered within a broader framework, as it was home to the compilation of the Rigveda (1500\u2013800 BC) and the Sapta-Sindhu civilisation. Given the historical tendency of major settlements to emerge along riverbanks, Lahore\u2019s location along the Ravi suggests its antiquity. This research integrates archaeological excavations, archival sources, and local traditions to reconstruct the city’s early history. By engaging with both material evidence and intangible heritage, this paper challenges the conventional narrative and explores Lahore\u2019s longstanding tradition of arts and crafts, which predates recorded history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparative Perspectives on Urban Collapse: Cahokia, Anuradhapura, and Detroit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Declan MacGinley Jamieson, La Trobe University, Australia<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This study investigates the dynamics of urban collapse and transformation through a comparative analysis of three distinct case studies: Cahokia, Anuradhapura, and Detroit. By examining archaeological, historical, and contemporary instances of urban collapse, this research identifies common patterns and unique factors contributing to the collapse of these cities. The analysis focuses on key aspects such as water management, trade, industrial activity, urban land use, and population dynamics. Of particular interest was the different forms of data available for each city (archaeological, historical and contemporary), and how these differences changed interpretations of their case studies. These interpretations provided new insights when applied to other city sites\u2014opening the door for new methodological questions. The results highlighted the role of human agency in both the collapse and recovery processes. By bridging the gap between the Global North and South, this research provides valuable insights into the urban transformation and human response to crisis. The findings offer guidelines for future research and policymaking in the context of human and urban resilience and could contribute to discussions regarding the impacts of socio-political inequalities and climatic change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Variation in the Urbanisation Process During the Late Neolithic Period of China<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anne P. Underhill, <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A priority for archaeologists in China is excavation of relatively large settlements regarded as cities due to features such as walled enclosures and surrounding moats. After excavations at several city sites dating to the late Neolithic period (4th and 3rd millennia BCE), regional variation in trajectories of development is beginning to emerge. This presentation compares the findings at early cities in different regions of China with respect to patterns of city development and expansion, internal settlement organisation, archaeological evidence for economic activities, and possible functions in relation to people living in the hinterlands. The presentation also highlights challenges in excavating these complicated sites and interpreting their remains that are evident for other areas of the world as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From No Man\u2019s Land to Haunted Spaces: Material Traces of State-Sanctioned Violence and Everyday Life in the Neoliberal City<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fernando Castro, University of Tarapac\u00e1, Chile<\/em>
Dante Angelo, University of Tarapac\u00e1, Chile<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article examines the role of materiality in the dialectics of contemporary urban space. Using Lefebvre’s spatial triad, we argue that the debris left behind after the eradication of informal spaces in the city of Arica, Chile, serves as material evidence of latent social conflicts. Through archaeological analysis of formation processes and remote sensing, we explore how these remnants are reconfigured into structures such as mounds of dirt and trash, where everyday practices and state institutional actions become sedimented, revealing the gap between conceived and lived space. Our findings demonstrate that these remains not only highlight the historical marginalisation of certain areas within the city but also challenge official narratives by exposing cycles of occupation and expulsion. We propose that these sediments function as material traces for understanding spatial justice in neoliberal contexts. This study underscores the potential of urban archaeology to decode socio-spatial contradictions through residual materiality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Archaeology of Rucos: How Homeless People Build in Arica, Chile<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cristopher Gonz\u00e1lez, Departamento de Antropolog\u00eda, Universidad de Tarapac\u00e1, Arica, Chile<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this paper, I present an archaeology of homelessness in the city of Arica, northern Chile. I focus on how personas en situaci\u00f3n de calle (homeless people) build precarious refuges known as rucos. Made from discarded materials available on the streets, rucos are depicted in the municipality\u2019s discourse as spaces of incivility and unsanitary conditions that negatively affect urban space and, for that reason, must be eradicated. Through survey and archival work, an archaeological perspective offers a more sensitive and nuanced picture of homelessness and the people who experience it. The remains of rucos are understood as a ruderal architecture that grows in the cracks and spaces of abandonment within the urban landscape of a Latin American city. This study contributes to the growing field of the archaeology of homelessness, providing an example from the Global South.