The Archaeology of the Event

Abstract

Archaeology has been, and to some extent still is, seen as the study of the non-literate, prehistoric or ancient past through the study of material remains. Doubtless there are as many definitions of archaeology as there are archaeologists but the notion that archaeology is about very old things remains one of the most pervasive. Even within definitions that seek to be deliberately broad, it is surprising how often antiquity manages to sneak into the definition as this example demonstrates:

archaeology … is the sum of studies bearing on material objects which may throw some light, in conjunction with other data, on the history and ways of life of ancient (my emphasis) peoples (specific events, daily activities, institutions, beliefs, etc.) (Gardin, 1980: 5).

The Past survives only in its relics, only in its inscriptions. Inscriptions are the expressions of what has happened. Inscriptions are written down, or they are committed to a memory made social and public, or they are caught in the shapes and forms of environments in buildings, in landscapes, in artifacts. The Past, when it survives, is phrased in some message. It is also encoded in its symbolic forms.

(Dening, 1995: 53)