Zeit, Erinnerung und Geschichte

Was there a historical consciousness in prehistoric times, and how would can it be traced by archaeological methods? In order to elucidate this question, I firstly try to define the various meanings of the term "time", as used by archaeologists. In the second part of the present article, I look at the connection between individual, collective memory and different types of history and historical narratives. The definitions of "historical consciousness" and "historical interpretation", and their use for non-literate societies are discussed. The typological method of dating by stylistic change has prevented an analysis of the speed of change in prehistoric societies. Dendro- and radiocarbon-dates can be used to date the speed of stylistic changes, but this has been scarcely been used so far. Dating individual artefacts and an enquiry into the re-use of "old" finds and monuments enables us to make sense of the relation prehistoric peoples had to their past