The Emergence of Civilisation Revisited

The history of archaeology is a history of great discoveries and a history of the debate about the human condition. It is a history of how we understand and link to our history, and it is unsurprising then that archaeology changes over time, bringing new perspectives to our view of the past. Thirty years on from Colin Renfrew's landmark publication, The Emergence of Civilisation, a group of Aegean prehistorians came together as part of the Sheffield Centre for Aegean Archaeology's Round Table discussions to acknowledge this ground-breaking work and to bring the subject up to date. They focus on the themes that Renfrew brought to archaeology through this work, and which continue to be of significance today: the way we characterise the context and the nature of change; the methodological procedures that should be followed; and the interpretation of the dynamics of past societies. Fourteen papers from the discussions, including contributions from John Cherry, Todd Whitelaw and Renfrew himself, examine a fascinating and diverse section of topics including; settlement, leadership and social status.