In Search of the Irish Dreamtime Hardcover by J. P. Mallory

Product Details

• Publisher: Thames and Hudson (2016-05-17)
• Language: English
• Paperback: 320 pages
• ISBN-13: 9780500051849
• Item Weight: 680.4 grams
• Dimensions: 24.38 x 16.51 x 2.79 cm

Ireland's oldest traditions excavated via archaeological, genetic, and linguistic research, culminating in atruly groundbreaking publication

Following his account of Irish origins drawing on archaeology, genetics, and linguistics, J. P. Mallory returns to the subject to investigate what he calls the Irish Dreamtime: the native Irish retelling of their own origins, as related by medieval manuscripts. He explores the historical backbone of this version of the earliest history of Ireland, which places apparently mythological events on a concrete timeline of invasions, colonization, and royal reigns that extends even further back in time than the history of classical Greece. The juxtaposition of traditional Dreamtime tales and scientific facts expands on what we already know about the way of life in Iron Age Ireland.

By comparing the world depicted in the earliest Irish literary tradition with the archaeological evidence available on the ground, Mallory explores Ireland’s rich mythological tradition and tests its claims to represent reality.

About the Author

J. P. Mallory is a world expert on the interconnection of archaeology and linguistics and is the author of In Search of the Indo-Europeans and The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World. He has published numerous other works, including the acclaimed The Origins of the Irish. He is emeritus professor of prehistoric archaeology at Queen's University Belfast and a member of the Royal Irish Academy.