Emotion in Archaeology

Despite the establishment of significant traditions of emotion research in many disciplines, there has been little discussion of the state and potential of the archaeological study of emotion. This paper aims to review archaeological approaches to emotion—to assess the significance of existing studies and outline the potential for the incorporation of emotion into archaeological research. It argues that the study of emotion in the past is both necessary and possible; it considers which understandings of emotion we might find most useful, how the archaeology of emotion might be carried out, and what are the most promising avenues to explore. In archaeology, both the sociobiological approach and one based on empathy have serious problems. After reviewing and rejecting the dichotomy between emotions as entirely biological, universal, and hard‐wired, on one hand, and entirely social and constructed, on the other, a view of emotions as historically specific and experientially embodied is advanced. Finally it is argued that it is vitally important for us to incorporate a consideration of emotional values and understandings into our archaeologies but that emotion cannot be separated from other aspects of social and cultural meaning and experience.