Assemblage Thought and Archaeology

From examinations of prehistoric burial to understanding post-industrial spaces and heritage practices, the writing of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari is gaining increasing importance within archaeological thought. Their concept of ‘assemblages’ allows us to explore the past in new ways, by placing an emphasis on difference rather than similarity, on fluidity rather stasis and unpredictability rather than reproduceable models.

Assemblage Thought and Archaeology applies the notion of assemblage to specific archaeological case studies, ranging from early urbanism in Mesopotamia to 19th century military fortifications. It introduces the concept of assemblage within the context of the wider ‘material turn’ in the social sciences, examines its implications for studying materials and urban settlements, and explores its consequences for the practice of archaeological research and heritage management.

This innovative book will be of particular interest to postgraduate students of archaeological theory and researchers looking to understand this latest trend in archaeological thought, although the case studies will also have appeal to those whose work focusses on material culture, settlement archaeology and archaeological practice.

Ben Jervis is lecturer in medieval archaeology at Cardiff University, UK. He is currently co-investigator (with Dr Chris Briggs) on the Leverhulme Trust project Living Standards and Material Culture in English Rural Households: 1300–1600. He is the author of Pottery and Social Life: Towards a Relational Approach, 2014, and co-editor of several books including Objects, Environment, and Everyday Life in Medieval Europe, 2016, and Archaeologies of Rules and Regulation: Between Text and Practice, 2018. He has also published in journals including World Archaeology, Medieval Archaeology, The Norwegian Archaeological Review and Archaeological Dialogues.