Theme:
1. The Material Record: Current Trends and Future Directions
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Exploring Wetland Settlements: Archaeological Research Methodologies and Empirical Insights
Content:
This session explores the invaluable insights offered by wetland settlements; an exceptional but challenging data source compared to dryland conditions. The recovered information from these sites plays a pivotal role in reconstructing the life of past communities.
Our session focuses on archaeological research methods applied to investigate wetland contexts. We invite papers focusing on methodologies to reconstruct various facets of everyday life within these settlements, encompassing human-environment interactions, interpersonal relationships, settlement origins and evolution, distinctive features.
The session encourages both traditional and innovative methodologies, with an empirical emphasis on direct contextual knowledge acquisition. We particularly encourage papers highlighting scientific innovations and advancements in research methods, such as but not limited to the following:
- Dendrochronology and dendrotypology (which, due the traditional approach and scientific innovation, are useful for defining the shape and size of structures and settlements, as well as for understanding the dynamics of forest management);
- Material distribution in space (which, with the use of GIS and statistics methods, helps us to understand the different areas of use within the structure and settlement or the connections between different communities);
- Micromorphology (which can enhance our knowledge in understanding phenomena that may influence the entire settlement life, such as lake level fluctuations, to more specific situations, like hearth components extracted form thin sections).
Embracing a pragmatic approach, alternative methodologies and approaches beyond those specified are most welcome. While the geographical focus is on Central and Southern Europe, and especially the Alpine area linked to the serial, transborder UNESCO World Heritage "Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps" and the Mediterranean regions, case studies from other areas are encouraged. The session targets the Neolithic and Bronze Age facilitating meaningful cross-contributory comparisons.
Keywords:
wetland archaeology, lake dwellings, methodology, Neolithic, Bronze 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:
Main organiser:
Giulia Di Giamberardino (Italy) 1
Co-organisers:
Albert Hafner (Switzerland) 2
Claudia Mangani (Italy) 3
Martin Hinz (Germany) 2
Affiliations:
1. Sapienza Università di Roma
2. Universität Bern
3. Museo Civico Archeologico "Giovanni Rambotti"
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