The Disaster Context of Bam (SE Iran) and its Conditions: A Context neither Static nor Dynamic

Abstract

"Context" has been a major focus of archaeological theoretical studies since the early days of processualism or “New Archaeology”. In both processual and post-processual archaeology, context is more than just a space in which material data can be identified. Instead, it is a set of spatial, chronological, and socio-cultural terms set by the archaeologist through which (and through whom) material culture obtains meaning and function.In theoretical treatises, context has been divided into two types: dynamic or static. According to an ethno-archaeological research in Bam disaster context (SE Iran) and a pilot area in Pakistani Jamu and Kashmir, a new kind of context is introduced in this article which can be located in the spectrum between dynamic and static. It can be hypothesized that this new kind of context (Disaster context) is not particular and can be observed in sites which have passed the process of becoming an ancient site.

Keywords

• dynamic context
• static context
• disaster context
• bam
• kashmir