1 Archaeology and popular culture 2 Below the surface 3 The archaeologist in the field 4 Interpreting traces 5 Past meanings 6 Contemporaneous meanings 7 Authenticity 8 The past as renewable resource 9 Archaeo-appeal
Cornelius Holtorf (born 1968) is assistant professor in the Institute of Archaeology and Ancient History at the University of Lund, Sweden. He gained his doctoral degree from the University of Wales with a study of the life history of megalithic monuments in Northeast Germany. After stints as an academic teacher and researcher at the University of Wales (Lampeter), Goteborg, and Cambridge, and a two-year Marie Curie Fellowship at the Swedish National Heritage Board in Stockhom, he moved to his current post at Lund. His research interests include the portrayal of archaeology in popular culture, excavations investigating the life history of megaliths at Monte da Igreja in southern Portugal, and the archaeology of zoos. He is the author of many academic papers and the "living" electronic monograph Monumental Past(2000-2004), and coeditor of Archaeology and Folklore (1999) and Philosophy and Archaeological Practice (2000).
From Stonehenge to Las Vegas: archaeology as popular culture is a
playful examination of the intersection between past and
present...[it is] a great roadmap by which one can, in
Benjaminesque fashion, get productively lost and hopefully take a
few people along for the ride.
*Public Archaeology, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2007, 64-67*
This is a provocative and intensely thought-provoking book. All
archaeologists may not agree with it, but they will be compelled to
read and digest it. Holtorf sets a new agenda for archaeology,
imploring us to see it as popular culture. Bold and assertive,
Holtorf promotes archaeology as a field actually focused on our own
culture in the present, and he courageously argues that the past is
a renewable resource. This is a must for all readers interested in
the meaning of archaeology, history, heritage management, and
memory. It's a trend setter for the future.
*Charles E. Orser Jr., Vanderbilt University*
In this witty and pungently intelligent book, Holtorf challenges
archaeology to look in the reflexive mirror and learn to understand
itself in new ways. Archaeology, he argues, is about the present
rather than the past, and about the living rather than the dead.
The discipline is not so much a science as a powerful emanation of
popular culture, created by the dreams, metaphors and fantasies of
contemporary society. Holtorf, one of the most exciting of radical
young archaeologists, overturns one received idea after another. He
deconstructs the notion of authenticity—and, heretically—alleges
that the past is a renewable resource. Heritage is being created
faster than it is being lost; sites are valuable because they are
protected, and not vice versa. Using a wealth of examples and vivid
illustrations, Holtorf describes the process by which artefacts and
monuments are re-used and refunctioned, and awarded new meanings.
In one of the 'Theses' attached to each chapter, he declares that,
'the process of doing archaeology is more important than its
results.' Written for the general reader as much as the specialist,
From Stonehenge to Las Vegas is a sparkling flow of ideas, and an
outstanding contribution to the theory of archaeology.
*Neal Ascherson, editor, Public Archaeology*
Today we are all archaeologists. Cornelius Holtorf has done a
superb job unraveling the archaeological aspects of our
contemporary culture. It is a wonderful read.
*Michael Shanks, Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Stanford
University*
This book is fundamental work for archaeology in the 21st century,
and it is hoped that Holtorf's study stimulates debate and new
research over the next decades into the popular context of
archaeology today.
*Anthropology Review Database*
A good book. . . well-reasoned and thought-provoking.
*Alun*
From Stonehenge to Las Vegas will...influence readers to
contemplate...this book is provocative and should inspire
professional archaeologists to rekindle the senses of wonder that
attracted them to this discipline in the first place.
*Historical Archaeology*
The book is...an easy read and packed with information and
insightful commentary on the nature and meaning of archaeology in
modern-day (Western) culture. Readers will especially appreciate
the in-depth discussions...
*South African Archaeological Bulletin*
This provocative volume offers a set of extended reflections on the
evolving relationship between archaeology and contemporary Western
popular culture.
*Norwegian Archaeological Review, Vol. 39, No. 2*
From Stonehenge to Las Vegas is packed with information...Holtorf
writes with spirit and enthusiasm...
*Journal Of The Royal Anthropological Institute*
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