Contemporary archaeological landscapes. What will we leave behind after the end of times?

Abstract

The article describes a case study of archeological sites – deserted Lemko villages. Villages in the Lower Beskids have been exposed to forces of nature for over 70 years, thus they can be regarded as a post-apocalyptic landscape in the full and literal sense of the word. The topic refers to the state of preservation of various elements of material culture in the context of landscape memory as well as care about cultural heritage. On such grounds the author speculates on the possibility of adding the archeological view to the discussion about possible realities of post-apocalyptic worlds in literature, art and media, as well as entropy of contemporary material culture.