An Archaeology of the Subalterns’ Disaggregated History: Interpreting Burial Manipulations of Roman-Period Sardinia through Gramsci’s Theory

Abstract

The untold history of the subalterns — those not in power, the humble salaried workers — is made of episodes of social breakages caused by the actions of dominant classes. Finding the traces of such breakages on the ground is a challenge that archaeology should take on. This approach will contribute to a different account of well-known historical periods, as are the Roman times, exploring local identities through the materialization of power relationships. Pursuing this aim, this paper adopts the theory developed by Antonio Gramsci on the history of the subalterns (1929–1935) as a tool to recognise the archaeological traces of their actions. It presents a case-study from Roman-period Sardinia. This paper sets-up a working hypothesis. It interprets the idiosyncratic funerary practices held at Masullas in the fourth century AD as an initiative of Sardinia’s subalterns to overcome the breakage of social relationships caused by the Roman government’s economic strategies reported by official sources.