This thesis constructs the cultural biography of the National Museum of the American Indian’s Stockbridge-Munsee tote, a twentieth-century souvenir craft, in order to examine the tote’s cultural and cross-cultural associated meanings and how these associated meanings shift from one context to another. It follows the tote’s history including its production, purchase, and transfer. This thesis briefly recounts the Stockbridge-Munsee Indians’ history and focuses on a few examples of craft objects produced prior to the 1960s, when the Stockbridge-Munsee tote was made. Wisconsin Indian Craft, a craft cooperative formed in the 1960s, produced objects such as the Stockbridge-Munsee tote. This tote, along with seventeen other Wisconsin Indian Craft souvenirs, was purchased by the Department of the Interior Indian Arts and Crafts Board in 1964 and transferred to the National Museum of the American Indian’s collection in 2000. This thesis analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the inclusion of the Stockbridge-Munsee tote in the National Museum of the American Indian’s collection. From constructing the Stockbridge-Munsee tote’s cultural biography, this thesis concludes that the tote’s associated meanings do not merely shift from context to context. Rather, these associated meanings build upon one another to create layers of coexisting associated meanings.

Exploro a biografia cultural de um vestido criado pelo estilista Rui Spohr e comprado por Heloisa Brenner, senhora da aristocracia rural do Rio Grande do Sul. O objeto foi apresentado num desfile de moda realizado em Porto Alegre, em 1971, e acompanhou a proprietária por quatro décadas, sendo escolhido por ela para vesti-la no seu aniversário de 80 anos, em 2011. No ano seguinte, sintetizou quase 60 anos de carreira profissional de Rui numa exposição sobre moda num museu de arte, em São Paulo, tornando-se “obra de arte” aos olhos do criador. A proprietária, por sua vez, exalta seu status longevo para atribuir importância à peça. Trançando as trajetórias dos personagens, percorro tensões e transformações simbólicas. Ao falar sobre o vestido aqui entendido como objeto biográfico, Heloisa e Rui falam sobre si. E a roupa fala sobre o criador e a proprietária. Nesse processo, demonstro como a roupa exerce agência sobre os sujeitos com quem interage, sendo ela própria resultante de intencionalidades. / I explore the cultural biography of a dress created by designer Rui Spohr and purchased by Heloisa Brenner, member of the rural aristocracy of Rio Grande do Sul. The object was presented during a fashion show held in Porto Alegre, in 1971, and lived along with its owner for four decades, being chosen to dress her up at her 80th Birthday party, in 2011. One year later, it synthesized almost 60 years of Rui’s professional career in a fashion exhibition at an art museum, in São Paulo, becoming a work of art in the face of the creator. The owner, in turn, exalts her long-lived status atributing importance to the item. Brading the characters’ trajectories, I cover tensions and symbolic transformations. In speaking about the dress understood here as a biographical object, Heloisa and Rui speak about themselves. And the garment speaks about its creator and owner. In this process, I demonstrate how the object exercises agency upon subjects with whom it interacts, being itself a result of intentionality.

