The Presented Past is concerned with the differences between the comparatively static, well-understood way in which the past is presented in schools, museums and at historic sites compared to the approaches currently being explored in contemporary archaeology. It challenges the all-too-frequent representation of the past as something finished, understood and objective, rather than something that is constructed' and therefore open to co-existing interpretations and constant re-interpretation.
Central to the book is the belief that the presentation of the past in school curricula...