Measuring the Mental – A Quantitative Approach to Mental Landscape Concepts in Prehistory

Ballmer, Ariane (2010). Measuring the Mental – A Quantitative Approach to Mental Landscape Concepts in Prehistory. In: Müller, Johannes (ed.) Landscapes and Human Development: The Contribution of European Archaeology. Proceedings of the International Workshop 'Socio-Environmental Dynamics over the Last 12,000 Years: The Creation of Landscapes' (1st-4th April 2009). Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie: Vol. 191 (pp. 193-202). Bonn: Habelt Verlag

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In the prehistoric archaeology dealing with metaphysical subjects like the mental construction of the landscape is problematic as forasmuch as the primary sources are very limited, or respectively seem to be very limited. Not least because of this apparent lack of source, but also for the reason of research tradition, the application of empirical methods to cognitive matters is relatively scarce. In the course of the post-processual archaeology the quantitative methods are routinely abstracted away from questions dealing with mental concepts, even harshly criticized, and phenomenological approaches are favoured instead. This paper deals with a methodical-theoretical aspect of prehistoric mental landscape structuring using the Bronze Age landscape as example, stressing its material dimension and hence its quantitative potential for empirical analysis. It is a sketch of ideas and a suggestion of concrete possibilities toward bridging the boundaries of paradigms and toward combining quantitative methods and metaphysical subjects in prehistoric archaeology.

Item Type:

Book Section (Book Chapter)

Division/Institute:

06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of Archaeological Sciences > Pre- and Early History

UniBE Contributor:

Ballmer, Ariane Thu

Subjects:

900 History > 930 History of ancient world (to ca. 499)

ISBN:

978-3-7749-3709-3

Series:

Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie

Publisher:

Habelt Verlag

Language:

English

Submitter:

Ariane Thu Ballmer

Date Deposited:

25 Jan 2022 08:01

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 16:03

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/164210

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/164210

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