From Stonehenge to Mycenae : the challenges of archaeological interpretation / John C. Barrett and Michael J. Boyd.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barrett, John C., author.

Boyd, Michael J., 1970- author.

Series:

Debates in archaeology.

Debates in archaeology

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prehistoric peoples--Europe.

Social archaeology--Europe.

Archaeology--Philosophy.

Europe--Antiquities.

Stonehenge (England).

Mycenae (Extinct city).

Europe, Western--Relations--Aegean Sea Region.

Aegean Sea Region--Relations--Europe, Western.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (195 pages).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2019.

Summary:

"We live today in an interconnected world and we are inclined to believe that in earlier times the connections were less extensive and that communities were more isolated from each other. This book looks at the Europe that began to emerge some 4,000 years ago with the beginnings of metallurgy and the debates that have taken place concerning the scales of connections that existed then. Around this time Stonehenge was built from materials that were brought across huge distances. To what extent did geographically extensive connections exist, how might we recognise them and what, if any, were their consequences? Disagreements over these questions have existed in archaeology for nearly a century and yet they have profound implications for the ways in which we understand the dynamics of historical development in general. By examining the way one claimed connection between the Aegean and Western Europe was used to explain changes in Western Europe as the result of the rise of civilisation in the Aegean, and the ways that this explanation was challenged in the 1960s, we learn something about the nature of archaeological reasoning. The authors question common assumptions concerning the relationships between so-called civilised and barbarian societies, and ask their readers to consider what might drive change in social, cultural and economic systems"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Cover

Half title

Series page

Title

Copyrights

Contents

List of Figures

Foreword: 'Obscurity and Oblivion'? The Challenge of Interpreting the Prehistoric Past Colin Renfrew

Introduction

1 Archaeological Approaches to Stonehenge

2 The Emergence of an Aegean Civilization

3 Living with Things: The Politics of Identity

4 Things that Mattered: Identity in the Production, Exchange and Use of Materials

5 Places that Mattered: Movement and Belonging

6 Bodies that Mattered: The Role of the Dead

7 Living amongst Things: Practice, Place and Identity in Expanding Worlds

References

Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781474291910

1474291910

9781474291903

1474291902

OCLC:

1096185019