Traces: A new approach to archaeological knowledge

Archaeological knowledge is inherently uncertain. Remains of the past are notoriously broken, half-decayed, faded or obscure. Archaeology has tried to tackle this challenging condition since its birth in the beginning of the 19th century, typically by filling in knowledge gaps with new evidence and by compensating for uncertainties by developing increasingly excellent scientific approaches. However, unknowns, voids and vagueness will forever remain part of archaeological knowledge. This book therefore explores what role uncertainty plays in archaeology from which it pursues a new, daring, and creative trace-oriented approach to archaeological remains. This approach welcomes the uncertain, being just as interested in the destination of traces as in their origins.