Session: #405

Content:

The Middle Ages was a period characterized by cultural and economic transformations at multiple levels that fundamentally transformed societies after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Traditionally, historical research on these processes has paid particular attention to the emergence of new political powers or the main economic developments. However, this top down view can obscure transformations caused by population movements and immigrations, conquests and ‘reconquests’ and contacts and exchanges between different ethnic, religious or cultural groups (i.e. social changes).
Archaeological approaches to understanding the shaping of the medieval world have gathered increased interest over the last decades due in part to the new importance of the role played by bioarchaeological techniques such as archaeobotany, zooarchaeology and biomolecular analysis. Bioarchaeological studies often focus on the domestic economy, that is less often approached by traditional historical research. This session aims to bring together researchers who have an interest in the analysis of medieval period from a bioarchaeological perspective and whose studies contribute to the understanding of the main role played by social changes. Topics that might be addressed include:
• Transitions into the Post-Roman period.
• Role of socio-economical changes in food and agricultural dynamics.
• Application of new bioarcheological techniques or a critique of present applications.
• Integration of comparative approaches (bioarchaeology, archaeology, textual sources).

Session: #405

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