Experiencing the Past: On the Character of Archaeology (Material Cultures)

In Experiencing the Past, Michael Shanks explores the character of archaeology, reclaiming the sentiment and feeling which is often lost in a purely academic approach to the subject. Shanks considers the key concerns of archaeology in the 1990s: the debates surrounding heritage and cultural identity as well as the controversy over scientific objectivity and the validity of different claims to the past. The result is the portrayal of archaeology as a field of human discernment and understanding, which promotes a critical engagement with the material past. BOOK COVER......Page 1 HALF-TITLE......Page 2 TITLE......Page 4 COPYRIGHT......Page 5 CONTENTS......Page 6 INTRODUCTION......Page 8 PRELUDE: THE VISIT......Page 11 PART 1 ARCHAEOLOGICAL METHODS......Page 18 TREES AND GARDENS: A TOPOGRAPHY OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION......Page 19 PART 2 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTERESTS......Page 48 DESIRE AND METAPHOR: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EROTICS......Page 49 PERFUME AND VIOLENCE: IMPRESSIONS OF SOME ARYBALLOI (PERFUME JARS) FROM ARCHAIC KORINTH......Page 75 PART 3 THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE PAST......Page 85 WHAT IS THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PAST?......Page 86 WALLINGTON HALL......Page 102 EXPERIENCE AND THE PAST......Page 105 DUNSTANBURGH CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND......Page 125 PART 4 WORKING ARCHAEOLOGY......Page 134 THE CRAFT OF ARCHAEOLOGY DIFFERENT CULTURAL STRATEGIES FOR ARCHAEOLOGY: WHAT IS THE ARCHAEOLOGIST TO BE?......Page 135 AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL POETICS......Page 149 DEATH AND THE DOMESTIC: OF FLESH, BLOOD AND BONES......Page 161 APPENDIX: SYNOPSIS......Page 173 NOTES......Page 176 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 181 INDEX......Page 188 In Experiencing the past Michael Shanks presents an animated exploration of the character of archaeology and reclaims the sentiment and feeling which is so often lost in the purely academic approach. With the use of illustrations closely associated with the text, he depicts the archaeologist as a skilled interpreter of cultural remains. As the author moves through the debates surrounding heritage and cultural identity, archaeology becomes a cultural kaleidoscope. With perceptive clarity, Shanks considers the key concerns of archaeology in the 1990s and weighs controversial topics such as scientific objectivity and the validity of different claims to the past. The result is an exposition of archaeology as a field of human discernment and understanding, telling of a critical engagement with the material past. The aim of Experiencing the past is not so much to instruct as to provoke thought and reflection on feelings about the past In "Experiencing the Past" Michael Shanks presents an animated exploration of the character of archaeology and reclaims the sentiment and feeling which are so often lost in purely academic approaches This book is less about archaeology the academic subject than it is about aspects of experience which might be termed archaeological. Michael Shanks. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 216-223) And Index.