Parts and wholes. Fragmentation in prehistoric context

Chapman, J.C.; Gaydarska, B.I.

Parts and wholes. Fragmentation in prehistoric context

Chapman, J.C.; Gaydarska, B.I.

Authors

J.C. Chapman

B.I. Gaydarska

Abstract

This is a highly original work that attempts to take fragmentation studies further towards integrating archaeology, social anthropology and material culture, and concerns the relationship between whole objects and broken ones. The authors construct a new fragmentation premise and examine its implications for the Balkans in the Neolithic, using case studies taken from the Balkans and Greece. Key issues covered include a biographical method of considering objects and their relation to the creation of personhood; methodological issues of site formation; a questioning of the assumption that excavated data is a more or less accurate reflection of the operation of past social practices; and a discussion of what happened to pieces missing from an assemblage. It concludes by seeking to put Balkan prehistory back together again by looking at variations in social practices and the construction of personhood at different socio-spatial levels.

Citation

Chapman, J., & Gaydarska, B. (2006). Parts and wholes. Fragmentation in prehistoric context. Oxbow Books

Book Type	Authored Book
Publication Date	Nov 1, 2006
Deposit Date	Nov 17, 2008
Publicly Available Date	Jun 23, 2010
Edition	1st
Publisher URL	http://www.oxbowbooks.com/bookinfo.cfm/ID/46387
Additional Information	A major advance on the first ‘Fragmentation’ book, this work provides strong support for the ‘fragmentation premise’ – a challenge for all archaeologists worldwide.