Archaeology and the Senses

This Book Is An Exciting New Look At How Archaeology Has Dealt With The Bodily Senses And Offers An Argument For How The Discipline Can Offer A Richer Glimpse Into The Human Sensory Experience. Yannis Hamilakis Shows How Despite Its Intensely Physical Engagement With The Material Traces Of The Past Archaeology Has Mostly Neglected Multi-Sensory Experience Instead Prioritizing Isolated Vision And Relying On The Western Hierarchy Of The Five Senses. In Place Of This Limited View Of Experience Hamilakis Proposes A Sensorial Archaeology That Can Unearth The Lost Suppressed And Forgotten Sensory And Affective Modalities Of Humans. Using Bronze Age Crete As A Case Study Hamilakis Shows How Sensorial Memory Can Help Us Rethink Questions Ranging From The Production Of Ancestral Heritage To Large-Scale Social Change And The Cultural Significance Of Monuments. Tracing The Emergence Of Palaces In Bronze Age Crete As A Celebration Of The Long-Term Sensuous History And Memory Of Their Localities Hamilakis Points The Way To Reconstituting Archaeology As A Sensorial And Affective Multi-Temporal Practice. At The Same Time He Proposes A New Framework On The Interaction Between Bodily Senses Things And Environments Which Will Be Relevant To Scholars In Other Fields.