- Dr. Manuel Fernández-Götz
Reader in Archaeology
School of History, Classics and Archaeology
University of Edinburgh
William Robertson Wing
Old Medical School, Teviot Place
Edinburgh
EH8 9AG
United Kingdom
Email: M.Fernandez-Gotz@ed.ac.uk
- Archaeological Method & Theory, Social Identity, Archaeological Theory, Ethnoarchaeology, Gender Archaeology, Celtic Archaeology, and 11 moreTheoretical Archaeology, Archaeology of ethnicity, Iron Age Iberian Peninsula (Archaeology), History of Archeology, Political Organization, Oppida, History, Classics: Ancient History and Archaeology, Roman Archaeology, Lynn Meskell, and Ian Hodderedit
- Head of Archaeology, University of Edinburgh. I studied at the universities of Seville, Madrid and Kiel, completing... moreHead of Archaeology, University of Edinburgh.
I studied at the universities of Seville, Madrid and Kiel, completing my binational PhD between 2008 and 2011. The aim of my thesis was to analyse the evolution of Iron Age communities in northeast Gaul, and in particular in the Middle Rhine-Moselle region, giving special consideration to questions of social identity. During this period, I also participated in numerous field projects in Germany, France, Spain and Portugal.
After finishing my doctorate, I worked as coordinator of the Heuneburg project at the State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Württemberg (2011-2013), directing research at one of the most famous archaeological sites in Europe. I joined the University of Edinburgh in 2013, when I was appointed as Chancellor's Fellow/Lecturer in Archaeology. In 2016 I was awarded the prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prize, and in 2017 I was promoted to Reader. Since 2019 I am Head of the Archaeology Subject Area.
I have also held visiting scholar positions at University College London (2008), the VU University Amsterdam (2009), the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris (2010), the Römisch-Germanische Kommission of the German Archaeological Institute in Frankfurt (2007 and 2011), the Excellence Cluster TOPOI in Berlin (2014), Keble College at the University of Oxford (2018), the Joukowsky Institute at Brown University (2019), and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research at Cambridge University (2019). As part of the Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility programme, I have taught as visiting staff at Peking University (2017) and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (2018).
Recent fieldwork projects include the sites of Monte Bernorio, Huerta Varona, Sasamon and Puig Ciutat in Spain, Ardoch in Scotland, and Arras in England. Since 2018 I co-direct research at the Early Iron Age site of Kaptol and its surroundings (Croatia).
I have authored more than 200 publications on Iron Age societies in Central and Western Europe, the archaeology of identities, and the archaeology of the Roman conquest.edit
The majority of humanity have lived out their lives in a ‘rural’ context, and even in our increasingly urbanised world almost half of the global population still live in rural areas. In the European Iron Age, the vast mass of the... more
The majority of humanity have lived out their lives in a ‘rural’ context, and even in our increasingly urbanised world almost half of the global population still live in rural areas. In the European Iron Age, the vast mass of the population clearly lived in small hamlets and farmsteads, and this overarching ‘rurality’ is important for understanding these societies. While there has been a pronounced focus in recent archaeological research on patterns of centralisation and urbanisation, there is a need to reincorporate ‘rural life’ or rurality into these discussions of how people lived.
This book is a contribution to the study of rural life in Iron Age Europe, collating case studies extending from southern Spain to northern Scotland and from Denmark to the Balkans. Papers are grouped thematically to open up cross-regional comparisons, ranging across studies of buildings, farms – the basic unit of Iron Age life consisting of its inhabitants, its livestock and associated agricultural lands – to wider settlement patterns and land use strategies.
The 29 papers in this volume discuss the disposition, form and organisation of rural settlements, as well as underlying social and economic networks, illustrating both the variability between regions, and also common themes in cultural, economic and social interactions. This volume provides an up-to-date overview of current research, presenting new results for the Iron Age specialist as well as a wider audience interested in the rich tapestry of rural settlement in Europe.
This book is a contribution to the study of rural life in Iron Age Europe, collating case studies extending from southern Spain to northern Scotland and from Denmark to the Balkans. Papers are grouped thematically to open up cross-regional comparisons, ranging across studies of buildings, farms – the basic unit of Iron Age life consisting of its inhabitants, its livestock and associated agricultural lands – to wider settlement patterns and land use strategies.
The 29 papers in this volume discuss the disposition, form and organisation of rural settlements, as well as underlying social and economic networks, illustrating both the variability between regions, and also common themes in cultural, economic and social interactions. This volume provides an up-to-date overview of current research, presenting new results for the Iron Age specialist as well as a wider audience interested in the rich tapestry of rural settlement in Europe.
Research Interests:
Interlacing varied approaches within Historical Ecology, this volume offers new routes to researching and understanding human–environmental interactions and the heterarchical power relations that shape both socioecological change and... more
Interlacing varied approaches within Historical Ecology, this volume offers new routes to researching and understanding human–environmental interactions and the heterarchical power relations that shape both socioecological change and resilience over time. Historical Ecology draws from archaeology, archival research, ethnography, the humanities and the biophysical sciences to merge the history of the Earth’s biophysical system with the history of humanity.
Considering landscape as the spatial manifestation of the relations between humans and their environments through time, the authors in this volume examine the multi-directional power dynamics that have shaped settlement, agrarian, monumental and ritual landscapes through the long-term field projects they have pursued around the globe.
Examining both biocultural stability and change through the longue durée in different regions, these essays highlight intersectionality and counterpoised power flows to demonstrate that alongside and in spite of hierarchical ideologies, the daily life of power is heterarchical. Knowledge of transtemporal human–environmental relationships is necessary for strategizing socioecological resilience. Historical Ecology shows how the past can be useful to the future.
Considering landscape as the spatial manifestation of the relations between humans and their environments through time, the authors in this volume examine the multi-directional power dynamics that have shaped settlement, agrarian, monumental and ritual landscapes through the long-term field projects they have pursued around the globe.
Examining both biocultural stability and change through the longue durée in different regions, these essays highlight intersectionality and counterpoised power flows to demonstrate that alongside and in spite of hierarchical ideologies, the daily life of power is heterarchical. Knowledge of transtemporal human–environmental relationships is necessary for strategizing socioecological resilience. Historical Ecology shows how the past can be useful to the future.