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southern Cities of America (16th-18th Centuries): Settlement, Hybridisation, and Persistent Attributes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sim\u00f3n Urbina and Leonor Ad\u00e1n, Escuela de Arqueolog\u00eda, Universidad Austral de Chile, Puerto Montt, Chile<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This study conducts a comparative analysis of five urban centres founded between 1552 and 1584: Valdivia, Osorno, Villa de Chacao, Castro, and Rey Don Felipe (39\u00b0\u201351\u00b0 S). We examine the sociopolitical, legal, and geo-cultural dynamics of each settlement, considering the region\u2019s pre-Hispanic historical trajectories and the early formation of the Kingdom of Chile within the still-fluid jurisdictional framework of the Peruvian Viceroyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our analysis focuses on: a) The influence of Indigenous material culture in shaping these urban enclaves; b) The agency of the colonising contingents and the degree of adherence to or deviation from 16th-century legal prescriptions; c) The transformation of urban layouts through the assimilation of local lifeways and architectural traditions; and d) The initial urban phases (16th century) and their impact on urban attributes and spatial configurations in the 17th and 18th centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The archaeological record of these settlements reveals a fluctuating interplay between medieval town-planning principles, informal village conglomerations, and planned urban schemes. Furthermore, scientific data reaffirm the tension between the application of Leyes de Indias models and their hybridisation with local spatial patterns, shaped by a topographical organization structured over centuries before the Spanish arrival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Archaeology in Urban, Periurban and Rural Contexts: Study Cases from Bah\u00eda Blanca City, Argentina<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hernan Tomassini, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Bah\u00eda Blanca, Argentina<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This paper assesses the 19th century archaeological information from Bah\u00eda Blanca city (Argentina) by discussing the concepts of urban, periurban and rural spaces. Bah\u00eda Blanca was founded in 1828 as a fort built with the objective of expanding the Buenos Aires province government territorial control by dispossessing the Indigenous people traditionally settled there. During most of the 19th century Bah\u00eda Blanca`s expansion and development was concentrated in the surroundings of the fortress through the installation of houses and farms. By the end of the century, Bah\u00eda Blanca underwent profound changes with the arrival of the railway (1884) and the inauguration of the port (1885). These changes allowed direct communication of the local economy with the international economic system. In this frame, between the last years of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, Bah\u00eda Blanca consolidated as an important urban centre, formally declared a city in 1895. The analyses will include archaeological information from a diversity of sites: rural and periurban business settlements (Boliche Lucanera site) and defensive structures (Zanja de Rosas site, Zanja de Cerri site). Also, historical documentation will be used for assessing Bah\u00eda Blanc urban development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weirding the City: Labyrinths, Underworlds and Urban Entanglements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Antti Lahelma, University of Helsinki, Finland<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Urban archaeology often grapples with the seen and unseen aspects of past cities. This paper employs the concept of \u2018weirding\u2019\u2014the strange, irrational, and invisible dimensions of early urbanism\u2014to rethink archaeological understandings of cities beyond purely rational and visible frameworks. Drawing inspiration from literary theory and \u2018weird fiction\u2019, it contends that ancient urban centres were not only hubs of political and economic life, but also labyrinthine spaces imbued with mythic origins and subterranean worlds. The weirding perspective highlights how hidden undercurrents of urban life\u2014both literal underground strata and metaphorical underworlds\u2014shaped social experience and city-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This theoretical framework also poses methodological challenges, prompting archaeologists to consider new ways to access and interpret the invisible or non-rational aspects of ancient urban life. By emphasising visibility\/invisibility, weirding encourages a holistic view that bridges material evidence with cultural imagination. It offers a comparative lens to understand similarities and differences in urban archaeology, recognising that while contexts vary, early cities everywhere negotiated an interplay between visible and unseen realms. Ultimately, a weirding approach enriches our understanding of urban life past and present, expanding archaeological narratives beyond the strictly tangible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Archaeology of Contemporary Shantytowns<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alfredo Gonz\u00e1lez-Ruibal, Institute of Heritage Sciences <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the study of working-class neighborhoods and homelessness has figured prominently in historical and contemporary archaeology, the same cannot be said of shanty towns. This is a typical phenomenon of the last fifty years, with shanty towns representing up to 90% of urban growth in many regions of Africa and Asia. Informal, self-built architecture produces neighborhoods ruled by principles of self-organisation that stand in stark contrast with hegemonic principles of modern urbanism. In this paper, I defend an archaeology of contemporary shantytowns as a means of better understanding cities, visibilising their underclasses and exploring the originality and creativity of subaltern materialities. Despite the focus on the recent past, I argue that an archaeology of contemporary cities can provide relevant insights into other periods. I will illustrate my points with an example from Madrid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Format: Paper presentations with discussion Convenors:\u00a0 Cristopher Gonz\u00e1lez, Departamento de Antropolog\u00eda, Universidad de Tarapac\u00e1, Arica, Chile,\u00a0cristopher.castro.gonzalez@alumnos.uta.cl Roc\u00edo Fuenzalida, Departamento de Antropolog\u00eda, Universidad de Tarapac\u00e1, Arica, Chile, rocio.fuenzalida.caceres@alumnos.uta.cl Alfredo Gonz\u00e1lez-Ruibal, Institute of Heritage Sciences, alfredo.gonzalez-ruibal@incipit.csic.es The advent and origin of urban life was a critical and revolutionary moment in history that brought significant changes to the social and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1157,"featured_media":276,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-7060","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"pmpro-has-access","7":"czr-hentry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7060","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7060"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7565,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7060\/revisions\/7565"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldarchaeologicalcongress.com\/wac10\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}