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Traditional archaeological ideas about Neolithic societies were shaped by questionable premises. The modern concept of social and cultural coherence of residence groups as well as the ethnic interpretation of ¿archaeological cultures¿ fostered ideas of static and homogeneous social entities with fixed borders. Farming ¿ as the core of the Neolithic way of life ¿ was associated with sedentariness rather than with spatial mobility and cross-regional social networks. Furthermore, the widely used (neo-)evolutionist thinking universally assumed a growing social complexity and hierarchisation during prehistory. After all, such ¿top-down¿¿perspectives deprived individuals and groups of genuine agency and creativity while underestimating the relational dynamic between the social and material worlds. In recent years, a wide array of empirical results on social practices related to material culture and settlement dynamics, (inter-)regional entanglements and spatial mobility were published. For the latter the adoption of the relatively new scientific methods in archaeology like Stable Isotope Analysis as well as aDNA played a crucial role. Yet the question of possible inferences regarding spatial and temporal differences in forms of social organisation has not been addressed sufficiently.The aim of this volume is therefore to rethink former top-down concepts of Neolithic societies by studying social practices and different forms of Neolithic social life by adopting bottom-up social archaeological perspectives. Furthermore, the validity and relevance of terms like ¿society¿, ¿community¿, ¿social group¿ etc. will be discussed. The contributions reach from theoretical to empirical ones and thematize a variety of social theoretical approaches as well as methodological ways of combining different sorts of data. They show the potential of such bottom-up approaches to infer models of social practices and configurations which may live up to the potential social diversity and dynamism of Neolithic societies. The contribution shed light on spatial mobility, social complexity, the importance of (political) interests and factors of kinship etc. We hope that this volume, with its focus on the Neolithic of Europe, will contribute to the ongoing critical debates of theories and concepts as well as on our premises and perspectives on Neolithic societies in general ¿ and the practices of social archaeology as such.

From a mummy on board the Titanic to the pyramids¿ alignment with the stars, from psychoactive mushrooms to the lost realm of Atlantis: alternative interpretations of ancient Egypt, often summarised as ¿alternative Egyptology¿, have always focused on subjects that others shunned. Ever since the birth of scholarly Egyptology with the decipherment of the hieroglyphic script two hundred years ago, alternative interpretations and imaginative theories have flourished alongside it. They intertwined with egalitarian and spiritual tendencies in society during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when ancient Egypt inspired countless mediums, artists, and movements from freemasonry to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. More recently alternative interpretations have inspired comic-book authors and nationalist Chinese bloggers.It would be a mistake, however, for academics to simply view these alternative theories as fantasies that are best ignored. Their lasting popular impact needs to be assessed and (publicly) addressed by Egyptology, but they may in fact also open up fresh perspectives for research. The contributors to this volume critically explore various aspects of ¿alternative Egyptology¿, assessing its impact on society and scholarship, and finding ways for Egyptology to relate to it.ContentsIntroductionBen van den BerckenLifting the Veil of Isis: Egyptian Reception and the Hermetic Order of the Golden DawnCaroline Tully¿Someone Who Has Power and Who Understands¿: Egyptology, Egyptosophy and the ¿Truth¿ about Ancient EgyptJasmine DayAleister Crowley¿s Egypt: The Stele of RevealingMaiken Mosleth KingMeasurement Standards and Double Standards: Reassessing Charles Piazzi Smyth¿s Egyptological ReputationDaniel PotterThe Orion Correlation Theory: Past, Present, and Future?Willem van HaarlemHigh Times in Ancient EgyptAndrea SinclairBatman and the Book of the Dead: Alternative Egyptology or ¿Just for Fun¿?Arnaud QuertinmontSphinxes of Mars: Science, Fiction, and Nineteenth-Century Ancient AliensEleanor DobsonDr Paul Schliemann: Reality or Fake News?Jean-Pierre PätznickWas Narmer a Chinese emperor? Alternative History of Ancient Egypt in ChinaTian TianThe Occult Egyptian Mural Discovered in a Brazilian Freemasons¿ TempleThomas Henrique de Toledo StellaThe Royal Son of the Sun: Christian Egyptosophy and Victorian Egyptology in the Egyptian Romances of H. Rider HaggardSimon MagusThe Pillar of Fire and the Sea of Reeds: Identifying the Locations along the Route of the ExodusHuub PragtEpilogueWillem van Haarlem

This book contributes to the ongoing shift in perspective in the study of human-animal relations with its growing recognition of their central role in the shaping of prehistoric societies.

Unravelling the logic behind the puzzling practice of selective metalwork deposition in the European Bronze Age.

Explore the complex and creative interplay between video games and humanity's past.

This book recasts early medieval carved stones as principal actors in the process of Christianisation of north-western Europe by looking at three data sets from Ireland, Scotland and Sweden.

The first comprehensive study of Polynesian barkcloth.

The first comprehensive overview on Iron Age urbanism south and north of the Alps.

This book provides detailed disciplinary and interdisciplinary insights into social inequality, oral health and dietary strategies of a Bronze Age population buried in the North Caucasian foothills, 2200-1650 BCE.

This is the second of four volumes which present the results of The Stonehenge Riverside Project, a long-term fieldwork project at Stonehenge for the first time in decades.

19 articles by K.R. Veenhof, focusing on law and trade in Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian society.

This book is about the Amerindian peoples who lived or still inhabit the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, from the earliest occupants, ca. 8000 BC, until at present.

'Authenticity' and authentication is at the heart of museums' concerns in displays, objects, and interaction with visitors. These notions have formed a central element in early thought on culture and collecting.

This publication examines creative and collaborative practices within ethnographic and world cultures museums across Europe as part of their responses to ongoing public and scholarly critique.

This edited volume explores how (what is today) Scotland can be compared with, contrasted to, or was connected with other parts of early medieval Europe.

Case studies showing how archaeologists deal with the pressures and conflicts which arise when archaeologically-rich urban centres are redeveloped, with examples from across Europe and beyond.

The book presents multi-faceted theories, concepts and practices on past landscapes: from events, processes and structures in environmental and produced spaces to theories, concepts and practices concerning past societies.

The book presents multi-faceted theories, concepts and practices on past landscapes: from events, processes and structures in environmental and produced spaces to theories, concepts and practices concerning past societies.