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The contribution of archaeology to the study of historical disasters

Brown, P.J.

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Authors

P.J. Brown



Contributors

R. O'Sullivan
Editor

C. Marini
Editor

J. Binnberg
Editor

Abstract

Recently, a ‘call to arms’ has been issued to historians, emphasising the contribution their discipline can bring to the study of the impact of catastrophes on human society, specifically in the medieval period. This highlights the, relatively, long-term perspective and detailed analysis which a historical perspective can provide compared to focussing solely on contemporary or very recent disasters. Archaeology as a discipline is similarly well placed to approach this subject but rarely does. This paper, focussing on medieval European evidence, offers a brief review of the reasons for this hesitancy in tackling topics related to natural disasters, what archaeologists can offer in the study of past disasters and what directions future archaeological research should favour in order to increase the contribution of archaeological research to this area of scholarship.

Citation

Brown, P. (2017). The contribution of archaeology to the study of historical disasters. In R. O'Sullivan, C. Marini, & J. Binnberg (Eds.), Archaeological approaches to breaking boundaries : interaction, integration and division : proceedings of the Graduate Archaeology at Oxford Conferences 2015–2016 (239-245). BAR Publishing

Acceptance Date Oct 4, 2016
Publication Date Jan 1, 2017
Deposit Date Dec 5, 2017
Publicly Available Date Dec 6, 2017
Pages 239-245
Series Title BAR international series
Book Title Archaeological approaches to breaking boundaries : interaction, integration and division : proceedings of the Graduate Archaeology at Oxford Conferences 2015–2016.
Publisher URL http://www.barpublishing.com/archaeological-approaches-to-breaking-boundaries-interaction-integration-and-division.html

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Accepted Book Chapter (871 Kb)
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Copyright Statement
This material is an earlier version of a chapter published in Archaeological Approaches to Breaking Boundaries: Interaction, Integration and Division: Proceedings of the Graduate Archaeology at Oxford Conferences 2015–2016 edited by Rebecca O'Sullivan, Christina Marini and Julia Binnberg, published by BAR Publishing. This version is free to view and download for personal use only. It cannot be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher.




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