All Things Shining: Towards ‘multi-dimensional’ typologies of Bronze Age Britain
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 2017-05-08

Later prehistoric object studies in Britain and much of North West Europe have been dominated by material-specific studies and typologies. The sharp division between ceramic and metalwork studies is particularly regretful given that all prehistoric objects existed within a rich and interconnected world, every bit as complex and ‘messy’ as our own.
The meaning of prehistoric objects was created through relational and contextual factors at several points or ‘dimensions’ along the chain of material selection, object production, use and deposition/destruction and loss. The repeated patterning evident in each of these dimensions has been noted by numerous researchers, reflecting different degrees of normative behaviours and enculturation. However, rarely have we been able to integrate these observations for multiple dimensions within and between chronological periods. Typological approaches provide the frameworks to make this a reality.
This paper uses case studies from Bronze Age Britain to argue that ‘multi-dimensional’ typologies can be constructed to chart and compare decisions and choices made at each point in an object’s lifecycle, revealing inter- and intra-connectedness within and between the creation and treatment of prehistoric objects in various materials.

Neil Wilkin, British Museum