About

I am a Cardiff University Archaeology graduate and postgraduate student at the University of York.

My research interests are constantly changing and evolving, but I shall forever remain faithful to prehistoric archaeology. I am mainly interested in the Neolithic in Britain and Europe, and am fascinated by what processes and social mechanisms might have been in play around the advent of farming.  Understandably then, I am also increasingly fascinated by the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. I’m interested in the archaeology of memory and conciousness and, by extension, origin myths.

I enjoy heavily theoretical archaeology and am a firm believer in the use of ethnography and other social sciences to inform our interpretations. Part of the beauty of archaeology is that it draws on so many other disciplines. As most postprocessual archaeologists are, I am painfully aware of the perpetually socially constructed nature of all theory, but relish the discussion of our shortcomings and admire those who strive to come to new, better conclusions.

Over the summer (2013) I will be conducting research into the use of different types of narrative in archaeological dissemination. I’m concerned by the ways in which archaeologists and media producers are communicating archaeology to different audiences, although the words “public” and “outreach” tend to cheese me off. My primary focus will be on the way that people (everyone!) interact and engage with the past in video games – RPGs in particular. I’ll use my research to construct ideas about how gaming technology might be used for disseminating experiential interpretations of archaeological data.

I am by no means an expert. This blog is where I will do word vomit about my experiences in and thoughts on archaeology, and will likely change as quickly as my understandings of and interests within archaeology and heritage. I mean, when I started this blog, it was going to be about writing a book, and that certainly hasn’t happened!