ABSTRACT
Before considering how archaeological remains and knowledge might be best communicated it is worth reflecting on what the social and cultural implications of explanations about the past might be. Archaeological knowledge and the images of the past created by archaeologists are not value free. As with history and literature, the selection of what is significant and how it should be interpreted partly derives from the political and social values and structures in present-day society. Archaeology and history have in turn been used either consciously or unconsciously to justify present-day values and social structures.