Research Interests:
Enclosures are among the most widely distributed features of the European Iron Age. From fortifications to field systems, they demarcate territories and settlements, sanctuaries and central places, burials and ancestral grounds. This... more
Enclosures are among the most widely distributed features of the European Iron Age. From fortifications to field systems, they demarcate territories and settlements, sanctuaries and central places, burials and ancestral grounds. This dividing of the physical and the mental landscape between an ‘inside’ and an ‘outside’ is investigated anew in a series of essays by some of the leading scholars on the topic. The contributions cover new ground, from Scotland to Spain, between France and the Eurasian steppe, on how concepts and communities were created as well as exploring specific aspects and broader notions of how humans marked, bounded and guarded landscapes in order to connect across space and time.
A recurring theme considers how Iron Age enclosures created, curated, formed or deconstructed memory and identity, and how by enclosing space, these communities opened links to an earlier past in order to understand or express their Iron Age presence. In this way, the contributions examine perspectives that are of wider relevance for related themes in different periods.
This book is presented as a Festschrift to Ian Ralston, Abercromby Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, in celebration of his work. Its scope reflects the geographical and chronological range of Ian Ralston’s research and wider personal and professional networks. The contributions in this volume – offered by some of his many friends, colleagues and former students and in many cases developed from collaborative work with him – introduce new ideas and discoveries that open new ground for future studies on Europe’s age of enclosure.
A recurring theme considers how Iron Age enclosures created, curated, formed or deconstructed memory and identity, and how by enclosing space, these communities opened links to an earlier past in order to understand or express their Iron Age presence. In this way, the contributions examine perspectives that are of wider relevance for related themes in different periods.
This book is presented as a Festschrift to Ian Ralston, Abercromby Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, in celebration of his work. Its scope reflects the geographical and chronological range of Ian Ralston’s research and wider personal and professional networks. The contributions in this volume – offered by some of his many friends, colleagues and former students and in many cases developed from collaborative work with him – introduce new ideas and discoveries that open new ground for future studies on Europe’s age of enclosure.
Research Interests:
"Manuel Fernández-Götz’s book unifies in an exemplary way written and archaeological sources, and adds new explanatory depth to the emergence of ethnicity and migration. The book shows the strength of a theoretically informed... more
"Manuel Fernández-Götz’s book unifies in an exemplary way written and archaeological sources, and adds new explanatory depth to the emergence of ethnicity and migration. The book shows the strength of a theoretically informed interdisciplinary approach in archaeology. As such it is an outstanding contribution to our understanding of the Hallstatt and La Tène periods in Europe".
Professor Kristian Kristiansen, University of Gothenburg.
"Manuel Fernández-Götz’s detailed study offers a wide-ranging, markedly new overview of the development of later Iron Age societies of northeastern Gaul, more particularly the Moselle-Middle Rhine sector; this is focused on the key themes of power and identity. His anthropologically-informed approach sets the developments of the period into wider perspectives, extending back to the late Hallstatt world and on to the transformations accompanying ‘Romanisation’. This overview is destined to become both a key source for the comprehension of the regional record and, perhaps more importantly, a vade mecum for further consideration, both theoretical and practical, of his central topics within temperate European Iron Age studies".
Ian Ralston, Abercromby Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Edinburgh.
Professor Kristian Kristiansen, University of Gothenburg.
"Manuel Fernández-Götz’s detailed study offers a wide-ranging, markedly new overview of the development of later Iron Age societies of northeastern Gaul, more particularly the Moselle-Middle Rhine sector; this is focused on the key themes of power and identity. His anthropologically-informed approach sets the developments of the period into wider perspectives, extending back to the late Hallstatt world and on to the transformations accompanying ‘Romanisation’. This overview is destined to become both a key source for the comprehension of the regional record and, perhaps more importantly, a vade mecum for further consideration, both theoretical and practical, of his central topics within temperate European Iron Age studies".
Ian Ralston, Abercromby Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Edinburgh.
Research Interests:
In the past two decades, conflict archaeology has become firmly established as a promising field of research, as reflected in publications, symposia, conference sessions and fieldwork projects. It has its origins in the study of... more
In the past two decades, conflict archaeology has become firmly established as a promising field of research, as reflected in publications, symposia, conference sessions and fieldwork projects. It has its origins in the study of battlefields and other conflict-related phenomena in the modern Era, but numerous studies show that this theme, and at least some of its methods, techniques and theories, are also relevant for older historic and even prehistoric periods. This book presents a series of case studies on conflict archaeology in ancient Europe, based on the results of both recent fieldwork and a reassessment of older excavations. The chronological framework spans from the Neolithic to Late Antiquity, and the geographical scope from Iberia to Scandinavia. Along with key battlefields such as the Tollense Valley, Baecula, Alesia, Kalkriese and Harzhorn, the volume also incorporates many other sources of evidence that can be directly related to past conflict scenarios, including defensive works, military camps, battle-related ritual deposits and symbolic representations of violence in iconography and grave goods. The aim is to explore the material evidence for the study of warfare, and to provide new theoretical and methodological insights into the archaeology of mass violence in ancient Europe and beyond. Cover images: finds from the Thorsberger Moor (photo: Archäologisches Landesmuseum Schleswig, Schloss Gottorf); woman depicted in a scene of confrontation from the Neolithic site of El Civil (Valltorta, Castellón) (photo: E. López-Montalvo); Bronze Age skeletal remains under excavation at the Tollense Valley.
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In many regions of Europe and beyond, fortifications belong to the most impressive of archaeological remains. Their study has a long tradition and today a multitude of aspects about architecture, function or symbolism have been explored.... more
In many regions of Europe and beyond, fortifications belong to the most impressive of archaeological remains. Their study has a long tradition and today a multitude of aspects about architecture, function or symbolism have been explored. However, fortifications are generally examined in a temporally, regionally or culturally limited context. Going a step further, this volume aims to bring into focus concepts of fortifications, which can not only be socially, symbolically or functionally aligned, but also chronologically and supra-regionally. An important question is to determine which fortification elements are culture-specific, and which can be regarded as convergence or even universal phenomena. Adopting a comparative view, the central aim of the volume is to highlight the diversity and the structural similarities of ancient fortifications. The chronological framework goes from the Neolithic to the Late Iron Age, and the geographical scope extends from the Near East to the Iberian Peninsula.
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Our current world is characterized by life in cities, the existence of social inequalities, and increasing individualization. When and how did these phenomena arise? What was the social and economic background for the development of... more
Our current world is characterized by life in cities, the existence of social inequalities, and increasing individualization. When and how did these phenomena arise? What was the social and economic background for the development of hierarchies and the first cities? The authors of this volume analyze the processes of centralization, cultural interaction, and social differentiation that led to the development of the first urban centres and early state formations of ancient Eurasia, from the Atlantic coasts to China. The chronological framework spans a period from the Neolithic to the Late Iron Age, with a special focus on the early first millennium BC. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach structured around the concepts of identity and materiality, this book addresses the appearance of a range of key phenomena that continue to shape our world.
