TheBronzeAgeisfrequentlyframedinsocialevolutionaryterms.Viewedastheperiodwhichsawtheemergenceofsocialdifferentiation,thedevelopmentoflong-distancetrade,andtheintensificationofagriculturalproduction,itisseenastheprecursorandorigin-pointforsignificantaspectsofthemodernworld.ThisbookpresentsaverydifferentimageofBronzeAgeBritainandIreland.Drawingonthewealthofmaterialfromrecentexcavations,aswellasalonghistoryofresearch,itexplorestheimpactofthepost-Enlightenment’othering’ofthenon-humanonourunderstandingofBronzeAgesociety.Thereismuchtosuggestthattheconceptualboundarybetweentheactivehumansubjectandthepassiveworldofobjects,sofamiliarfromourownculturalcontext,wasnotdrawninthiscategoricalwayintheBronzeAge;theselfwasconstructedinrelationalratherthanindividualisticterms,andaspectsofthenon-humanworldsuchaspots,houses,andmountainswereconsideredanimateentitieswiththeirownspiritorsoul.Inaseriesofthematicchaptersonthehumanbody,artefacts,settlements,andlandscapes,thisbookconsidersthecharacterofBronzeAgepersonhood,therelationshipbetweenindividualandsociety,andideasaroundagencyandsocialpower.Thetreatmentanddepositionofthingssuchasquerns,axes,andhumanremainsprovidesinsightsintothemeaningsandvaluesascribedtoobjectsandplaces,andthewaysinwhichsuchitemsactedassocialagentsintheBronzeAgeworld.
