Parts and Wholes: object categorisation and fragmentation in prehistoric context

The 'Parts and Wholes' project is concerned with the relationship between complete objects and their fragments. The primary premise of the book can be concisely stated: deliberate object fragmentation was commonplace in the past, with widespread re-use of the ensuing fragments in an extended life 'after the break'. It has been the contention of much recent research that deliberate fragmentation is a fundamental feature of not only later Balkan prehistory but also of communities living in many other times/places. The evidence for deliberate fragmentation is increasing each year, both at the level of inter-site data and intra-site data, such that the social practice can no longer be ignored by anyone seriously interested in material culture.