Paper short abstract:

As part of the complex meshwork of social relations that structure and compose worldviews, I want to consider the relationship between 'things' and other elements of past worlds.

Paper long abstract:

Recent debates surrounding materials and materiality have questioned the nature of the relationship between people and materials/objects. By addressing these concerns, archaeologists have developed a more critical understanding of the processes through which past human agents engaged with their material world. Drawing from these debates, I would like to argue that 'things' of the material world are not necessarily limited to an interaction with people - objects themselves are relationally situated to other objects or even animals. Recent anthropological literature, particularly the work by Henari et al. (2007), have outlined a methodological approach that, in this instance, offers a viable conduit through which these relationships may be understood. By rejecting the notion that there is a relationship between things and concepts, Henari et al. (2007) propose that things and concepts should not be considered distinct in the first place. Following this reasoning, materials and objects achieve a new sense of empowerment - their meaning is potentially no longer wholly dependent on their exclusive interactions with people.

As part of the complex meshwork of social relations that structure and compose worldviews, I want to consider the relationship between 'things' and other elements of past worlds, particularly the relationship between the deposition of Neolithic axe-heads and animal remains at two causewayed enclosure sites in southern England. Debates surrounding axes and causewayed enclosures have traditionally been concerned with notions of trade and exchange and more recently liminality and appropriation. I would like to propose another dimension of inquiry by suggesting a direct link between the deposition of fragmented axe-heads and domesticated animals.