Social Being and Time (Social Archaeology)

Thenatureoftimeisoneofthecontinuingmysteriesofhumanlife.Thisisofparticularrelevancetoarchaeologywithitsuniquefocusonthesocialdevelopmentofthehumanspeciesfromitsoriginstothepresent.ChristopherGosdenprobesthewayinwhichtherhythmsofsociallifederivefromourinvolvementintheworld,particularlyasthoserhythmsunfoldovermanythousandsofyears.Theauthorarguesthattimeiscreatedthroughthesocialuseofmaterialthingssuchaslandscapes,settlementsandmonuments,andillustratesthiswithcasestudiesdrawnfromEuropeandthePacific.Thebookprovidesatheoryofsocialchangeandsocialbeingasthebasisforunderstandingsocialformationsoverlongperiodsoftime.Indevelopingthistheorytheauthorsurveysideasonhumanactionandtimeasthesehaveevolvedoverthelasttwocenturies.Althoughthetheoryisdesignedandpresentedheretobeofpracticaluseininterpretingarchaeologicaldata-exemplifiedhereincasestudies-thebroadscopeofthebookwillensureitsinteresttoallconcernedwiththeinteractionsbetweenpeopleandthematerialworld.