Tag: Interpretation

New Publication

Just to flag up a new paper that I have been working on with colleagues which has recently been published. It is in an expensive volume (apologies), the first of three. It is a series which will be useful, so persuade your university to get the books for the library. I note that all are available as ebooks, though the price is the same! This work was undertaken while I held a personal fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust – my thanks must go to them for enabling the research!

Wickham-Jones, C. R., Bates, R., Dawson, S., Dawson, A. and Bates, M. 2018. The Changing Landscape of Prehistoric Orkney. In Persson, P., Reide, F., Skar, B., Breivik, H. M. and Jonsson, L. (eds.) The Ecology of Early Settlement in Northern Europe. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing, 393 – 414.

The value of past studies

The shell midden at Caisteal nan Gillean in Argyll has been published many times. Each publication builds on the work of the last.

I’ve been considering the way in which our understanding of archaeology changes over time. New techniques of analysis, the application of new theories and the discovery of new data constantly refine our interpretation of the past. Continue reading The value of past studies

The challenging of preconceptions

CorporatePortal

Reconstruction of the face of Cheddar Man: Channel 4.

One of the reasons I love archaeology is the way in which it challenges us to recognise and rethink our preconceptions. It is very easy to live in the cosy world of today and focus on reassuring feelings of stability. Practices of mindfulness, among others, encourage us to ‘live for the moment’ and, amidst the insecurites of the present, this is not something with which I would wish to disagree. Continue reading The challenging of preconceptions

Introspection

Maeshowe
An early view of Maeshowe, published by James Farrer in 1862. How much does our archaeological understanding advance year by year?.

I wonder, as we move into February, where all the archaeology we do is taking us. I’m not qualified to take a global, or even national view. But it is not a bad idea to undertake a little personal reflection. How has ‘my’ archaeology grown in the past year or so? Has it grown at all? Being an archaeologist is fun, and I Continue reading Introspection

Storytelling and Archaeology

I participated recently in a storytelling event organised by a project known as ‘Orkney Beside the Ocean of Time‘. They seek to investigate the relationships between the people of Orkney, Deep Time, and landscape change. For the event they invited half a dozen Orkney archaeologists to gather together and share a Continue reading Storytelling and Archaeology