Abstract
This chapter presents an argument on how we can access past cosmologies through an appreciation of archaeological context. The possibility of tracking down continuities that link past cultures to contemporary ones will be presented. The chapter will define, for example, what makes specific caves relevant to the spirituality/cosmology of a people, and also argue that it is possible to understand and track down the continuity of cosmological components. This may be done through the study of material-culture left behind by people from past cultures, and by studying people from living cultures in a common landscape. Supporting data come mostly from the archaeology of Palawan Island, Philippines, where the author has done a decade of research. Information from the archaeology of Island Southeast Asia will also be drawn into the discussion.
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Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Professor William Longacre and Danilo Galang for taking time to comment on the draft of this chapter. On behalf of the Palawan Island Palaeohistoric Project team, appreciation is in order to institutions and companies who have supported our basic research through the years: The National Museum of the Philippines, The University of the Philippines, Coral Bay and Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Companies, Philodrill Corporation, Petroenergy Corporation, The British Academy, the University College Dublin Seed Fund, the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Science, and the Solheim Foundation for Archaeological Research.
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Paz, V. (2012). Accessing Past Cosmologies through Material Culture and the Landscape in the Philippines. In: Rountree, K., Morris, C., Peatfield, A. (eds) Archaeology of Spiritualities. One World Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3354-5_7
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