Theme:
5. All Roads Lead to Rome: Multiscalar Interactions
Session format:
Regular session
Title:
Them and Us: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Identity, Community, and ?Otherness? in the Medieval World
Content:
What is ‘identity’ and what gives an individual the sense of belonging to one human group or another? Is the perception of one’s identity a subjective or an objective matter, and what makes a group of people a ‘minority’? These questions, foundational to the study and understanding of human societies, often recur in archaeological debates but are also somewhat avoided by researchers because of their potentially controversial socio-political and cultural implications.
During the Middle Ages dramatic cultural, religious, political, genetic, and linguistic exchanges among populations across the globe led to the formation of collective identities, in concurrence with the retention, or persecution, of minorities. Such complex, multi-scalar biocultural processes, sometimes reflected, but, more often, not immediately apparent in the archaeological context, are the focus of this interdisciplinary session. We welcome case studies exploring the fascinating phenomenon of identity formation in the medieval period as the result of both conflicting and balancing forces. Advances in archaeological sciences and biomolecular technologies have undoubtedly facilitated the identification of trends and patterns of cultural and biological diversity. However, today more than ever, cross- and inter-disciplinary cooperation, communication, and the contextual analysis of archaeological and biomolecular data are paramount to successful results.
We seek to bring together scholars, researchers, and professionals who have identified trends and new perspectives in the study of the medieval world through both traditional and ground-breaking approaches to the observation, recording, analysis, and interpretation of the archaeological context. The session will accept contributions investigating the following (but not limited to):
- Multi- and cross- disciplinary approaches to the study of biocultural diversity.
- The coexistence and co-dependency of socio-cultural groups as the result of non-linear power dynamics.
- Processes of identity formation and tools for the detection of pluralities.
Keywords:
Medieval Archaeology, Material Culture, Bioarchaeology, Isotopes, Archaeogenetics, Identity
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:
Annamaria Diana (Ireland) 1
Co-organisers:
Daniela Marcu Istrate (Romania) 2
Alice Toso (Germany) 3
Affiliations:
1. Independent researcher/Terra Ultra Silvam Archaeology
2. Institutul de Arheologie 'V. Parvan', Bucharest
3. Bonn Center for ArchaeoSciences (BoCAS), Institut für Archäologie und Kulturanthropologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität
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