Session: #369

Content:

As biogeochemical applications in archaeology have increased dramatically over the years, isotopic studies are being used to address a wide range of questions related to prehistoric human (and animal) behavior. Larger, multi-isotope and multi-site/cemetery data sets have shifted the focus from site-level analyses to much broader narratives related to trade patterns, subsistence strategies, migration, and social organization. These studies are often collaborative, multidisciplinary, and integrated with several other lines of data (such as aDNA, skeletal data, material culture, radiocarbon dating, etc.). This integration of scientific techniques at large scales has been associated with a ‘Third Scientific Revolution’ in the field of Archaeology whereby theoretical paradigms (i.e, processual and post-processual approaches) may be reexamined and reimagined.
In this session we invite papers that reflect on the ways that isotopic studies are currently being used in archaeological interpretations and narratives in Eurasian prehistory. Specifically, we seek studies that have used isotopic data to go beyond local versus non-local dichotomies, and either generate or test models of prehistoric human behavior at regional or multi-temporal scales. Questions to consider include: In what ways can isotope data uniquely contribute to our current understanding of human movement and interaction in the past? How have these data been successfully (or unsuccessfully) coupled with other lines of evidence? What are the continued challenges and limitations to biogeochemical approaches? In what ways have isotopic studies impacted the theoretical orientation of Eurasian Archaeologists?

Session: #369

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