Session: #482

Theme & Session Format

Theme:
4. Waterscapes: archaeology and heritage of fresh waters
Session format:
Regular session

Title & Content

Title:
New and Interdisciplinary Approaches in the Research of Prehistoric Waterborne Communication and Exchange along European Rivers, Lakes and Coastal Waters [PaM]
Content:
It should largely be agreed that in the Early and Middle Holocene the communication and transport routes were mainly based on the intra-European water network and coastlines. However, it is still unclear in what form this exchange of goods, ideas and individuals took place and which vessels were available. In northern Europe, paddles are documented as a means of propulsion for the Preboreal, but boats have only been found for the late Boreal. It is therefore still being discussed whether, instead of dugouts, frame boats were already being used, but archaeological evidence is difficult.
Human adaptive and innovative ability to conquer new ecological niches and to respond to environmental changes with technical innovations has led to the invention of new boatbuilding technologies and the development of well-organized mobility strategies. Mobility is a basic requirement for the exchange not only of material goods, but also of knowledge and ideas and thus of great importance for the socio-economic, cultural and socio-political systems at that time. Cultural constraints, behavioral interactions and social norms could have regulated mobility and communication. Technology and ergology can express the identity of a group and provide insights into contacts and communication between different prehistoric societies.
This session aims to deepen current knowledge within the framework of local, supra-regional, and diachronic development and application of waterborne transport and communication as well as other linked activities. In locations where direct evidence is insufficient, various forms of indirect evidence are employed. Therefore, apart from studies utilising archaeological sources, we would also like to encourage researchers contributing with studies applying analogous data, from the viewpoint of, e.g., ethnography, anthropology, and ethnohistory to help build reference frames and further our understanding about waterborne transport and communication as a phenomenon and its dynamics in the long term.
Keywords:
Waterborne Transport and communication, Early watercraft, Hunter-Gatherer, Early farmer, Fishermen, Stone Age
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no
Session associated with CAA:
no
Session associated with DGUF:
no
Session associated with other:
PaM

Organisers

Main organiser:
Harald Luebke (Germany) 1
Co-organisers:
Ronald Bockius (Germany) 2
Miran Erič (Slovenia) 3
Affiliations:
1. ZBSA - Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology, Schleswig, Germany
2. RGZM - Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Archäologie, Mainz, Germany
3. ZVKDS - Institute for the protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia