Geography, Archaeology & Irish Studies

I am especially interested in the legacy of archaeology’s past—how approaches and interpretive models developed in particular past socio-political circumstances are reasserted in the present. Archaeology’s traditional role as a ‘national discipline’, for example, remains an important consideration. Apparently objective scientific approaches are not immune from such distorting influences. Research which supports a nation’s particular view of itself—or at least does not challenge that view—will fit within established paradigms and is more likely to attract (state-sponsored) attention and resources. Working within pre-determined narratives, we find ever more technical means of confirming we were right all along. But when we start with a more critical perspective, some of our fundamental assumptions quickly wither. Often these preconceived ideas say far more about archaeologists than they do about life in the past.

Focusing on the Neolithic, my research has demonstrated the need to challenge disciplinary paradigms and the assumptions that underpin them. Field systems, for example, have long been seen as a feature of the earlier Neolithic in Ireland. No other country in the world has field systems which date to this time. My research has shown that this anomaly is likely to be an artefact of the research methods adopted and the paradigm within which the evidence has been interpreted. The earliest field systems in Ireland almost certainly fall within the established European sequence.

Topics of my research include: the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic in Ireland and Europe; Archaeological Theory, Politics and Historiography; Public Archaeology; Material Culture, Museums and Cultural Tourism; Chronology and Dating Methods; Prehistoric Landscapes and Environment.

Media interest in my research:

http://www.mayonews.ie/news/29422-ceide-fields-stone-age-status-defended

The Origins of Agriculture │Neolithic Ireland and Europe │Mesolithic Ireland and Europe │Public Archaeology │Historic and Prehistoric Landscapes│Archaeological Interpretation │Field Techniques │Archaeological Theory │Archaeological History and Politics │Material Culture │Museums and Cultural Tourism │Chronology and Dating Methods │Academic Writing │Research Methods.