Making sense of the past in the present: A sensory analysis of carved stone balls

This paper studies a particular type of carved stone ball in order to highlight several issues that pertain to the interpretation of material culture in general. The historical tendency to consider the biography of these artefacts in purely functional or socio-political terms prevents a full appreciation of how they may have been deployed in the past. The need to consider our sensory perception of artefacts is suggested as a means to a deeper interpretation of their biography. The paper also raises the possibility that the biography of artefacts, particularly in the case of prehistoric artefacts, may also include a number of resurrections relating to their movement between different ages or systems of understanding. Ultimately, the paper discusses the continued re-contextualization of carved stone balls in contemporary Scotland in order to demonstrate the importance of recognizing the continued role of artefacts in maintaining particular views of the world.