Material Culture and Rethinking the History of Shīʿīsm

Abstract

In the methodology of historical research, scholars have traditionally relied on written documents as primary sources. They are, however, expanding their reliance beyond writings to include material culture as a supplementary — and sometimes rival — source to texts. This approach places objects at the forefront of inquiry, with historians aiming to decode their meanings by exploring the objects' relationships with their historical contexts and examining their "collective biographies" alongside written records.