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The Heuneburg on the Upper Danube is one of the best-studied sites of the European Iron Age. Recent research has radically changed our traditional understanding of this central place, which in the 6th century BC covered an area of about... more
The Heuneburg on the Upper Danube is one of the best-studied sites of the European Iron Age. Recent research has radically changed our traditional understanding of this central place, which in the 6th century BC covered an area of about 100 hectares. As we argue in the book, the settlement can be classified as the first city north of the Alps. This volume has two main, interconnected aims: to provide the first synthesis in English on the archaeology of the Heuneburg and its surroundings, including the rich burial evidence and the hillforts in the vicinity; and to set the development of this important Early Iron Age site into the broader context of the centralisation and urbanisation processes of the Late Hallstatt period. The fi nal chapter includes an overview of the main contemporaneous sites in Temperate Europe, from Bourges and Mont Lassois in France to Závist in the Czech Republic.
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This edited volume focuses on long-term economic structures reflected in material culture, analysing the emergent processes that affected production mechanisms and embedded economic behaviour. It focuses on approaches and methods for... more
This edited volume focuses on long-term economic structures reflected in material culture, analysing the emergent processes that affected production mechanisms and embedded economic behaviour. It focuses on approaches and methods for ascertaining levels of societal complexity through the detection of the character and aspects of basic economic processes (involving food production, redistribution, exchange, and specialisation) common for most past European societies. The volume shows different ways in which we can approach these processes. From the more traditional methods like artefacts studies, comparative analysis of analogies and ethnographic parallels we are able to infer and develop theoretical models applied and tested through modern methods of computer modelling and social simulation. The wide range of presented papers allows a synthetic review of socio-economic developments throughout the long period from Late Prehistory to the Middle Ages against the background of spatial or social structures at a supra-regional level. The contributions included in this volume are believed to constitute a useful starting point for similar studies that try to combine long-term analysis with short-term developments transcending spatial and chronological barriers from a comparative perspective and bring together different research experiences.
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The 20 papers in this volume aim to bring together the latest continental and English-speaking research with contributions by well-established researchers and younger colleagues providing innovative perspectives. Contributions cover an... more
The 20 papers in this volume aim to bring together the latest continental and English-speaking research with contributions by well-established researchers and younger colleagues providing innovative perspectives. Contributions cover an area stretching from central Spain to Moravia and from southern France to Britain, including new overviews on key sites such as the Heuneburg, Mont Lassois, Manching or Bibracte. The aim has been to produce a work of reference for readers interested in Iron Age archaeology in particular, and in urbanisation processes in general.
Research Interests:
The 20 papers in this volume aim to bring together the latest continental and English-speaking research with contributions by well-established researchers and younger colleagues providing innovative perspectives. Contributions cover an... more
The 20 papers in this volume aim to bring together the latest continental and English-speaking research with contributions by well-established researchers and younger colleagues providing innovative perspectives. Contributions cover an area stretching from central Spain to Moravia and from southern France to Britain, including new overviews on key sites such as the Heuneburg, Mont Lassois, Manching or Bibracte. The aim has been to produce a work of reference for readers interested in Iron Age archaeology in particular, and in urbanisation processes in general.
Research Interests:
The theory and arguments clearly set out in this important work deserve to be widely read. Dr. Andrew Fitzpatrick, University of Leicester, Antiquity, Vol. 89 Issue 344 (2015) Manuel Fernández-Götz’s book unifies in an exemplary way... more
The theory and arguments clearly set out in this important work deserve to be widely read.
Dr. Andrew Fitzpatrick, University of Leicester, Antiquity, Vol. 89 Issue 344 (2015)
Manuel Fernández-Götz’s book unifies in an exemplary way written and archaeological sources, and adds new explanatory depth to the emergence of ethnicity and migration. The book shows the strength of a theoretically informed interdisciplinary approach in archaeology. As such it is an outstanding contribution to our understanding of the Hallstatt and La Tène periods in Europe.
Professor Kristian Kristiansen, University of Gothenburg
Manuel Fernández-Götz’s detailed study offers a wide-ranging, markedly new overview of the development of later Iron Age societies of northeastern Gaul, more particularly the Moselle-Middle Rhine sector; this is focused on the key themes of power and identity. His anthropologically-informed approach sets the developments of the period into wider perspectives, extending back to the late Hallstatt world and on to the transformations accompanying ‘Romanisation’. This overview is destined to become both a key source for the comprehension of the regional record and, perhaps more importantly, a vade mecum for further consideration, both theoretical and practical, of his central topics within temperate European Iron Age studies.
Ian Ralston, Abercromby Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Edinburgh
Dr. Andrew Fitzpatrick, University of Leicester, Antiquity, Vol. 89 Issue 344 (2015)
Manuel Fernández-Götz’s book unifies in an exemplary way written and archaeological sources, and adds new explanatory depth to the emergence of ethnicity and migration. The book shows the strength of a theoretically informed interdisciplinary approach in archaeology. As such it is an outstanding contribution to our understanding of the Hallstatt and La Tène periods in Europe.
Professor Kristian Kristiansen, University of Gothenburg
Manuel Fernández-Götz’s detailed study offers a wide-ranging, markedly new overview of the development of later Iron Age societies of northeastern Gaul, more particularly the Moselle-Middle Rhine sector; this is focused on the key themes of power and identity. His anthropologically-informed approach sets the developments of the period into wider perspectives, extending back to the late Hallstatt world and on to the transformations accompanying ‘Romanisation’. This overview is destined to become both a key source for the comprehension of the regional record and, perhaps more importantly, a vade mecum for further consideration, both theoretical and practical, of his central topics within temperate European Iron Age studies.
Ian Ralston, Abercromby Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Edinburgh
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"This book offers an extensive review of archaeological approaches to ethnicity, from Kossinnas’ cultural-historical method to the newest postprocessual trends. Thus it represents the first in-depth historiographical summary on a subject... more
"This book offers an extensive review of archaeological approaches to ethnicity, from Kossinnas’ cultural-historical method to the newest postprocessual trends. Thus it represents the first in-depth historiographical summary on a subject that has attracted a great deal of attention since the beginnings of archaeology as a discipline, often with considerable political implications.
