The Familiar Past surveys material culture from 1500 to the present day. Fourteen case studies, grouped under related topics, include discussion of issues such as:
* the origins of modernity in urban contexts
* the historical anthropology of food
* the social and spatial construction of country houses
* the social history of a workhouse site
* changes in memorial forms and inscriptions
* the archaeological treatment of gardens.
The Familiar Past has been structured as a teaching text and will be useful to students of history and archaeology.