Julian Thomas

This is the first book-length study to explore the relationship between archaeology and modern thought, showing how philosophical ideas that developed in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries still dominate our approach to the material remains of ancient societies. Addressing current debates from a new viewpoint, Archaeology and Modernity discusses the modern emphasis on method rather than ethics or meaning, our understanding of change in history and nature, the role of the nation-state in forming our views of the past, and contemporary notions of human individuality, the mind, and materiality.

Archaeology and Modernity

Vagabond

Cannibals & convicts

A complex enclosure identified by aerial photography at Dunragit Galloway, was demonstrated by excavation to have been of Late Neolithic date, and comprised three concentric timber ramped post-rings, 120–300 m in diameter. The two outer post-rings each comprised large uprights interspersed with smaller members, probably forming a continuous palisade. Each was a single-phase structure and the posts had rotted out. The inner ring had largely been made up of large, freestanding posts, most of which had rotted away, but some of which had been deliberately removed, the post-holes being considerably larger than those of the two outer rings. Where posts had been pulled out, a number of elaborate deposits had been placed in the crater left by the post-removal. The entrances to the post-rings are not aligned and the preferred interpretation is that the monument as a whole had two phases of construction, in each of which a timber circle was surrounded by a palisade, and in which the middle post-ring succeeded the outer, or vice-versa. The enclosure had been preceded by a post-defined cursus monument in which all the post had been burned in situ and numerous other post-holes were located on the same axis as the cursus, extending beyond the monument itself. The most elaborate entrance, connected with the middle post-ring, is composed of two parallel lines of features, presumably post-holes, opening toward the south, and aligned on a large earthen mound at Droughduil, 400 m away. Droughduil Mote, though recorded as a medieval motte, recalls the association of various very large mounds with with henges or palisaded enclosures, as at Silbury Hill, Wiltshire. Excavation demonstrated that it had been constructed with stepped sides, and that a stone cairn had been constructed on its summit. A series of optically stimulated luminescence dates on the accumulated sand over the surface of the mound demonstrated that it was certainly not medieval, and was probably Neolithic in date.

Excavations at Dunragit and Droughduil, 19992002

A Neolithic Ceremonial Complex in Galloway

Keith W. Ray

Neolithic Britain is an up to date, concise introduction to the period of British prehistory from c. 4000-2200 BCE, covering key material and social developments, and reflecting on the nature of cultural practices, tradition, genealogy, and society across nearly two millennia.

The Transformation of Social Worlds

Neolithic Britain

The beginning of the Neolithic in Britain marks the end of a hunter-gatherer way of life with the introduction of domesticated plants and animals, polished stone tools, and a range of new monuments. Julian Thomas offers a coherent argument to explain the process of transition between the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods.

An Interpretive Account

The Birth of Neolithic Britain

Time, Culture and Identity questions the modern western distinctions between: * nature and culture * mind and body * object and subject. Drawing on the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, Julian Thomas develops a way of writing about the past in which time is seen as central to the emergence of the identities of people and objects.

An Interpretative Archaeology

Time, Culture and Identity

Julian Thomas explores the concept of objectivity in archaeology and asks how far our perceptions of the past are coloured by the world in which we live. What are the implications for scholarship if we cannot see ancient cultures from the perspective of the people who lived them?

Terry Flew

Jennifer Holt

Debates about the digital media economy are at the heart of media and communication studies. An increasingly digitalised and datafied media environment has implications for every aspect of the field, from ownership and production, to distribution and consumption. The SAGE Handbook of the Digital Media Economy offers students, researchers and policy-makers a multidisciplinary overview of contemporary scholarship relating to the intersection of the digital economy and the media, cultural, and creative industries. It provides an overview of the major areas of debate, and conceptual and methodological frameworks, through chapters written by leading scholars from a range of disciplinary perspective. PART 1: Key Concepts PART 2: Methodological Approaches PART 3: Media Industries of the Digital Economy PART 4: Geographies of the Digital Economy PART 5: Law, Governance and Policy

The SAGE Handbook of the Digital Media Economy

New forms of archaeology are emerging which position the discipline firmly within the social and cultural sciences. These approaches have been described as "post processual" or "interpretive" archaeology, and draw on a range of traditions of enquiry in the humanities, from Marxism and critical theory to hermeneutics, feminism, queer theory, phenomenology and post-colonial thinking. This volume gathers together a series of the canonical statements which have defined an interpretive archaeology. Many of these have been unavailable for some while, and others are drawn from inaccessible publications. In addition, a number of key articles are included which are drawn from other disciplines, but which have been influential and widely cited within archaeology. The collection is put into context by an editorial introduction and thematic notes for each section.

A Reader

Interpretive Archaeology

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Understanding the Neolithic

The Vagabond

Neolithikum - Wirtschaftsgeschichte - Saskralgebäude.

Rethinking the Neolithic

Timothy Darvill

A digital reprint which makes available again the first publication of the Neolithic Studies Group, containing papers given to a special colloquium on the `structures' of Neolithic Europe. Contributions include: Neolithic houses in mainland Britain and Ireland - a skeptical view (Julian Thomas); Houses in context: Building as process (Alasdair Whitlle); A Central European Perspective (Jonathon Last); Neolithic houses in Ireland (Eoin Grogan); Neolithic buildings in Scotland (Gordon Barclay); Neolithic buildings in England, Wales and the Isle of Man (Tim Darvill); Mesolithic or later houses at Bowmans Farm, Romsey Extra, Hampshire (Francis Green); Ballygalley houses, co.Antrim (Derek Simpson); Later Neolthic Structires at Trelystan, Powys (Alex Gibson); Life, times and works of House 59, Tell Ovcharovo, Bulgaria (Douglass Bailey); Structure ans ritual in Neolithic houses (Peter Topping); Architecture and Cosmology in the Balinese house: life is not that simple (Colin Richards); Houses in the Neolithic imagination: an Amazonian Example (Christine Hugh-Jones).