Whereas earlier approaches of the so-called ‘ethnic-cultural paradigm’ established a simplistic equivalence between people, language and archaeological culture, the nationalist and racist manipulation of archaeology by totalitarian regimes brought understandable discredit on ethnic interpretations in the wake of World War Two. In the meantime, anthropology and sociology saw a series of fundamental developments, which led to a redefinition of the concept of ethnicity as a subjective, fluid and situational construction. In recent decades, this revised view has been adopted by an increasing number of archaeologists. Two main approaches can be distinguished within this ‘rebirth’ of the interest on ethnic issues: on the one hand, studies on the use of archaeology to construct contemporary identities; and on the other hand, case-studies which explore the limitations and potential of archaeological approaches to ethnicity. In this sense, the book ends with a series of theoretical-methodological pointers that are provided in order to reconsider the relationship between material culture and ethnic identity. The main conclusion is that there is a future for an ‘archaeology of ethnicity’, even if it lies down a very different road from the one used by traditional approaches.
ÍNDICE:
1. Introducción
2. El paradigma étnico-cultural
-Etnias y cultura material: una larga historia
-Hacia la construcción de una arqueología etnicista
-El «método Kossinna»
-El pensamiento de Kossinna: nacionalismo y racismo
-Un mosaico de «culturas»: el auge del paradigma étnico-cultural
-Arqueología y fascismo
3. Entre escepticismo arqueológico y eclosión antropológica
-El «síndrome de Kossinna»
-La nueva arqueología y sus críticas a las visiones normativistas de la cultura
-La redefinición del concepto de etnicidad en antropología y sociología
-Visiones de la etnicidad: primordialismo vs. instrumentalismo y objetivismo vs. subjetivismo
-Fredrik Barth y el desarrollo de la visión emic de la etnicidad
-¿Es posible una alternativa objetivista?
4. «Repensando» la etnicidad
-Symbols in action: hacia una nueva comprensión del estilo
-Etnicidad y arqueología: nuevas perspectivas
-La «revitalización» étnica
-Epílogo
5. Reflexiones y puntos de partida para una arqueología de la etnicidad
-Hacia la construcción de una arqueología de la etnicidad: reflexiones y perspectivas
-Emic/Etic: dos perspectivas complementarias
-La etnicidad reconsiderada: de la cultura arqueológica a los marcadores de identidad
-Propuesta para un análisis de la etnicidad protohistórica"
Whereas earlier approaches of the so-called ‘ethnic-cultural paradigm’ established a simplistic equivalence between people, language and archaeological culture, the nationalist and racist manipulation of archaeology by totalitarian regimes brought understandable discredit on ethnic interpretations in the wake of World War Two. In the meantime, anthropology and sociology saw a series of fundamental developments, which led to a redefinition of the concept of ethnicity as a subjective, fluid and situational construction. In recent decades, this revised view has been adopted by an increasing number of archaeologists. Two main approaches can be distinguished within this ‘rebirth’ of the interest on ethnic issues: on the one hand, studies on the use of archaeology to construct contemporary identities; and on the other hand, case-studies which explore the limitations and potential of archaeological approaches to ethnicity. In this sense, the book ends with a series of theoretical-methodological pointers that are provided in order to reconsider the relationship between material culture and ethnic identity. The main conclusion is that there is a future for an ‘archaeology of ethnicity’, even if it lies down a very different road from the one used by traditional approaches.
ÍNDICE:
1. Introducción
2. El paradigma étnico-cultural
-Etnias y cultura material: una larga historia
-Hacia la construcción de una arqueología etnicista
-El «método Kossinna»
-El pensamiento de Kossinna: nacionalismo y racismo
-Un mosaico de «culturas»: el auge del paradigma étnico-cultural
-Arqueología y fascismo
3. Entre escepticismo arqueológico y eclosión antropológica
-El «síndrome de Kossinna»
-La nueva arqueología y sus críticas a las visiones normativistas de la cultura
-La redefinición del concepto de etnicidad en antropología y sociología
-Visiones de la etnicidad: primordialismo vs. instrumentalismo y objetivismo vs. subjetivismo
-Fredrik Barth y el desarrollo de la visión emic de la etnicidad
-¿Es posible una alternativa objetivista?
4. «Repensando» la etnicidad
-Symbols in action: hacia una nueva comprensión del estilo
-Etnicidad y arqueología: nuevas perspectivas
-La «revitalización» étnica
-Epílogo
5. Reflexiones y puntos de partida para una arqueología de la etnicidad
-Hacia la construcción de una arqueología de la etnicidad: reflexiones y perspectivas
-Emic/Etic: dos perspectivas complementarias
-La etnicidad reconsiderada: de la cultura arqueológica a los marcadores de identidad
-Propuesta para un análisis de la etnicidad protohistórica"
Research Interests:
The Heuneburg in southwest Germany is one of the most important settlements of the European Iron Age. Between the late 7th and the mid 5th century BC the site was surrounded by impressive fortification systems, most notably the early 6th... more
The Heuneburg in southwest Germany is one of the most important settlements of the European Iron Age. Between the late 7th and the mid 5th century BC the site was surrounded by impressive fortification systems, most notably the early 6th century BC mudbrick wall on the hilltop plateau overlooking the Danube. However, recent research has also provided significant information on the fortifications of the so-called lower town. This contribution will provide an overview of the results from the extensive 2000-2008 excavations, which led to the revision of previous interpretations. Dendrochronological dates confirm the Hallstatt chronology of the banks and ditches that surround the plateau. Moreover, the discovery of a monumental gatehouse from the 6th century BC is an impressive testimony of the important symbolic role of the fortifications as emblems of community power and identity.
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Although the nuanced and complex nature of conflict in pre-literate societies like those documented in the West-Central European Iron Age before the arrival of the Romans has been acknowledged for some time, distinguishing between... more
Although the nuanced and complex nature of conflict in pre-literate societies like those documented in the West-Central European Iron Age before the arrival of the Romans has been acknowledged for some time, distinguishing between different types of violent interaction almost exclusively on the basis of material remains has been a challenge. The motivations and conditions for external vs. internal conflict have been even more difficult to identify but there is increasing evidence to suggest that bottom-up or factional conflict as well as small-scale raiding between archaeologically indistinguishable groups was at least as important as large-scale pitched battles of the kind documented by later Roman authors. This article reviews the current state of research on conflict in Iron Age West-Central Europe on the basis of several case studies that illustrate the importance of multi-scalar analyses of violent interaction in prehistory and the need to develop suitably contextual approaches for such studies.
