Eventful Archaeologies

The potential of events for interpreting changes in the archaeological record.

The potential of events for interpreting changes in the archaeological record.

What is the role of events when evaluating the long-term significance of the archaeological record? Given that the event is a key mechanism for structural change, are historical transformations always eventful? And what is the relationship between specific events and other temporalities of change?

In this notable volume, researchers from Germany to Iceland to New York, from across the sweep of European and North American prehistory and history, explore the promise and challenges of events, the potent intersections of history and archaeology. Of special interest are the potential of events for better understanding volcanic disasters, the "Neolithic argonauts" of the western Mediterranean, Roman provincial archaeology, early Neolithic southern Britain, change during the Paleolithic era, the Iron Age Heuneburg Mud-brick Wall, colonial New York, and households.

Indispensable for historians, archaeologists, and those ethnohistorians and anthropologists working within a long-term historical framework, Eventful Archaeologies offers a more holistic and richly textured approach for comprehending cultural change.

Douglas J. Bolender is Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Douglas J. Bolender is Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Boston.