Using Archaeology to Understand Inequality in England Over the Last Millennium
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2019-04-08

Inequality is one of Britain's most serious and pressing problems. The long history of inequality is poorly understood and archaeology can throw light on the changing nature of social difference over the long term. In this paper we will sketch out an approach to inequality in England since the Domesday Book (AD 1086). We will start by examining how to think about inequality in a cultural manner which will have empirical consequences. The research will use three broad datasets: 1) Historic Landscape Characterization data together with that on buildings to look both at the enclosure of the landscape and patterns of investment in it, which influenced who had access to land and under what circumstances; 2) differential access to artefacts using the Portable Antiquities Scheme information; and 3) biological measures of health and well-being, including height, skeletal evidence of work and trauma, as well as information from tooth plaque on disease and diet. Using these sets of information we will start to contrast feudal and capitalist modes of inequality, throwing new light on each. We shall argue that existing 'heritage' datasets can be used to inform on historical issues of considerable current interest – in this case concerning social tension and conflict around class, gender, and other modes of social distinction.

Chris Gosden (Oxford University) and Chris Green (Oxford University)