An Introduction To The Meaning of Cultural Memory and Cultural Formation In Prehistoric Archaeology

Culture in the sense of all material and spiritual expressions from the past and present made by man surrounds us every day. Its perception, however, is strongly influenced by personal interests, and the same applies to the way we are dealing with it. The cultural scientists Aleida and Jan Assmann regard human legacies in pictorial and written form as well as in the form of intangible creations (intangible cultural heritage), which still influence or shape our world view today, as cultural memory and part of the collective memory. Cultural memory manifests itself in different ways, in Europe for example it has different characteristics than in East Asia. In Prehistoric Archaeology, the emergence of culture(s) and cultural memory can be grasped solely through material legacies. In general, it can be stated that archaeological research focuses on the acquisition of information regarding past forms of human organization on a social, economic, artistic and spiritual level. In doing so, archaeological research makes a particular contribution to the study of our cultural memory, the cultural formation and the cornerstones of modern society in all of their different forms. The contribution aims to provide an insight into the various aspects that arise in the field of research in Prehistoric Archeology in relation to the question of cultural memory and cultural formation.