In this presentation I will explore how the concepts of diversity and non-essentialism as used in queer theory can lead to different questions within the archaeological discipline. The naming, designating and ordening of objects has been one of the main issues in archaeology. Any archaeologists has had to answer questions such as what is this? or what is the date of this object? Mastery of archaeology is mastery of a system of recognising objects and putting them in the right category. The fragments that form the archaeological record are named into complete objects. And once this act has taken place they are usually no longer considered as fragmented, but simply as part of wholes. This distinction may seem non-existing, but has many consequences for the types of questions archaeologists ask. Using a queer perspective may alter these questions and ultimately the pasts we construct. I will explicate how the study of the deposition of single human bones in the prehistory of the Western Netherlands is hindered by an essentialist approach which cannot deal with difference. Queer theory opens up new avenues of thinking and shows that the fragmented character of these deposits is not a lack but a key to understanding the constructing of identity. Furthermore, I will suggest how this new way of looking at these single human bones can be used to contest present-day constructions and uses of identity within certain heritage practices.
Dr Marjolijn S. M. Kok is senior researcher landscape and heritage at the AAC/projectenbureau of the University of Amsterdam, where she also finished a (PhD) in offering sites in the wet low low-lying parts of the landscape from the pre-and protohistoric period in the Western Netherlands. With Heleen van Londen she co-authored the content of four e-learning modules on European heritage management within the Leonardo da Vinci programme "E-learning European Heritage." Her interests include archaeological theory and its practice, gender/identity, landscape and heritage. She is a member of the research group ‘Heritage and Cultural Landscapes' of the Amsterdam Archaeological Centre.
