Researching the Archaeological Past through Imagined Narratives: A Necessary Fiction

Cover
Endorsement
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of contents
Figures
Tables
Contributors
Preface
1 Historical fiction and archaeological interpretation: Introduction
	Archaeological stories
	The borderline between archaeological fact and fiction
	Historical novels and archaeology
		Salammbô
		The Source
	The long history of fictive techniques in archaeology
	Fictive techniques in archaeological writing
		Vignettes
		Travel through time
		Travel through space
		Biographies
		Plays and diaries
	Fictional motivations
	Objections and challenges
	This volume
	References
2 The cornflakes of prehistory: Fact, fiction and imagination in archaeology
	Introduction
	Faction: the role of accuracy in novel writing
	Do facts exist in archaeology?
	Understanding the facts
	Speculation or inference?
	Does lack of proof matter?
	Good stories and the importance of critique
	The limitations of the imagination
	The peopling of the past
	New sources of information
	Constructing narrative: communication and content
	Constructing narrative: values
	Conclusions
	References
3 Voices from the silence
	Introduction
	The medium
	The material
	Conclusions
	References
4 Beyond archaeological narrative: Imagined worlds of Neolithic Europe
	Introduction
	Historical or archaeological fiction?
	Food and daily life
	Exchange and navigation
	Ritual and religious change
	The structure of Neolithic societies
	The nature of oral traditions
	Conclusions
	References
5 Imagined realities in academic and fictional accounts of the British Mesolithic
	Introduction
	Analysis of academic narratives of the Mesolithic
	The necessity of fiction
	Analysis of fictional narratives
	Conclusions
	References
6 Walking in someone else’s shoes: Archaeology, empathy and fiction
	Introduction
	Archaeology and empathy: examples
	Definitions
	Ethical and epistemological debates
	Archaeology and empathy: research
	Collingwood and Gadamer
	Conclusions
	Acknowledgement
	References
7 The multiverse of fiction: Exploring interpretation through community archaeology
	Introduction
	A theoretical approach to making the multiverse
	Case studies
		Vignale: narrating excavation through docudrama
		Pilastri: creative writing about ceramics
	Discussion: the interpretation within
	Towards the creation of social value
	Conclusions
	References
8 Entering undocumented pasts through playwriting
	Introduction
	Ethical challenges
	Practical challenges
	The problem
	Parting Time: a vignette
		Setting
		Characters
		Scene
	Analysis
	Discussion
	References
9 Encountering the past through slag and storytelling
	Introduction
	Slag: the story
	The facts?
	Storytelling and archaeology
		But what about the facts? You can’t just make things up!
		But even if the oil lamp is based on an artefact, it’s still just a story!
	Towards a theory and methodology of archaeological storytelling
	Conclusions
	Acknowledgements
	References
10 Writing wonders: Poetry as archaeological method?
	Introduction
	Definitions and delineations
	Poetry as method: context
	Poetry as method: practice
		(1)(iii) Expressing a narrative voice that is not the opinion of the  writer/participant-voiced, from scripts
		(2)(ii) Inviting free-form thematic interpretation/researcher-voiced,  overtly self-reflexive
		(3)(i) Engaging the reader in a manner that transcends standard  representation/literature-voiced, responsive
	Conclusions
	Appendix
	References
11 Ambiguity and omission: Creative mediation of the unknowable past
	Introduction (GS)
	Theoretical frame (GS)
	Writing the past (VT)
	Visualising the past (GS)
	Imagining the past (GS)
	Conclusions (GS & VT)
	Appendix: The Master Mason
Plates
12 Spartacus: Blood and Sand (STARZ, 2010): A necessary fiction?
	Introduction
	Visualising Rome: from material- to story-world
	Dramatising Rome: close encounters with humankind
	Spartacus’s historical fictions and the practical past
	References
13 Archaeology, historical fiction and Classical Reception Studies
	References
14 Imagining the past through Film  and Cultural Studies
	Introduction
	Why care about accuracy?
	Are there different kinds of historical accuracy?
	Do historical media teach history?
	A necessary fiction
	References
15 Archaeological narrative and humour in a post-truth world: The obligatory sum-up article
	Narrative as method
	Developing empathy while preserving science
	Artistic expression
	Risks and advantages
	References
Index