Overview
This book addresses the nature of play and its relationships with the world, as well as the relationships between people and objects. It begins with an account of ethnographic fieldwork among chess and card players in Edinburgh and Orkney and moves on to consider the findings in the light of archaeological sources. The work carried out amongst chess and card players led towards a more cognitive appreciation of these activities: how can the relationships between player and pieces be understood? It is suggested here that they are an example of ‘active externalism’, where cognition is not contained within the person but distributed in the immediate environment. The consideration of the role of gaming pieces leads towards an examination of the ways in which the manipulation of objects during play brings new and unexpected discoveries to the participants. The discussion addresses this theme in terms of bricolage and considers the placement of things singly and in sets. The archaeological review focusses for the most part on the first millennium AD in Atlantic Scotland. The nature of the evidence, and of our expectations of where play should be found, is examined critically. This study represents a reappraisal of the relationship between play — an activity which is most often understood in terms of something ‘set apart’ — and everyday life; it leads towards the conclusion that play is not in fact so separate as is often assumed.
Full Product Details
Author: Graeme Wilson
Publisher: Archaeopress
Imprint: Archaeopress
Dimensions:
Width: 17.50cm
, Height: 1.00cm
, Length: 24.50cm
Weight: 0.422kg
ISBN: 9781789690750
ISBN 10: 1789690757
Pages: 156
Publication Date: 31 December 2018
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Author Information
Graeme Wilson has a background in Scottish archaeology and since founding EASE Archaeology in 1993 has undertaken fieldwork in the Northern and Western Isles. Much of this work has been related to coastal erosion, in one form or another, and includes extensive coastline survey together with the excavation of numerous threatened sites, predominantly in Orkney and Shetland, many of which are published. Since 2006 he has co-directed the large scale rescue excavation at Links of Noltland, Westray, Orkney on behalf of Historic Environment Scotland. His interests include the prehistory of the Northern Isles, human - object relationships and gaming and play in prehistory. He lives with his family on the island of Westray, Orkney.
