Excavating the ethnic group

It was argued in chapter i that, in the course of the nineteenth century, the study of ethnicity in Greek antiquity came to be dominated by the twin movements of romanticism and positivism. It was, therefore, only natural that the nascent discipline of archaeology, with its seemingly objective materiality, should be harnessed to the pseudo-scientific quest for the Volksgeist At first sight, the archaeological record appears to provide a number of dimensions in which to search for the ethnic group. An examination of ceramics might indicate the decorative styles favoured by certain ethnic groups as well as the types of vessels its members used for the storage, preparation, cooking and consumption of their food. Floral and faunal analysis could identify dietary preferences. A study of metalwork could reveal the sort of adornment favoured (and perhaps, by extension, the mode of dress worn) as well as the tools, implements and weapons employed in times of peace and war. Finally, an architectural survey might bring to light the preferred type of houseform.

Above all other classes of information, it is the evidence of burial which has traditionally ranked paramount in archaeological approaches to social phenomena. There are two principal reasons for this. Firstly, the conscious action of placing a corpse or a cinerary urn in a trench results in a ‘closed’ (or self-contained) deposit. This means that the grave goods, and particularly the ceramic objects, are likely to remain relatively intact: it is no coincidence that the vast majority of Greek pots displayed on museum shelves originate from burials rather than other contexts.