The new mobilities paradigm has yet to have the same impact on archaeology as it has in other disciplines in the social sciences - on geography, sociology and anthropology in particular - yet mobility is fundamental to archaeology: all people move. Moving away from archaeology's traditional focus upon place or location.
The new mobilities paradigm has yet to have the same impact on archaeology as it has in other disciplines in the social sciences - on geography, sociology and anthropology in particular - yet mobility is fundamental to archaeology: all people move. Moving away from archaeology's traditional focus upon place or location, this volume treats mobility as a central theme in archaeology. The chapters are wide-ranging and methodological as well as theoretical, focusing on the flows of people, ideas, objects and information in the past; they also focus on archaeology's distinctiveness. Drawing on a wealth of archaeological evidence for movement, from paths, monuments, rock art and boats, to skeletal and DNA evidence, Past Mobilities presents research from a range of examples from around the world to explore the relationship between archaeology and movement, thus adding an archaeological voice to the broader mobilities discussion. As such, it will be of interest not only to archaeologists and historians, but also to sociologists, geographers and anthropologists.
'A timely collection exploring what happens when movement is put at the centre of investigations into the archaeological record. We see the landscape as a fluid entity, the application of experimental methodologies, the inscription of movement on past bodies - in short, what past worlds look like from a mobile perspective. This is an exciting, challenging and innovative book addressing a topic at the forefront of archaeology.' Gavin Lucas, University of Iceland, Iceland 'The strength of this volume is the effort of the authors to integrate the theoretical reflections on movement of Martin Heidegger, Tim Ingold, Chris Tilley and Ian Hodder with archaeological data from the Old World, Iceland, and Australia. This makes it a valuable contribution to the growing discussion on the significance of mobility in the past, present and future of humanity.' Hans Barnard, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA, USA
