Session: #45

Theme & Session Format

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

Title & Content

Title:
Interpreting Neolithic Lifeways: The Impact of Current Theoretical Knowledge and Multidisciplinary Approaches on Understandings of Neolithic Europe and Western Asia
Content:
Archaeologists often attempt to study Neolithisation solely in terms of subsistence mode and treat it as a ‘package’ that includes a linear transition to the domestication of crops and animals, and the appearance of settled lifestyles and technologically advanced materials. This ‘package’ is usually accompanied by the emergence of complex social organisation, population growth, and the development of cultural innovation. However, current scientific evidence from Western Asia and Europe indicates that Neolithisation occurred in a multiplicity of time, space, and place. Consequently, the need for a reconsideration of current scientific methodologies and theoretical understanding, alongside the application of multidisciplinary methods, is increasingly warranted. This includes the study of mortuary records, which play a fundamental role in understanding Neolithic lifeways by providing insights into the socio-economic, political and cultural dynamics of these communities. Information on population origins, genetic connections, dietary intake, population profiles, and chronologies of site use can all be derived from the scientific analysis of human remains, while investigations of funerary rites can reveal aspects of the world views and ideologies of these past people.

This session welcomes papers focussing on the following: -
(i) What does current scientific evidence tell us about Neolithisation processes in Western Asia and Europe?
(ii) How can multidisciplinary studies, that integrate theoretical and methodological approaches, help us understand Neolithic lifeways in Europe and Western Asia?
(iii) How can scientific techniques (e.g. isotopes, aDNA, radiocarbon dating GIS), and mortuary studies aid our understanding of early farming communities?
Keywords:
Neolithic lifeways, Multi-disciplinary, Scientific, Theoretical, Western Asia, Europe
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:
Yasemin Menemenli (Sweden) 1
Co-organisers:
Lisa White (United Kingdom) 2
Affiliations:
1. Umeå University
2. Queen's University Belfast