COMMUNICATING IDENTITIES FROM BEYOND?

The present paper examines a set of funerary data from ancient Gorgippia on the Black Sea and seeks to explore how burial material, with its exceptional potential for displaying identities, was used as a stage for expressions of culturally-complex identity communication. The paper investigates the applicability of code-switching theory in this particular context - what potentially can be gained in terms of new insight into this culturally-diverse archaeological complex and where do the limitations lie? Firstly, the paper discusses some thoughts on burials as suitable archaeological sources for identity expressions. Secondly, it touches briefly on various aspects of code-switching, identities and identity construction, before moving on to examine the main case study, Burial II, 1975, from Gorgippia, modern Anapa. Finally, some conclusive thoughts on how the mechanisms of visual code-switching can translate into the study of burial complexes are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]