Bolender Douglas J. Eventful Archaeologies: New Approaches to Social Transformation in the Archaeological Record

State University of New York Press, 2010. — 256 p.What is the role of historical events when evaluating the long-term significance of the archaeological record? Given that the event is a key mechanism for structural change, are historical transformations always eventful? And what is the relationship between specific events and other temporalities of change?In this notable volume, in examples from the Eurasian Steppes to Spain, Iceland to New York, from across the sweep of European and North American prehistory and history, researchers explore the promise and challenges of events, and the potent intersections of history and archaeology. Of special interest is the potential to better understand moments of dramatic social transformation: from volcanic disasters to the cognitive revolution during the Palaeolithic and the first arrival of Neolithic farmers, and from the impact of Greece and Rome on European provinces to modernization in the New World.Indispensable for historians, archaeologists, and those ethnohistorians and anthropologists working within a long-term historical framework, Eventful Archaeologies offers a more holistic and richly textured approach for comprehending cultural change.Douglas J. Bolender is Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts - Boston.