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Past Colonialisms: : ‘Land Between Rivers’ and Archaeological Discourses of Empire

Rattenborg, Rune LU orcid (2025) In Forum Kritische Archäologie 14. p.85-93
Abstract
Vocabularies of space define the world. Yet, despite their apparent conceptual authority (Harley 1989), the lineages
of cartographic entities are often blurred, accidental, and produced from etymologies only imperfectly understood
by their users. Drawing on a recent study on past and present meanings of the term ‘Mesopotamia’ (Rattenborg
2018), this paper reviews the inadvertent, if now firmly embedded separation of past and present spaces of the state
of Iraq in Western – and global – discourse. Though widely conceived of as a textbook example of colonialist dis-
cursive dispossession of a nation’s heritage (Bahrani 1998), the argument advanced here is that ‘Mesopotamia’ – in
the sense that we understand it today –... (More)
Vocabularies of space define the world. Yet, despite their apparent conceptual authority (Harley 1989), the lineages
of cartographic entities are often blurred, accidental, and produced from etymologies only imperfectly understood
by their users. Drawing on a recent study on past and present meanings of the term ‘Mesopotamia’ (Rattenborg
2018), this paper reviews the inadvertent, if now firmly embedded separation of past and present spaces of the state
of Iraq in Western – and global – discourse. Though widely conceived of as a textbook example of colonialist dis-
cursive dispossession of a nation’s heritage (Bahrani 1998), the argument advanced here is that ‘Mesopotamia’ – in
the sense that we understand it today – is an unintended by-product of British military nomenclature defined during
the First World War. Its widespread application as a cultural-historical shorthand, utilized with great enthusiasm by
generations of archaeologists, epigraphers, and historians, came about comparatively late, fusing the trappings of
an age-old signifier with the versatility of a physical space shaped by very modern events. As such, ‘Mesopotamia’
is itself a freak accident of history, the vestige of a haphazard etymology far removed from the simple biographies
attributed to it by contemporary commentators. This rather ironic state of affairs is reviewed through a discussion
of its continued reaffirmation and widespread use in spatial discourses of archaeological and historical scholarship,
arts trade and antiquities trafficking, and in popular media worldwide. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
assyriology, West Asia, assyriology, archaeology, Mesopotamia, Post-Colonialism, Orientalism, Antiquities Trade, Historical Geography, First World War
in
Forum Kritische Archäologie
volume
14
pages
85 - 93
ISSN
2194-346X
DOI
10.17169/refubium-51172
project
Echoes of History: Analysis and Decipherment of Historical Writings
Skriftlandskap (GLoW): Storskalig analys av kilskriftskorpusen (ca. 3400 fvt till 100 vt)
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e3bcbca5-a57e-485f-93a8-7097708ededc
date added to LUP
2025-11-19 11:32:57
date last changed
2026-02-19 11:24:07
@article{e3bcbca5-a57e-485f-93a8-7097708ededc,
  abstract     = {{Vocabularies of space define the world. Yet, despite their apparent conceptual authority (Harley 1989), the lineages<br/>of cartographic entities are often blurred, accidental, and produced from etymologies only imperfectly understood<br/>by their users. Drawing on a recent study on past and present meanings of the term ‘Mesopotamia’ (Rattenborg<br/>2018), this paper reviews the inadvertent, if now firmly embedded separation of past and present spaces of the state<br/>of Iraq in Western – and global – discourse. Though widely conceived of as a textbook example of colonialist dis-<br/>cursive dispossession of a nation’s heritage (Bahrani 1998), the argument advanced here is that ‘Mesopotamia’ – in<br/>the sense that we understand it today – is an unintended by-product of British military nomenclature defined during<br/>the First World War. Its widespread application as a cultural-historical shorthand, utilized with great enthusiasm by<br/>generations of archaeologists, epigraphers, and historians, came about comparatively late, fusing the trappings of<br/>an age-old signifier with the versatility of a physical space shaped by very modern events. As such, ‘Mesopotamia’<br/>is itself a freak accident of history, the vestige of a haphazard etymology far removed from the simple biographies<br/>attributed to it by contemporary commentators. This rather ironic state of affairs is reviewed through a discussion<br/>of its continued reaffirmation and widespread use in spatial discourses of archaeological and historical scholarship,<br/>arts trade and antiquities trafficking, and in popular media worldwide.}},
  author       = {{Rattenborg, Rune}},
  issn         = {{2194-346X}},
  keywords     = {{assyriology; West Asia; assyriology; archaeology; Mesopotamia; Post-Colonialism; Orientalism; Antiquities Trade; Historical Geography; First World War}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  pages        = {{85--93}},
  series       = {{Forum Kritische Archäologie}},
  title        = {{Past Colonialisms: : ‘Land Between Rivers’ and Archaeological Discourses of Empire}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-51172}},
  doi          = {{10.17169/refubium-51172}},
  volume       = {{14}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}