Session: #340

Content:

Archaeology of war and armed conflicts has often focused on the actors and weapons of war, placing strong emphasis on the conflicts themselves, and less on their consequences and resolutions. Considering the current political climate in the world, with several ongoing conflicts and new ones emerging, archaeology as a discipline needs to address the precarity and consequences of armed conflicts for the different parties involved.

The goal of this session is to examine the visibility of the short-term and long-term social consequences of armed conflicts in the archaeological record from Prehistory to the Early Modern Period. The consequences on the defeated side can, but do not necessarily have to, lead to poor diets or bad health conditions, physical trauma, and higher mortality rates, all of which can be visible in the osteoarchaeological record. Conversely, the victorious community can benefit from plundered resources, which can translate into wealth, opulence and better conditions of life, at least of some of its members. Furthermore, armed conflicts can result in migrations of varying scales, either through forced displacement or deportation. These are well-documented in written sources from historical periods but are less apparent in other periods where we rely solely on the archaeological and osteoarchaeological record.

Last but not least, armed conflicts can, to varying degrees, result in the destruction of settlements and landscapes, making places less hospitable or more precarious to live in. All of the above strongly indicates that understanding the trauma caused by war requires an examination of its corporeal and material components. We invite contributions that address these issues and those that attempt to answer which individuals and groups benefit the most and which suffer the most in the aftermath of war.

Session: #340

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