Moving the Past: Embodied Research on Discontinued Movement Cultures

Moving the Past explores the challenges of studying discontinued movement cultures--practices and embodied skills that have lost their continuity and are no longer 'living' traditions. Comprising seven chapters, the volume combines detailed case studies with theoretical insights to address a core question: What kind of knowledge about the past can be gained when researchers use their own bodies to relearn skills preserved solely in historical and archaeological sources? Case studies examine topics ranging from ancient Greek hoplite warfare to Victorian-era Irish wrestling, medieval military drills and physical exercise regimens, and early-modern fencing. These focused analyses are complemented by a theoretical chapter and a Coda, investigating the methods, promises, and limitations of experiential research on discontinued movement cultures. The book arises from a 2021 conference panel, "Experimental and Experiential Research in Archaeology," organised by the Faculty of Archaeology, University of Warsaw (Poland). Its contributors include archaeologists, historians, anthropologists, and independent researchers with a shared interest in historical embodied practices. This interdisciplinary mix ensures a diverse perspective, appealing to academics and practitioners of re-enactment, living history, and public archaeology alike.

Maciej Talaga, PhD, is an archaeologist and anthropologist specialised in the Central-European Late Middle Ages. His main research interests revolve around pre-modern body and movement cultures, especially late-medieval German martial arts, as well as embodied and self-reflective methodologies in the study of the past. Currently working as Assistant Professor at the University of Warsaw, he conducts parallel research projects on medieval martial culture and contemporary folk wrestling as part of intangible cultural heritage.