19 - 25 July 2001
Issue No.543
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 19 - 25 July 2001 Issue No.543 |
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Dig days
Is there an archaeology of the soul?
I have received a book written by two American friends, who asked me to write a preface. The book discusses archaeology of the soul, and when I began reading it I mistook it for just another New Age work of the imagination. Many writers and many books claim to base their own theories upon the wisdom and practices of the ancients, but their arguments usually have little or no foundation. Upon closer examination, however, I began to see elements in Showing Up! that set it apart from the usual scene. The word archaeology means, simply, the "study of ancient things." Such a broad definition leaves the discipline open to investigate any aspect of an ancient civilisation. Traditionally, archaeologists base their studies upon hard, tangible, verifiable evidence. Archaeology is grounded in scientific method; that is, a careful and methodical examination, interpretation and preservation of the physical remains of ancient civilisations. It makes use of the skills of many scientific disciplines to shed light on the physical evidence unearthed from the ground. All evidence, however, is subject to interpretation, and the clues left by our ancestors rely on the wisdom and sense of the archaeologist in interpreting their meaning and importance to the world. Communicating the importance of a find to others is fairly straightforward. Interpreting its meaning is quite another matter. True understanding of the religious or spiritual practices of an ancient people often eludes us, because we endeavour to interpret and reconstruct them only through the physical remains of temple walls, votive objects and inscriptions. However, the impact and effect of these practices on real people often remains a mystery. As I once heard Mme Perreault say in reference to working with pottery shards: without the soul of the person who drank from it, it's just a broken cup.
Brian Fagan, anthropologist at the University of California at Santa Barbara, in his recent book, From the Black Land to the Fifth Sun, called this as yet uncharted pursuit "the archaeology of the intangible" -- a new, somewhat grey area of our profession which dares to ask hard questions that were considered taboo just a decade or two ago. "How did ancient peoples actually relate to the world around them, what were their true beliefs and attitudes?" Fagan asks. In what ways can traditional archaeology discover these answers? These questions walk a fine line between our established scientific approach and what Fagan calls "the free-for-all world of imagination and pseudo- science."
And yet, while archaeologists publish only what they can prove with tangible evidence, there is an almost magical inner feeling which goes along with archaeological work. The feeling of wonder that accompanies any new discovery is virtually indescribable. People often ask me: Well, it's not really as exciting as Indiana Jones, now is it? And I reply that, to the archaeologist, yes, it certainly is. So where do we draw the line? At some point, somewhere, a body of work may arise that bridges these gaps.
Mme Perreault's early studies in archaeology, coupled with Mr Horres' practice as an attorney, give each of them the ability to examine and experience the questions and issues raised in Showing Up! free of the prejudices or preconceived expectations which seem to pervade other works of this nature. The way they have gathered comparative information from a host of ancient cultures and then worked to corroborate it -- albeit through their own experiences -- is admirable. In respect of the Egyptian elements of Showing Up!, the meaning they attach to the sky goddess, Nut, the daily cycle she governs and how deeply ancient Egyptians may have embraced it is not something that can be verified archaeologically, but it is not out of the realm of possibility. Their spiritual interpretation of the New Kingdom temples is radical, but raises interesting questions about the depth of information that may be gathered from the remains of the monuments. That the temple was a model for healing and spiritual growth is, once again, beyond the scope of archaeology to assess. However, if Schwaller de Lubicz's claim proves to be correct -- that the same mathematical functions used to build mediaeval cathedrals are also found at the Temple of Amun in Luxor -- that matter may indeed deserve further study.
So, archaeology of the soul? Is there such a thing? I leave that to you, the reader, to decide. Do the work and make your own discoveries. Showing Up! certainly makes a good and solid case for it.
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