Topping, P. & M. Lynott. Eds. 2005. The cultural landscape of Prehistoric mines. - Oxford, Oxbow Books.

Abstract

Social approaches have permeated into almost every field of archaeology. Until recently the only notable exception to this trend were technology and material culture, the main issues addressed in these fields usually being of technical or typological nature. In contrast, anthropologists addressing similar issues had long realised that technologies and material culture cannot be fully understood when they are studied in isolation, away from the context in which they were developed and used. The archaeological focus on technical and typological aspects of material culture is a direct consequence of the nature of the archaeological record and the difficulties in interpreting it. Assessing the social context in which material culture was used and produced is an aspect of prehistoric life that has always been considered more or less impossible to test archaeologically. Things are changing however. Archaeologists are increasingly addressing questions concerning the role of material culture in prehistoric societies and this book is one of the latest additions to this trend. Read more...