Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Storytelling in archaeology has many layers to it and can be viewed from different directions in response to numerous questions.Here, I examine two of the main options: how do archaeologists tell the story of our past?How can we grasp and study stories that were told in the past?Both are important.Storytelling and scientific archaeology often seem to exclude each other, and the scholarly community is in parts divided between extremes such as 'archaeologists are scientists and should only present results' and 'archaeologists should deliver a picture or story of past lives based on their findings'.At the most basic level, this pitches hard facts against re-imagining.Personally, I find the latter approach to be more rewarding as a reader and it certainly has a bigger impact on an audience beyond archaeologists, although any interpretation should be based on as much evidence as possible.In this New Book Chronicle, four deliberately diverse examples of storytelling are reviewed to give a glimpse of different approaches, ranging from combinations of exhibitions and innovative technologies, to well-proven formats of many small tales to tell the bigger story and a multi-angled approach to study one object.The story of the island landscape of Uist is brought back to life to help engage a wider audience in Uist unearthed.This book is one of the first I have come across that is based on an app.It uses new technology yet explains the archaeology and history in a clear and refreshing style by being highly informative.Ancient Egypt in 50 discoveries combines many stories of outstanding and unusual finds with the story of Egyptology, its research as well as its scholars.Whereas Picture worlds: storytelling on Greek, Moche, and Maya pottery goes back to the second-best way of telling a story, not through words but through images.The book is based on an exhibition and places the narratives on pots from distinct cultures next to each so that some essential attributes become visible.Readers of the Lost Ark combines in a captivating way the many tales of this legendary object from the Old Testament, which still fascinates and enthrals people today.All four books draw strongly from a well-described knowledge base but also have an emphasis on the personal experience of the authors with the material studied and the previous scholars, which gives the presented volumes a further enjoyable dimension.
Source: Antiquity
Author: Marion Uckelmann
Language: English
Subfield: Cultural Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7128587779
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