Past Mobilities

The new mobilities paradigm has yet to have the same impact on archaeology as it has in other disciplines in the social sciences – on geography, sociology and anthropology in particular – yet mobility is fundamental to archaeology: all people move. Moving away from archaeology’s traditional focus upon place or location, this volume treats mobility as a central theme in archaeology. The chapters are wide-ranging and methodological as well as theoretical, focusing on the flows of people, ideas, objects and information in the past; they also focus on archaeology’s distinctiveness. Drawing on a wealth of archaeological evidence for movement, from paths, monuments, rock art and boats, to skeletal and DNA evidence, Past Mobilities presents research from a range of examples from around the world to explore the relationship between archaeology and movement, thus adding an archaeological voice to the broader mobilities discussion. As such, it will be of interest not only to archaeologists and historians, but also to sociologists, geographers and anthropologists.

Author Biography

Dr Jim Leary is Lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Reading, UK. He is co-editor of Round Mounds and Monumentality in the British Isles and Beyond, and co-author of The Story of Silbury Hill and Silbury Hill. The Largest Prehistoric Mound in Europe. Jim Leary, Oscar Aldred, Matt Edgeworth, Ursula K. Frederick, Oula Seitsonen, Jean-Luc Houle, Lee G. Broderick, Kirk Woolford, Stuart Dunn, Thomas G. Davies, Emma Pomeroy, Colin N. Shaw, Jay T. Stock, Keri A. Brown, Lien Foubert, David J. Breeze, Mark Dunkley