Neolithic Houses in Northwest Europe and beyond

Rick Peterson

Matt Leivers

Julia Roberts

This volume is concerned with the investigation of three complexes of prehistoric ceremonial monuments in the immediate environs of Dumfries in the south-west of Scotland, conducted between 1994 and 1998. These were the Pict's Knowe henge, the Holywood cursus complex, and the post alignments/cursus at Holm. The field research was designed in such a way as to recognise that prehistoric monuments often have complex and individual sequences of construction and use, while also acknowledging that detailed studies of particular sites and local contexts will ultimately advance our understanding of monumentality in prehistoric Europe. The three sites of the Pict's Knowe, Holywood and Holm have proved especially helpful in addressing questions of how particular places maintained their importance over long periods of time. In each instance the location was characterised by features which possess a high degree of archaeological visibility. In the former case it was the upstanding earthwork of the bank and ditch that identified the site as a henge monument, while Holywood and Holm were discovered through aerial photography. Each of the sites investigated had complex sequences of development, in which the structural elements that were recognised prior to fieldwork were not necessarily the most important or the most long-lived. This book considers the details of the excavated features, environmental and artefactual evidence, as well as more general concerns. The first part of the volume concentrates on the Pict's Knowe, while the second looks at the more spatially and typologically related sites of Holywood and Holm.

Excavations at the Pict's Knowe, Holywood and Holm Farm, Dumfries and Galloway, 1994-8

Place and Memory

Colin Richards

Joshua Pollard

Mike Parker Pearson

Kate Welham

Stonehenge is an iconic monument for people all around the world. Built around 5000 years ago, it stands for mystery and forgotten secrets waiting to be decoded. In this latest book in the Council for British Archaeology's ‘Archaeology for All' series, Professor Mike Parker Pearson presents an up-to-date interpretation of Stonehenge and its landscape. Drawing on his years of research and excavation, the author presents a highly readable account that is lavishly illustrated with images by the renowned photographer Adam Stanford and the reconstruction artist Peter Dunn.

Making Sense of a Prehistoric Mystery

Stonehenge

Rowan Wilken

Ellie Rennie

From café culture to home schooling, remote community networks, and smart cities, Wi-Fi is an invisible but fundamental element of contemporary life. Loosely regulated, low-cost, and largely overlooked by researchers, this technology has driven the rise of the smartphone and broadband internet, and is a vital element in the next wave of automation. Thomas, Wilken, and Rennie provide the first comprehensive account of the social and cultural consequences of Wi-Fi, highlighting the ways in which it has changed our homes, communities, and cities. They discuss its origins as an experimental technology, the conflicts generated around its ownership and control, and the ideas and expectations attached to it by technologists, activists, and entrepreneurs. The authors reveal the ways in which Wi-Fi is an inherently social and political technology, animated by conflicting aspirations for local, public, and community control, and defined by private and corporate interests. As this book shows, Wi-Fi has extended and intensified our online lives while also promising a more inclusive internet. Wi-Fi is essential reading for students and scholars of media and communication, as well as anyone who wants a better understanding of this ubiquitous and influential technology.

Wi-Fi

Bruno David

Over the past three decades, “landscape” has become an umbrella term to describe many different strands of archaeology. From the processualist study of settlement patterns to the phenomenologist’s experience of the natural world, from human impact on past environments to the environment’s impact on human thought, action, and interaction, the term has been used. In this volume, for the first time, over 80 archaeologists from three continents attempt a comprehensive definition of the ideas and practices of landscape archaeology, covering the theoretical and the practical, the research and conservation, and encasing the term in a global framework. As a basic reference volume for landscape archaeology, this volume will be the benchmark for decades to come. All royalties on this Handbook are donated to the World Archaeological Congress.

Handbook of Landscape Archaeology

There are more Wi-Fi devices than humans. From café culture to home automation, remote community networks to smart cities, Wi-Fi is an invisible but fundamental element of contemporary life. Loosely regulated, low-cost, and largely overlooked by researchers, this hugely successful technology has driven the rise of the smartphone and broadband internet and is a vital element in the internet of things and the next wave of automation. Thomas, Wilken and Rennie provide the first accessible, comprehensive account of Wi-Fi and its social and cultural consequences. Identifying the Wi-Fi networks in our homes, cities and communities, the authors describes how Wi-Fi has changed – and continues to shape – everyday places and spaces. They discuss Wi-Fi’s origins as an experimental technology at the end of the last millennium, the conflicts generated around its ownership and control, and the ideas and expectations attached to it by technologists, futurists, activists, and entrepreneurs. The authors reveal the ways in which Wi-Fi is an inherently social and political technology, animated by conflicting aspirations for local, public, and community control, and defined by private and corporate interests. Wi-Fi has extended and intensified our online lives as well as promising a more inclusive internet. Wi-Fi is essential reading for students and scholars of media and communication, as well as anyone who wants to better understand this ubiquitous and influential technology.

Opening this collection of stories is Namesake, described in The New Writer as the perfect carriage for the swirl of fun, surprise and wickedly witty allegory, which makes this a genuine joy to read. Absolutely superb-Phil Whitaker. The ten other stories are hopeful stories suggesting common decency can triumph over self-absorption-stories which rub shoulders with the shadows that make life a bit of an endeavour. So, in Bibi's Bicycle, a man will work for ten years down a gold mine in order for people to say of his wife: Look! There goes Kibibi, she one hell of a lucky lady. Here is a collection of witty, joyous, and sensitive revelations about human behaviour written for the pleasures they will give, and the thoughts they may provoke.

Julian Thomas

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