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The last centuries BC were a period of profound changes across numerous regions of temperate Europe, witnessing the development of the fortified towns known as oppida and an expansion of socio-political networks and economic activities.... more
The last centuries BC were a period of profound changes across numerous regions of temperate Europe, witnessing the development of the fortified towns known as oppida and an expansion of socio-political networks and economic activities. In this paper, our aim is threefold: 1) summarize some current debates on Iron Age societal structures, 2) discuss the different levels of aggregation of Late Iron Age societies and their structuring through assemblies and central places and 3) introduce the historical example of the medieval "town and land" (villa y tierra) communities-administrative entities composed by different kinship groups-as a possible analogy that can help improve our understanding of the interconnections between kinship groups, towns and the rural world. Rather than providing clear answers or proofs for theoretical models, we have conceived this paper as a "food for thought" piece. The use of historical sources has been at the heart of Carole Crumley's work for many years (e.g. Crumley, 1974). While we will never be completely sure about "how Iron Age societies worked" (or did not, to paraphrase the title of Hill's 2006 paper), we should continue the endeavor of proposing new models based on an interdisciplinary approach.
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In Temperate Europe, the last two centuries BC were a period of increasing production, trade, and standardisation. Drawing on the insights provided by the concept of materiality and Foucault's conceptualisation of the dynamics of power,... more
In Temperate Europe, the last two centuries BC were a period of increasing production, trade, and standardisation. Drawing on the insights provided by the concept of materiality and Foucault's conceptualisation of the dynamics of power, this paper addresses the repercussions on the manufacture and circulation of objects and particularly on the construction and expression of identity through them. Anthropological and historical examples show that standardisation and specialisation are characteristic of more centralised and unequal forms of power, a relationship between larger and more complex populations and increasing simplification of operating chains being observed. The mass production of specific items like Nauheim brooches suggests that, compared with the notable variation and individualism of previous periods, these objects played a smaller role in transmitting information about the people who used and wore them. Moreover, the transformations are also reflected in terms of the structuring of space, with an increasing enclosing of the landscape that can be seen as a further expression of the capillary nature of power.
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Los mecanismos sociales que articularon las sociedades de la Edad del Hierro siguen siendo difíciles de comprender. En las últimas décadas, los modelos piramidales tradicionales han sido cuestionados por varios autores que abogan por la... more
Los mecanismos sociales que articularon las sociedades de la Edad del Hierro siguen siendo difíciles de comprender. En las últimas décadas, los modelos piramidales tradicionales han sido cuestionados por varios autores que abogan por la diversidad de las sociedades de la Edad del Hierro y la heterogeneidad de formas potenciales de configuración social. Crucial para la mayoría de los debates es el uso de analogías, con algunos autores que favorecen las fuentes históricas de la Europa medieval, mientras que otros privilegian ejemplos etnográficos de áreas alejadas del continente europeo. Si bien consideramos que ambos enfoques son legítimos, en este trabajo presentamos el ejemplo de las comunidades de "villa y tierra" medievales, particularmente el caso de Soria. Estas comunidades muestran un modelo de relaciones de parentesco, basado en estructuras organizativas transversales, que pueden ayudarnos a comprender los lazos y vínculos entre los habitantes de un paisaje según sus orígenes, lugar de residencia o familia. Por ello, argumentamos que la comunidad de villa y tierra de Soria podría servir como una analogía útil, aunque no una comparación directa, para conceptualizar las interrelaciones entre las áreas urbanas y rurales, así como para examinar la estructuración simultánea de grupos sociales en torno a los principios de parentesco y territorialidad en un contexto de urbanización emergente.
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Recent research has challenged the traditional dating of the oppida of the north-western Iberian Peninsula to the Roman period, showing that many of these sites originated in the late 2nd and 1st centuries BC. The oppidum of San Cibrán de... more
Recent research has challenged the traditional dating of the oppida of the north-western Iberian Peninsula to the Roman period, showing that many of these sites originated in the late 2nd and 1st centuries BC. The oppidum of San Cibrán de Las constitutes a key case-study for this discussion. The large-scale excavations of the last years have provided extensive information about the inner structure of the site, the layout of the houses, the fortifications, and the special significance of the area of the acropolis; the latter includes several sculptures of deities and religious inscriptions. However, the most important discovery is the long sequence of occupation revealed by a large sample of 14C dates. The use of the site starts several centuries before the foundation of the oppidum, seemingly related to the use of the acropolis for religious gatherings. A comparison with the archaeological evidence found at other major sites from temperate Europe, literary sources and regional place names points towards the crucial role of assemblies and religious festivals in the construction of collective identities and the development of early urbanism. The results have wide implications for our understanding of social aggregation processes in the Iron Age and beyond.
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In the bicentenary year of its excavation, remote sensing has revealed, for the first time, the full extent of this iconic type-site Iron Age cemetery and its landscape context in East Yorkshire. A total of 23ha was surveyed, revealing... more
In the bicentenary year of its excavation, remote sensing has revealed, for the first time, the full extent of this iconic type-site Iron Age cemetery and its landscape context in East Yorkshire. A total of 23ha was surveyed, revealing new insights concerning the burial ground and damage through modern farming.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/arras-200-revisiting-britains-most-famous-iron-age-cemetery/5149F60A7D3530A9EA0B2C6F3562B738
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/arras-200-revisiting-britains-most-famous-iron-age-cemetery/5149F60A7D3530A9EA0B2C6F3562B738
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As conflict archaeology has matured as a discipline, there have been calls for more unified analytical techniques. Several researchers advocate the adoption of codified analytical and planning concepts used by the United States Army. One... more
As conflict archaeology has matured as a discipline, there have been
calls for more unified analytical techniques. Several researchers
advocate the adoption of codified analytical and planning concepts
used by the United States Army. One of these concepts, KOCOA
Terrain Analysis, shows promise as a locational and analytical aid
in archaeological contexts. Defining terrain features are identified
and categorized according to well-defined terminology, allowing
for a detailed analysis of the effects of terrain on military operations.
KOCOA’s structure and codification render the concept transferable
between researchers and diachronically across different site types.
KOCOA has only rarely been utilized outside the United States and only
on historical battlefields. The ongoing archaeological research at the
Monte Bernorio oppidum (Palencia, Spain) provides an opportunity
to utilize KOCOA in a classical, proto-historical archaeological context.
calls for more unified analytical techniques. Several researchers
advocate the adoption of codified analytical and planning concepts
used by the United States Army. One of these concepts, KOCOA
Terrain Analysis, shows promise as a locational and analytical aid
in archaeological contexts. Defining terrain features are identified
and categorized according to well-defined terminology, allowing
for a detailed analysis of the effects of terrain on military operations.
