ABSTRACT
The introduction to this volume forms a complete, detailed consideration of the various issues surrounding the question of the relationship between history and prehistory and of both to conceptions of time. The chapter addresses the critical questions of the separation of history into different periods, the troubled relationship between historical narrative, written sources, and archaeological data and the complex variety of scales at which the past can be approached. The recent emphasis on big data and deep time is considered as one of the key elements in rethinking scales, continuity and discontinuity and multiple sources of data. A multi-scalar approach that regards prehistory as a continuum with, and fundamental part of, history is advocated on the basis of our current understanding of time, human and object agency (past and present), quality of our archaeological data, and the parameters of narrative writing. The chapter also outlines the major themes of the book and how they relate to contemporary themes in social science research.
