Letting Go of Attachment Objects: Insights from the ‘Problematic Stuff’ of Later Prehistoric Britain and Beyond

In a volume dedicated to attachment, a chapter about letting go of things may seem out of place. The archaeological record, however, comprises not that which is forever retained but objects left behind. But to leave behind is not to ‘throw away’. Studies of bereaved people in contemporary society have demonstrated that attachment to things can be ad hoc and unpredictable, and that these objects need not hold any particular aesthetic or material value. Neither is this attachment particularly desirable and the associated objects are burdensome. This is perhaps a depressing position for an archaeologist. How might we glimpse object attachment in the discarded items that we study if, overnight, the mundane can be transformed in this way? This chapter takes a more optimistic view and demonstrates how fine-grained contextual study, with examples from later prehistoric Britain and elsewhere, can help identify these ‘problematic’ objects and, through them, the tangible emotional experiences that link past and present.