Session: #16

Theme & Session Format

Theme:
Archaeology of mountainous landscapes
Session format:
Other

Title & Content

Title:
The Materiality of High Altitudes and High Latitudes
Content:
Material culture depends on humans and humans depend on material culture. The entanglement between humans and things has for a long time been part of the archaeological agenda, also in medieval and post-medieval archaeology. However, the relation of material culture and people that live in marginal areas has hitherto received little attention. In the MERC Forum we invite medieval and post-medieval archaeologists to discuss with our Forum keynote speakers how material culture was part of the lives of people living in high altitudes (mountainous landscapes such as the Alps, the Scottish Highlands or the Pyrenees) and in high latitudes (roughly above c. 60° degree of latitude). Did people that live in such marginal areas have access to the same amount and quality of material culture necessary for survival than people living in cities and densely settled areas? What artefacts were considered essential for daily live, and did artefacts, which in other contexts would be considered luxury goods, enter these marginal areas too? How difficult was access to material culture and what sorts of material culture did they abstain from?
Keywords:
Medieval archaeology, Alpine landscapes, isolation, connection, trade, settlement
Session associated with MERC:
yes
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:

Organisers

Main organiser:
Carlo Citter (Italy) 1
Co-organisers:
Dries Tys (Belgium) 2
Affiliations:
1. Siena University
2. Vrije Universiteit Brussel