Assembling Past Worlds draws on new materialism and the philosophy of
Gilles Deleuze to explore the potential for a posthumanist archaeology.
Through specific empirical study, this book provides a detailed analysis
of Neolithic Britain, a critical moment in the emergence of new ways of
living, as well as new relationships between materials, people and new
forms of architecture. It achieves two things. First, it identifies the
major challenges that archaeology faces in the light of current
theoretical shifts. New ideas place new demands on how we write and
think about the past, sometimes in ways that can seem contradictory.
This volume identifies seven major challenges that have emerged and sets
out why they matter, why archaeology needs to engage with them and how
they can be dealt with through an innovative theoretical approach.
Second, it explores how this approach meets these challenges through an
in-depth study of Neolithic Britain. It provides an insightful diagnosis
of the issues posed by current archaeological thought and is the first
volume to apply the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze to the extended
analysis of a single period.
Assembling Past Worlds shows how new approaches are transforming our
understandings of past worlds and, in so doing, how we can meet the
challenges facing archaeology today. It will be of interest to both
students and researchers in archaeological theory and the Neolithic of
Europe.