KOCOA’s structure and codification render the concept transferable
between researchers and diachronically across different site types.
KOCOA has only rarely been utilized outside the United States and only
on historical battlefields. The ongoing archaeological research at the
Monte Bernorio oppidum (Palencia, Spain) provides an opportunity
to utilize KOCOA in a classical, proto-historical archaeological context.
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The existence of pre- and protohistoric ritual structures in highland locations is a characteristic phenomenon in several areas of the Cantabrian region. This paper analyses the evidence from Mata del Fraile, a group of tumuli located in... more
The existence of pre- and protohistoric ritual structures in highland locations is a characteristic phenomenon in several areas of the Cantabrian region. This paper analyses the evidence from Mata del Fraile, a group of tumuli located in the hinterland of the oppidum of Monte Bernorio. The recent excavation of two barrows has provided one stele as the only archaeological evidence associated with the structures. Taking these results as a starting point, an interpretation of these structures as ritual spaces that differ from burials strictly speaking is suggested.
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In the past two decades, conflict archaeology has become firmly established as a promising field of research. It has its origins in the study of battlefields and other conflict-related phenomena in the modern and pre-modern era, but... more
In the past two decades, conflict archaeology has become firmly established as a promising field of research. It has its origins in the study of battlefields and other conflict-related phenomena in the modern and pre-modern era, but numerous studies show that this theme, and at least some of its methods, techniques and theories, are also relevant for older historic and even prehistoric periods. This article summarizes some of the main theoretical and methodological approaches, with reference to selected examples from pre- and early historic Europe.
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Since the late 2nd century BC, large fortified sites known as oppida developed in the landscapes of temperate Europe. Many of these settlements can be classified as cities or towns, representing a phenomenon of early urbanisation that... more
Since the late 2nd century BC, large fortified sites known as oppida developed in the landscapes of temperate Europe. Many of these settlements can be classified as cities or towns, representing a phenomenon of early urbanisation that predates the Roman conquest. The oppida have been explored archaeologically since the 19th century, but new research is providing exciting information about aspects such as public spaces, sanctuaries and neighborhood organisation. Moreover, it is increasingly acknowledged that we need to take into account other forms of large, non-fortified agglomerations that in many cases preceded the oppida by some decades. The picture that emerges is much more complex than traditionally thought, allowing new insights into Late Iron Age societies. The Roman military conquest brought with it profound transformations, although with very different outcomes depending on the specific regions and sites.
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In his 1984 survey of multiple burials in prehistoric Europe, Claus Oeftiger noted that burials containing more than one individual are frequently found in richly outfitted chamber graves. The sample of multiple burials has grown... more
In his 1984 survey of multiple burials in prehistoric Europe, Claus Oeftiger noted that burials containing more than one individual are frequently found in richly outfitted chamber graves. The sample of multiple burials has grown exponentially in the intervening years and it may be time to revisit this mortuary category in light of new evidence. While most multiple burials contain two adults, often a female and a male, male/male, female/female and male/child or female/child combinations are also known. These configurations have traditionally been interpreted as reflecting familial relationships but recently excavated burials indicate that more complex associations for this category of burial are likely. We argue that the Early Iron Age elite multiple burial category should be re-evaluated with reference to ethnographic analogy, archaeological evidence from other areas of west-central Europe, and recent burials excavated in the vicinity of the Heuneburg.
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Within the framework of the DFG Priority Programme Frühkeltische Fürstensitze, the foundations of a monumental gateway in the area of the lower town (Vorburg) at the Heuneburg were discovered and fully excavated between 2005 and 2008. The... more
Within the framework of the DFG Priority Programme Frühkeltische Fürstensitze, the foundations of a monumental gateway in the area of the lower town (Vorburg) at the Heuneburg were discovered and fully excavated between 2005 and 2008. The gatehouse is 16 m long and had foundations of carefully jointed limestone blocks, that, based on the example of the mudbrick wall on the Heuneburg plateau, was probably surmounted by a clay-brick superstructure. Both the 4 m high bank that the gateway was built into, and the ditch in front of it, which was in turn crossed by a bridge, were planned to make as monumental an impression as possible. This contribution is not intended to provide a detailed description of the structure, but to analyse both the gateway and the ditch-and-bank system from the perspective of architectural sociology. This view understands the truly prestigious gatehouse –just like the mudbrick wall with its towers on the plateau– as elements of the constructed life-space and as a consciously conceived demonstration of power by the elites who reside here; but above all as a symbol of the community and its identity. In addition, conspicuous arrangements of lines of sight between the Heuneburg, the Gießübel-Talau necropolis and the Alte Burg near Langenenslingen suggest that more attention should be paid to the construction of the gateway and the monumental barrows from symbolic, ‘landscape architectural’ and ritual perspectives.
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This article offers the initial results of the archaeological fieldwork undertaken between 2014 and2016 at t he Roman site of Huerta Varona (Aguilar de Campoo, Palencia). These studies included a geophysical survey using... more
This article offers the initial results of the archaeological fieldwork undertaken between 2014 and2016 at t he Roman site of Huerta Varona (Aguilar de Campoo, Palencia). These studies included a geophysical survey using ground-penetrating radar and the opening of test trenches, allowing various buildings to be documented. The abundant pottery remains, including a large amount of terra sigillata, as well as some metal objects, indicate that the site was occupied between the end of the 1st century BC and Late Antiquity. It is, therefore, a population centre that appears to have emerged during or immediately after the Cantabrian Wars, in which the nearby oppidum of Monte Bernorio was destroyed, and it would have been occupied for several centuries. The study of Huerta Varona is crucial to our knowledge of the Roman period in the county of Campoo and, by extension, on the Central Cantabrian piedmont.
Keywords: Huerta Varona, Aguilar de Campoo, Cantabrian Wars, Roman imperial period, Terra sigillata pottery.
Keywords: Huerta Varona, Aguilar de Campoo, Cantabrian Wars, Roman imperial period, Terra sigillata pottery.
