Session: #303

Workshop

The fragility of the earthen architectural record entails some difficulties in identifying constructive processes and related social practices. With this workshop, we aim to share real cases from archaeological and ethnographic contexts, as well as from experimental studies, to jointly analyse the evidence. We also want to discuss and share proposals and solutions that allow us to reflect on our interpretations of past societies. We are looking for case studies that address the chaîne opératoire of broad archaeological construction processes, from the procurement, selection, preparation, transformation and production of building materials (including recipes) to their storage, protection, reuse, transport and exchange.
This session is complementary to Session 202 “Using earthen architecture as an excuse: Productive and social practices in Prehistoric and Protohistoric building”. It aims to be a practical workshop where participants share the archaeological materials they bring and try to resolve together any doubts that may have arisen in the theoretical Session 202. However, other proposals not in the theoretical session can also be accepted. As we do not wish to focus here only on Prehistory or Protohistory, we accept papers from any era as long as the material presented is raw earth. At this point, we refer to the identification of earthen materials (from a macroscopic view to a microscopic approach, including XRD, XRF, FTIR, petrology, etc.), paying attention to imprints, decoration and composition to understand the different construction techniques (wattle and daub, cob, mud brick, etc.), as well as earthen furniture, roofs/ceilings, etc.
Depending on the facilities available, attendees will be informed about the format: whether they can bring the materials, thin sections, etc., or only high-resolution photographs.

Construction techniques, Daub, Mud elements, Imprints, Interpretation

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NEEDS: High-definition projector,Tables/desks,Classroom that can get “dirty” and get dark (not a main hall without desks) COMMENTS: If both sessions were accepted (#202 and this), please do not schedule them at the same time. If possible, we would also like that the workshop goes after the theoretical session.

Alejandra Sánchez Polo (Spain) ¹

Marta Mateu Sagués (Spain) ²
Lucía Ruano Posada (Spain) ³
María Pastor Quiles (Spain) ⁴
Pierre Péfau (France) ⁵