Prehistory as History: Problematizing historical units and scales of analysis
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2019-02-04

My main concern in this paper is to connect an exploration of history in archaeology with a more general discussion about building and evaluating archaeological theories and analytical frames for a historical outlook on prehistoric societies. Most of all I wish to stress the necessity for a multi-scalar approach that will allow for the interplay between the macro- and micro-level, examine relations and past events at different scales and their inter-linkages, and explore the (inter)relationship of different units of analysis. Archaeology is in a unique position to add a historical perspective to the entire human past, inviting interdisciplinary dialogue. However, our increasing capacity as archaeologists to measure and theorise time continues to surpass by far our capacity to problematize historical process(es) and to translate the archaeological record into historical evidence. A multiscalar approach can be key to moving forward, as well as providing a unifying framework for the various bodies of historically oriented archaeological work. After all, we as ‘prehistorians’ should be at the forefront of the recent interdisciplinary efforts to demolish the divide between prehistory and history and the conflation of prehistoric with ahistoric, and to instigate the acceptance of prehistory into full history.

Stella Souvatzi (Hellenic Open University)