Research Interests: Archaeology, Roman History, Roman military archaeology, Roman military history, Roman Army, and 11 moreLate Roman Archaeology, Archaeology of Roman Hispania, Roman Frontiers (Archaeology), Roman Provincial Archaeology, Roman military archaelogy, Roman Architecture, Roman military equipment, Roman Military Architecture, Roman Military Archeology, Roman miilitary history and military equipment, and Roman Archaeology
Throughout ancient Eurasia, there are several cases where it is not possible to speak of a linear, continuous and gradual evolution over the course of protohistory from more decentralised and egalitarian forms to others that were more... more
Throughout ancient Eurasia, there are several cases where it is not possible to speak of a linear, continuous and gradual evolution over the course of protohistory from more decentralised and egalitarian forms to others that were more centralised and hierarchical. Although on a long-term perspective a trend towards growing socio-economic complexity can be seen, this was neither a teleological nor a linear process. Instead, it included cycles of regression, crisis, reduced hierarchisation and demographic decrease. Moreover, it must be assumed that the changes did not always take place peacefully and that internal or external conflict was often involved. The aim of this contribution is to approach the topic of Iron Age conflict by looking at the changing cycles of centralisation and decentralisation that took
place during the first millennium BC, and which were at least partly linked to dialectical tensions within and between communities.
place during the first millennium BC, and which were at least partly linked to dialectical tensions within and between communities.
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The Middle Rhine-Moselle region has one of the most important burial inventories – both in quantity and quality – of Iron Age Europe. In the Late La Tène period, this includes isolated aristocratic burials, elite cemeteries and large... more
The Middle Rhine-Moselle region has one of the most important burial inventories – both in quantity and quality – of Iron Age Europe. In the Late La Tène period, this includes isolated aristocratic burials, elite cemeteries and large community necropoleis with dozens or even hundreds of graves. The present paper provides an overview of this rich funerary evidence, analysing both elite graves such as those of Clemency and Goeblingen-Nospelt, and large cemeteries such as Wederath, Horath, Hoppstädten-Weiersbach, Lamadelaine and Feulen. Among the aspects considered are vertical and horizontal status differences, ancestor worship, wine consumption, and the transition between the Late Iron Age and the Gallo-Roman period.
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El Oppidum de Monte Bernorio constituye uno de los yacimientos arqueológicos más relevantes de la Protohistoria del norte de la Península Ibérica. Las campañas de investigación arqueológica que se vienen desarrollando de forma... more
El Oppidum de Monte Bernorio constituye uno de los yacimientos arqueológicos más relevantes de la Protohistoria del norte de la Península Ibérica. Las campañas de investigación arqueológica que se vienen desarrollando de forma ininterrumpida desde el año 2004 permiten comprender el desarrollo de las estructuras defensivas, urbanismo y modos de vida de un núcleo que estuvo habitado desde el final de la Edad del Bronce hasta finales de la Edad del Hierro. Monte Bernorio fue conquistado y destruido en el transcurso de las campañas de Augusto contra Cántabros y Astures, tras lo cual se estableció en el lugar un castellum romano.
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Nuevas investigaciones permiten cuestionar la datación tradicional de los oppida del Noroeste hispano en época romana, mostrando que muchos de estos sitios tuvieron su origen ya en el siglo II-I a.C. El oppidum de San Cibrán de Las... more
Nuevas investigaciones permiten cuestionar la datación tradicional de los oppida del Noroeste hispano en época romana, mostrando que muchos de estos sitios tuvieron su origen ya en el siglo II-I a.C. El oppidum de San Cibrán de Las (Ourense) representa uno de los yacimientos clave para esta discusión. Las excavaciones en área llevadas a cabo en los últimos años han ofrecido una gran cantidad de información acerca de la estructura interna del asentamiento, sus viviendas y fortificaciones, así como el especial simbolismo del área de la acrópolis; en esta última se encuentran documentadas varias esculturas de divinidades y epígrafes religiosos. No obstante, el descubrimiento más importante es la larga secuencia de ocupación del yacimiento puesta en evidencia por una amplia serie de dataciones de C14. La frecuentación del sitio se inició varios siglos antes de la fundación del oppidum, y parece haber estado vinculada con un uso de la acrópolis para celebraciones religiosas. Una comparativa con la evidencia arqueológica encontrada en otros oppida de la Europa templada, las fuentes escritas y la toponimia regional ponen de manifiesto el papel central de asambleas y festivales religiosos en la construcción de identidades colectivas y en los orígenes del urbanismo.
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The appearance of large fortified Early Iron Age centers, traditionally known as Fürstensitze, represents one of the main developments of the first millennium BC north of the Alps. For a long time, their emergence was seen mainly as a... more
The appearance of large fortified Early Iron Age centers, traditionally known as Fürstensitze, represents one of the main developments of the first millennium BC north of the Alps. For a long time, their emergence was seen mainly as a result of increasing contacts with the Mediterranean world and in particular as
a reaction to the foundation of the Greek colony of Massalia around 600 BC. However, rich burial evidence from the 8th and 7th centuries BC demonstrates that the increase in social hierarchisation and the development of powerful local elites predated by more than a century the arrival of the Greek colonists in southern France, implying that the social processes concerned were primarily of an indigenous nature. This paper will consider the evidence for Hallstatt C elite burials between Main and Danube, including
outstanding examples such as the Gomadingen grave on the Swabian Alb and the sumptuous burial from Frankfurt-Stadtwald. The main conclusion is that we need to move away from Mediterraneo-centric perspectives and simplistic applications of core-periphery models, by acknowledging the importance of endogenous factors and the complexity of Early Iron Age networks.
a reaction to the foundation of the Greek colony of Massalia around 600 BC. However, rich burial evidence from the 8th and 7th centuries BC demonstrates that the increase in social hierarchisation and the development of powerful local elites predated by more than a century the arrival of the Greek colonists in southern France, implying that the social processes concerned were primarily of an indigenous nature. This paper will consider the evidence for Hallstatt C elite burials between Main and Danube, including
outstanding examples such as the Gomadingen grave on the Swabian Alb and the sumptuous burial from Frankfurt-Stadtwald. The main conclusion is that we need to move away from Mediterraneo-centric perspectives and simplistic applications of core-periphery models, by acknowledging the importance of endogenous factors and the complexity of Early Iron Age networks.
