Geological as heritage? Indigenous Material Semiotics of Rocks and Minerals in the Anthropocene

Abstract (English)

Drawn upon theoretical insights of political geology and material semiotics in social anthropology, this report reflects on Indigenous traditions of geological thought as a form of heritage associated with ancestors. In particular, it examines the conceptualisation of minerals, rocks, and stones among the Evenki people, a set of indigenous hunting and reindeer herding communities in Siberia, in a broader discussion of the colonial geologisation of Indigenous knowledge over the past century. The Evenki case demonstrates that although Indigenous knowledge about subterranean ‘resources’ have long been utilised for the benefits of the state, Indigenous people were rarely acknowledged in research. Moreover, their views on the origin, value, and ontological properties of minerals, rocks, and stones differed markedly. Hence, this research studies how geological knowledge is embedded in Evenki people’s foundational understandings and perceptions of subterranean space as part of their cosmology in tandem with the people’s complex relationships with non-human beings, which are based on reciprocal sharing and negotiation. This paper further explores how particular minerals create meanings through their material differences and form complex communicative channels between humans and non-humans in Evenki cultural semiotics. Finally, this research pays attention to recent attempts by Indigenous people to reconsider conventional ways of thinking and presenting geological knowledge in public memoryscapes and museum practices. These efforts contribute to the broader movement of decolonisation, offering alternative frameworks for understanding and representing geological knowledge in the Anthropocene.