Session: #202

Theme & Session Format

Theme:
1. Artefacts, Buildings & Ecofacts
Session format:
Regular session

Title & Content

Title:
Using Earthen Architecture as an Excuse: Productive and Social Practices in Prehistoric and Protohistoric Building
Content:
This session aims to tackle the archaeological detection and study of productive and social activities and practices involved in building processes during prehistoric and protohistoric times. For this we acknowledge the central role of studying earthen architectural remains and structures and all the information they may contain, also about other building components. At the same time, we intend to use earthen architecture as an excuse to explore the whole range of building materials available, such as wood, wattle, grass, stone, etc.
We seek case studies that address the chaîne opératoire of pre- and protohistoric building processes, from obtaining, selecting, preparing, transforming, and producing construction materials (including recipes), to their storage, protection, reuse, transport, and exchange. Also the steps and gestures involved in the construction itself, decoration of the built spaces and structures, use and maintenance. Finally, the abandonment of buildings and related practices can also be part of the discussion.
Multidisciplinary contributions coming from different methodological approaches are welcome, especially those focused on social practices of building activities, from macro to microscopic analyses, like geochemistry, archaeobotany, or archaeometry. We are also looking for presentations from experimental archaeology or ethnoarchaeology, which can provide insight in aspects such as choosing and preparing the space for a new building, on foundation, inauguration or “coronation” practices (a less known part of the building processes that can also leave a material trace, through offerings and additions, and be detected in archaeological contexts).
We seek to bring together diverse research around these topics, from case studies to comparative analyses and synthesis with a wider scope, trying to shed light also on the environmental, material as well as cultural and identity factors behind specific building practices.
This session will be complemented with the Workshop “Unsolved case studies of earthen architectural remains: a workshop to share experiences”.
Keywords:
Construction, Building technology, chaîne opératoire, economic activities, social organisation, multidisciplinary approaches
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:

Organisers

Main organiser:
María Pastor Quiles (Spain) 1
Co-organisers:
Lucía Ruano Posada (Spain) 2
Alejandra Sánchez Polo (Spain) 3
Marta Mateu Sagués (Spain) 4
Pierre Péfau (France) 5
Affiliations:
1. Universidad de Alicante
2. Universidad Complutense de Madrid
3. Universidad de Salamanca
4. Institut Català d’Arqueologia Clàssica
5. Université Toulouse Jean Jaurès