ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Buried in the Past? Radiocarbon and the Chronopolitics of Soviet Archaeology

• In Event: Histories of Archaeology 2

English Abstract

The invention of radiocarbon dating brought about an epistemological revolution in archaeology. Developed in the US in the late 1940s as a biproduct of radioactivity studies, this technique allowed archaeologists to obtain independent calendar dates from ancient organic remains, effectively transforming archaeology from the material inference of history into the direct measurement of history. In the West radiocarbon dating is typically regarded as an example of peaceful, objective, and apolitical application of post-war atomic science. However, this (partial) view undermines other forms of “soft” geopolitical power that archaeological science helped sustain beyond military races. This was the case in the Soviet Union, where archaeology was highly prioritized in response to the ideological goals of state-funded science. This paper addresses the relationship between archaeology, science, and politics as seen through the history of radiocarbon dating in the former USSR, focusing specifically on the South Caucasus. This region hosted one of the earliest radiocarbon laboratories in the USSR, becoming the arena of debates about prehistoric chronologies and the placing of Caucasian antiquity that created tension between the Soviet center and its “periphery”. This struggle exemplifies how radiocarbon dating actively contributed to shaping the “chronopolitics” of the Soviet empire as seen in the construction and maintenance of specific historical narratives – far from neutral, apolitical science. In addition to bringing into focus the experience of Soviet archaeology, this critical history of radiocarbon enhances the relevance of archaeology to the history of science and technology and, ultimately, to the making of modernity.

Author

• Annapaola Passerini, Norwegian University of Science and Technology