Exploro a biografia cultural de um vestido criado pelo estilista Rui Spohr e comprado por Heloisa Brenner, senhora da aristocracia rural do Rio Grande do Sul. O objeto foi apresentado num desfile de moda realizado em Porto Alegre, em 1971, e acompanhou a proprietária por quatro décadas, sendo escolhido por ela para vesti-la no seu aniversário de 80 anos, em 2011. No ano seguinte, sintetizou quase 60 anos de carreira profissional de Rui numa exposição sobre moda num museu de arte, em São Paulo, tornando-se “obra de arte” aos olhos do criador. A proprietária, por sua vez, exalta seu status longevo para atribuir importância à peça. Trançando as trajetórias dos personagens, percorro tensões e transformações simbólicas. Ao falar sobre o vestido aqui entendido como objeto biográfico, Heloisa e Rui falam sobre si. E a roupa fala sobre o criador e a proprietária. Nesse processo, demonstro como a roupa exerce agência sobre os sujeitos com quem interage, sendo ela própria resultante de intencionalidades. / I explore the cultural biography of a dress created by designer Rui Spohr and purchased by Heloisa Brenner, member of the rural aristocracy of Rio Grande do Sul. The object was presented during a fashion show held in Porto Alegre, in 1971, and lived along with its owner for four decades, being chosen to dress her up at her 80th Birthday party, in 2011. One year later, it synthesized almost 60 years of Rui’s professional career in a fashion exhibition at an art museum, in São Paulo, becoming a work of art in the face of the creator. The owner, in turn, exalts her long-lived status atributing importance to the item. Brading the characters’ trajectories, I cover tensions and symbolic transformations. In speaking about the dress understood here as a biographical object, Heloisa and Rui speak about themselves. And the garment speaks about its creator and owner. In this process, I demonstrate how the object exercises agency upon subjects with whom it interacts, being itself a result of intentionality.

Exploro a biografia cultural de um vestido criado pelo estilista Rui Spohr e comprado por Heloisa Brenner, senhora da aristocracia rural do Rio Grande do Sul. O objeto foi apresentado num desfile de moda realizado em Porto Alegre, em 1971, e acompanhou a proprietária por quatro décadas, sendo escolhido por ela para vesti-la no seu aniversário de 80 anos, em 2011. No ano seguinte, sintetizou quase 60 anos de carreira profissional de Rui numa exposição sobre moda num museu de arte, em São Paulo, tornando-se “obra de arte” aos olhos do criador. A proprietária, por sua vez, exalta seu status longevo para atribuir importância à peça. Trançando as trajetórias dos personagens, percorro tensões e transformações simbólicas. Ao falar sobre o vestido aqui entendido como objeto biográfico, Heloisa e Rui falam sobre si. E a roupa fala sobre o criador e a proprietária. Nesse processo, demonstro como a roupa exerce agência sobre os sujeitos com quem interage, sendo ela própria resultante de intencionalidades. / I explore the cultural biography of a dress created by designer Rui Spohr and purchased by Heloisa Brenner, member of the rural aristocracy of Rio Grande do Sul. The object was presented during a fashion show held in Porto Alegre, in 1971, and lived along with its owner for four decades, being chosen to dress her up at her 80th Birthday party, in 2011. One year later, it synthesized almost 60 years of Rui’s professional career in a fashion exhibition at an art museum, in São Paulo, becoming a work of art in the face of the creator. The owner, in turn, exalts her long-lived status atributing importance to the item. Brading the characters’ trajectories, I cover tensions and symbolic transformations. In speaking about the dress understood here as a biographical object, Heloisa and Rui speak about themselves. And the garment speaks about its creator and owner. In this process, I demonstrate how the object exercises agency upon subjects with whom it interacts, being itself a result of intentionality.

Yes / Lakeshore and wetland settlements of the Circum-Alpine region are well known for their excellent preservation of organic remains and their potential for accurate dating through dendrochronology. This settlement tradition spans from the Neolithic to the Early Iron Age, though several hiatuses in lake-dwelling construction are observed. Traditional models for the abandonment of lake settlements rely upon climatically deterministic models, linking declining climatic conditions to increasing lake-levels, which would have impacted upon settlements and forced the inhabitants to relocate. Recent studies of Neolithic lake-dwellings have indicated that social factors also influenced the development of these settlements, while the ‘social biography’ of settlements has been an area of increasing interest in terrestrial settlements. A review of selected Late Bronze Age (LBA) lake settlement illustrates the development sequence seen at many lake-dwellings from across the Circum-Alpine region. The proposal of a biographical model linking cultural influences to the development sequence observed in LBA lake-dwellings, and to the choice to abandon areas and relocate villages, offers further insights into the development of enigmatic settlements. / Swiss National Science Foundation