Abstract

Human emotion is of interest across a wide range of disciplines, but in the field of archaeology it has received attention only very recently. This article contributes to the archaeology of emotion through a focus on later medieval objects in Britain. It identifies ‘emotants’ within the archaeological record, defined as evidence that can communicate, create or intensify emotion(s). By exploring emotants in the form of inscribed later medieval finger rings and brooches, and an iron plough coulter, the author aims to introduce a neologism that can be employed to advance this challenging yet untapped field of study.

Highlights

  • The aim of this paper is to introduce a concept and method to investigate emotions of the past through archaeological evidence, objects

  • I argue that by studying the physical remains of the past we can further our understanding of the personal, emotional experiences that were shaped and mediated through the practices of the material world, and vice versa

  • In the case at Alnhamsheles the iew community, or single owner of the agricultural tool, chose not to recycle or sell the iron and instead chose to incorporate it into their building. It is the unusual action of purposeful deposition, the agricultural function of the object, its material, and the social context that allow us to interpret the plough-coulter as an emotant

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Summary

Date Submitted by the

Complete List of Authors: Standley, Eleanor; University of Oxford, School of Archaeology. Dress accessories of love and a plough of hope? Materiality and ‘emotants’ in later medieval Britain, c.

Introduction
The archaeology of emotion?
Conclusions
Findings
Brooch iew Pendant
Full Text
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