A patchwork of people, pots and places: Material engagements and the construction of ‘the social’ in Hamwic (Anglo-Saxon Southampton), UK

Abstract

This study investigates how engagements with objects are active in the construction of a ‘social assemblage’, drawing on influences from work on ‘symmetrical archaeology’ and Actor-Network Theory. This interpretive perspective is explored through a case study, investigating the pottery consumed in Anglo-Saxon Southampton, demonstrating how engagements through exchange, use and deposition were active in creating a patchwork of connections which came together to create a distinct social assemblage. In particular, the article considers the multitude of ways that pottery and people were categorized through material engagements and the interpretive and methodological challenges that this presents to archaeology as a whole.