Archaeology And Society In The 21st Century

More than 100 years ago Sir Arthur Evans' spade made the first cut into the earth above the now well-known Palace at Knossos. His research saw the birth of a new discipline: Minoan Archaeology. The present volume aim to outline current trends and prospects of this scientific field.

Most scientific disciplines experienced fundamental revolutions during the 20th century, but not archaeology. Its time has now come, however. More and more highly specialized scientists are taking over the investigation of the past. Using satellites, aircraft and helicopters, they are screening entire regions around the world in an attempt to find hidden traces of the past. What's more, their discoveries are changing our views of prehistoric civilizations - and the new views are often in complete contrast to archaeology's established schools of thought. It is becoming increasingly clear that the ancients knew more than we expected. What was the effect of the volcanic eruption of Thera? What caused the collapse of the Minoan kingdom on Crete? Did Atlantis ever exist? In The Future of the Past, Eberhard Zangger takes the reader into the field to look at various excavations around the world; explains contemporary thinking in archaeological research; and explores the methods and techniques that have only recently become available and the insights gained from them.

Recent years have witnessed a rapid increase in the fields of cultural heritage studies and community archaeology worldwide with expanding discussions about the mechanisms and consequences of community participation. This trend has brought to the forefront debates about who owns the past, who has knowledge, and how heritage values can be shared more effectively with communities who then ascribe meaning and value to heritage materials. Globalization forces have created a need for contextualizing knowledge to address complex issues and collaboration across and beyond academic disciplines, using more integrated methodologies that include the participation of non-academics and increased stakeholder involvement. Successful programs provide power sharing mechanisms and motivation that effect more active involvement by lay persons in archaeological fieldwork as well as interpretation and information dissemination processes. With the contents of this volume, we envision community archaeology to go beyond descriptions of outreach and public engagement to more critical and reflexive actions and thinking. The volume is presented in the context of the evolution of cultural heritage studies from the 20th century “expert approach” to the 21st century “people-centered approach,” with public participation and community involvement at all phases of the decision-making process. The volume contains contributions of 28 chapters and 59 authors, covering an extensive geographical range, including Africa, South America, Central America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, and Australasia. Chapters provide exemplary cases in a growing lexicon of public archaeology where power is shared within frameworks of voluntary activism in a wide diversity of cooperative settings and stakeholder interactions.

The Archaeology of Oxford in the 21st Century presents the results of eleven excavations carried out by Oxford Archaeology within the historic walled city of Oxford and in the extramural area just to the north. The investigations shed fresh light on the character of medieval Oxford, both before and after the Norman Conquest, and on the early modern city, including its Civil War defences. Of special interest are remains which supply the first very likely medieval Jewish signature in British zooarchaeology. The findings are set within a larger context by a chapter outlining the key findings (by Anne Dodd), a new synthesis of current knowledge of Oxford's archaeology (by David Radford), and an examination of the changing aims and methods of archaeology carried out in the city over the last fifty years (by Tom Hassall). Viewed as a whole, the book represents a significant new contribution to knowledge of Oxford's archaeology and history.

This volume explores the relevance of time travel as a characteristic contemporary way to approach the past. Papers explore various types and methods of time travel and seek to prove that time travel is a legitimate and timely object of study and critique because it represents a significant way to bring the past back to life in the present.