Contemporary faces of the past (Współczesne oblicza przeszłości) refer to its numerous manifestations in today’s world as well as means of its functioning, using, manifesting, and presenting. These are often far distances from discourses produced in professional academic milieu. The past belongs more to the present than the past itself. Accordingly, the past is always the present. Contemporary world is believed to be characterized by an increasing fascination of the past and it often defined as the era of memory, remembering and nostalgia for the past. A vita role in this respect is ascribed to material relicts of the past known today as archaeological heritage.
The book is divided into three blocks. Its first part ‘Faces of the past in archaeological practices. Theoretical background’ contains chapters addressing means and processes of producing narrativized images of the past by professional archaeological. The second part entitled ‘Faces of the past in narrations of today’ is composed of chapters discussing various means of creaking visions of the past by different stakeholders and their further valorization and use. The last part ‘Faces of the past and its social consumption’ presents a wide range of case studies discussing strategies of presenting the past during excavations, archaeological festivals, reconstructions and in thematic parks. Impact of archaeological heritage upon different social groups as well as presentation of the past in traditional and electronic media are also discussed.