The Public Journal of Semiotics II(2), July 2008, pp. 73-102 The spatial dimension of history: propagation of historical knowledge via open-air museums, leisure parks and motion pictures Ulf Ickerodt Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie Dept. für Kulturgeschichte und Kulturkunde der Universität Hamburg Edmund-Siemers-Allee 1, West D - 20146 Hamburg
[email protected] Abstract Man's environment is full of references to history. Archaeological sites and cultural landscapes are examples. History is a constituent of our social identity. In this sense, on a social level, it has an integrating function and helps to structure and canalize social behaviour. In this paper we shall ex- amine, taking archaeological sites, open-air museums, leisure parks and motion pictures as examples, how this form of promotion of history works and what effect it has on society. Keywords: progress thinking, history promotion, space & time percep- tion, social identity, sociology & ethics of science 1 Introduction The propagation of archaeological knowledge via staged archaeological sites, open-air museums, leisure parks and films makes use of a reconstructed archae- ological/historical environment. While designing such places, one is trained to concentrate on the “in-situ” quality of the site in order to provide the public with a feeling for the orig- inal site documented by archaeological fieldwork. Recent examples include the Viking settlement of Haithabu in northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein) (Ickerodt 2007:269 Fig. 4), where more reconstructions of the original build- ings are being erected, and the Hahnenkooper-Mühle, a Bronze Age long-house at Rodenkirchen, Lower Saxony (Ickerodt 2007:269 Fig.5), as well as the re- constructions of Stone Age dwellings at the Hitzacker Archaeological Centre (Archäologischen Zentrum Hitzacker), Lower Saxony.