The notion of hybridity and its alternate hybridization first appeared in archaeological debates in the late 1990s and exploded in the new millennium to the extent that hybrid objects have become a mainstay of archaeological interpretations, at least when colonial contexts are concerned. In the process, many nuances and caveats have gone out of the window and as 'finding hybridity' appears to have become a goal in itself, the concept has been dramatically undermined theoretically.
The aim of this workshop is to leave the 'many hybridisms' behind and to go back to what we suggest are the basic parameters of 'hybrid thinking', namely every-day, routine as well as ritual practices and material culture. We propose to explore not only how hybridity was enacted in practice, but also what the practical implications of the ‘theory of practice' may be for our conceptualization of hybridity in material culture studies. By bringing together a group of scholars who have been involved in these debates from early on, we intend to go 'back to basics' and to refocus attention and zoom in on the conceptual nexus between practice and material culture, which we consider of critical significance for archaeological studies.
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