Making Time: The Archaeology of Time Revisited

by Gavin Lucas

Making Time grapples with a range of issues that have crystallized in the wake of 15 years of discussion on time in archaeology, since the author's seminal volume The Archaeology of Time , synthesizing them for a new generation of scholars. The general understanding of time held by both archaeologists and non-archaeologists is often very a linear notion where time flows along a single path from the past into the future. This book sets out to complicate this image, to draw out the key problems and issues with time that impact archaeological interpretation. Using concrete examples drawn from different periods and places, the book challenges the reader to think again. Ultimately, the book will suggest that if we want to understand what archaeological time is, then we need to accept that things do not exist in time, they make time. The crucial question then what kinds of time do archaeological materialities produce? Written for upper level undergraduates and researchers in archaeology, the book is also accessible to non-academics with an interest in the topic. The book is relevant for cognate disciplines, especially history, heritage studies and philosophy.

146 pages, ebook

Published April 25, 2021

About the author

Gavin Lucas is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Iceland, where has been teaching since 2002. His main interests lie in archaeological method and theory as well as the archaeology of the modern world, with a special focus on the North Atlantic.

Reviews

[Sanjay Prabhakar]

Rambling. Book summed up by the final paragraph beginning 'I am still not sure how I feel about this.' Lucas is also apparently deeply confused about the usage of the comma.