[Aztlan] race and ethnicity in the past

[Ryan Kashanipour]

Professor Smith,

I do believe that you have addressed the issue at its core: 

"Perhaps it is our modern obsession with race and ethnicity and identity in the modern
world that makes us obsessed with research about these issues in the ancient past."

Presuming that we have objective knowledge--of "race" or language--ignores the subjectivities of our perspectives.   
And constructions of race and ethnicity should always be historically delimited.   

Cordially, 
Ryan 

R.A. Kashanipour
Department of History 
The University of Arizona


> Date: Sun, 11 Jan 2009 17:32:47 -0800
> From: deamayaspin at yahoo.com
> To: aztlan at lists.famsi.org
> Subject: Re: [Aztlan] race and ethnicity in the past
> 
> Michael Smith 
> 
> The problem with ignoring language components is that without the comparisons, huge gaps occur in knowledge. Not knowing that one glyph here  might be translated as something else some where else, i.e. Soda is a word we all recognize, but 'pop' is one found in the morth, 'coke' is used by another group of US citizens. . . . put all use the same iconography for the concept of a aereated fruity or 'rooty' drink.
> 
> The various language bases tell a lot about their learning ability or where they may have learned how to construct a building or a road. Without a broad base with which to work, there is no connection between polities, so the Inca had nothing to do with the Maya, or the Aztecs or North Americas, or probably Brazilians at the mouth of the Amazon. Their icons are different, their building blocks are different, but was there ever a connection that could be traced by the language.
> 
> I believe there are those connections, and by ignoring them, big gaps exist in our knowledge of a culture, any culture.
> 
> Dea
> 
> D. M. Urquidi  P. O. Box 49485  Austin, Texas 78765  http://www.mayalords.org    http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ancientamericas/
> 
> 
> --- On Sun, 1/11/09, Michael Smith <Michael.E.Smith.2 at asu.edu>  
> 
> 
> 
>       
> 
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