Borders and boundaries: cultural and chronological boundaries; views from anthropology and later prehistoric Britain

Davis, Alex 2014. Borders and boundaries: cultural and chronological boundaries; views from anthropology and later prehistoric Britain. [Working Paper]. Studies in History, Archaeology, Religion and Conservation, vol. 1.1. Cardiff: Cardiff University.

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Abstract

This paper reviews how cultural and chronological boundaries and groups have been defined within later prehistoric archaeology and a selection of schools within social anthropology. These boundaries separate various peoples, practices and chronological periods, using the meanings conveyed in the terms ‘culture’, ‘society’, and ‘community’. The similarities in the perspectives taken at various times between the disciplines of prehistory and anthropology are considered. Views that are recent and current within both disciplines – namely the trend towards fluidity of cultural boundaries – are evaluated. It is concluded that although these may promise more nuanced perspectives, they may instead obscure the grouping of data that is necessary for any socio-cultural interpretation. Furthermore, it is argued that informed socio-cultural interpretations should form the basis for new divisions within prehistory.

Item Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects:	C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology
Publisher:	Cardiff University
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	05 Oct 2015 10:55
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/77675

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