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The development of large agglomerations is one of the most important phenomena in later Eurasian prehistory. In west-central temperate Europe, the origins of urbanism have long been associated with the oppida of the second to first... more
The development of large agglomerations is one of the most important phenomena in later Eurasian prehistory. In west-central temperate Europe, the origins of urbanism have long been associated with the oppida of the second to first centuries BC. However, large-scale excavations and surveys carried out over the last two decades have fundamentally modified the traditional picture of early centralization processes. New results indicate that the first urban centres north of the Alps developed over time between the end of the seventh and the fifth century BC in an area stretching from Bohemia to southern Germany and Central France. Sites such as the Heuneburg, Závist, Mont Lassois and Bourges produce evidence of a process of differentiation and hierarchization in the pattern of settlement that was concurrently an expression of, and a catalyst for, increasing social inequality. Although contacts with the Mediterranean world would certainly have played a role in such processes, endogenous factors were primarily responsible for the development of these early Central European agglomerations. This paper summarizes recent fieldwork results, showing the heterogeneity and diversity of Early Iron Age central places and outlining their diachronic development. The fragility and ephemeral character of these centres of power and their territories is highlighted. Their demise was followed by a period of decentralization that constitutes a prime example of the non-linear character of history.
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The development of the first urban centers is one of the most fundamental phenomena in the history of temperate Europe. New research demonstrates that the earliest cities developed north of the Alps between the sixth and fifth centuries... more
The development of the first urban centers is one of the most fundamental phenomena in the history of temperate Europe. New research demonstrates that the earliest cities developed north of the Alps between the sixth and fifth centuries BC as a consequence of processes of demographic growth, hierarchization, and centralization that have their roots in the immediately preceding period. However, this was an ephemeral urban phenomenon, which was followed by a period of crisis characterized by the abandonment of major centers and the return to more decentralized settlement patterns. A new trend toward urbanization occurred in the third and second centuries BC with the appearance of supra-local sanctuaries, open agglomerations, and finally the fortified oppida. Late Iron Age settlement patterns and urban trajectories were much more complex than traditionally thought and included manifold interrelations between open and fortified sites. Political and religious aspects played a key role in the development of central places, and in many cases the oppida were established on locations that already had a sacred character as places for rituals and assemblies. The Roman conquest largely brought to an end Iron Age urbanization processes, but with heterogeneous results of both abandonment and disruption and also continuity and integration.
Research Interests: Urbanism (Archaeology), Urban Planning, Iron Age Britain (Archaeology), Urbanization, Iron Age Iberian Peninsula (Archaeology), and 10 moreIron Age Gaul (Archaeology), Late Iron Age (Archaeology), Iron Age (Archaeology), Iron Age, Oppida, Early Iron Age, Early Urbanization, Hillforts and Enclosures, Hillforts and oppida, and Fürstensitze
The European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) as an International Non-Governmental Organisation and the Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (CIfA) as a professional association, each want to be in their field the leading... more
The European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) as an International Non-Governmental Organisation and the Chartered Institute for
Archaeologists (CIfA) as a professional association, each want to be
in their field the leading representative body for archaeologists in
Europe. Both organisations recruit their members from a very similar
target group, but instead of competing with each other they work
together to further develop complementary roles. For archaeologists,
it will be necessary to be a member in both organisations to enjoy
the full range of possibilities and services, which reach from free
scientific exchange on the one hand to professional accreditation
on the other hand. While Brexit is dividing Britain and the European
Union, EAA and CIfA unite to lobby more effectively for archaeology
and archaeologists in and beyond Europe.
Archaeologists (CIfA) as a professional association, each want to be
in their field the leading representative body for archaeologists in
Europe. Both organisations recruit their members from a very similar
target group, but instead of competing with each other they work
together to further develop complementary roles. For archaeologists,
it will be necessary to be a member in both organisations to enjoy
the full range of possibilities and services, which reach from free
scientific exchange on the one hand to professional accreditation
on the other hand. While Brexit is dividing Britain and the European
Union, EAA and CIfA unite to lobby more effectively for archaeology
and archaeologists in and beyond Europe.
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The study of cultural and intellectual phenomena is one of the most fascinating, but at the same time most demanding challenges in historical and archaeological scholarship. In many parts of Eurasia the centuries between c. 800 and 400 BC... more
The study of cultural and intellectual phenomena is one of the most fascinating, but at the same time most demanding challenges in historical and archaeological scholarship. In many parts of Eurasia the centuries between c. 800 and 400 BC mark a fundamental turning point that was accompanied by the appearance of a whole range of phenomena that were to play an important part in shaping our world. Some of the key elements we might mention are writing, urbanization, individualization or intercontinental trade networks. Following on from the Priority Programme ‘Early Celtic Princely Seats’ (2004-2010) funded by the German Research Foundation, and coming at the end of the major exhibition ‘The World of the Celts’, these phenomena are to be discussed and analysed from a broad perspective. The focus will be on the processes of urbanization that took place at this time. However, this will be done not only from the conventional perspective of settlement archaeology, but first and foremost by putting the emphasis on the preconditions and consequences for thought, mentality, philosophy, art or religion.
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Summary of the Phd-Thesis "Identity and Power: Northeast Gaul from the Early Iron Age until Romanization (600 BC – AD 70)" Manuel A. Fernández-Götz Binational PhD awarded in January 2012, Universidad Complutense de Madrid... more
Summary of the Phd-Thesis "Identity and Power: Northeast Gaul from the Early Iron Age until Romanization (600 BC – AD 70)"
Manuel A. Fernández-Götz
Binational PhD awarded in January 2012, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain)/Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (Germany)
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Gonzalo Ruiz Zapatero, Prof. Dr. Dirk Krausse
The aim of this doctoral thesis is to analyze the evolution of Iron Age communities in Northeast Gaul, and in particular in the Middle Rhine-Moselle region, with special consideration of questions of social identity. From this perspective, the two key concepts around which this work is structured are identity and power, i.e. the power relationships which existed between the various identity-based categories. Methodologically, a holistic approach is adopted which combines archaeological data and anthropological, ethno-archaeological and historical references.
The doctoral thesis is organized into three focal parts, beginning from the more general to the specific, with a particular emphasis on the last:
1) The first part presents a theoretical and methodological review on the different types of social identity (ethnicity, gender, age, class…) as well as the central concept of ‘power’. Together with the explanation of definitions and key concepts, each section also includes a series of historical and anthropological examples, as well as a discussion about the limitations and possibilities of an archaeological exploration on major identity categories. Moreover, a central point is the distinction between different degrees of relational and individualized identities. In short, this first part of the thesis provides an up-to-date summary of one of the hot-topics in current research agendas: the archaeology of identities.
2) The second part offers a detailed study of the different levels of ethnic identity and socio-political organization which appear superimposed and co-integrated in non-Mediterranean Gaul at the end of the Iron Age. According to written and archaeological sources, the three main socio-political levels than can be distinguished in ascending order are: 1) local groups comprising several households, 2) pagi (sub-ethnic communities) and 3) civitates (ethnic communities). The complex relationships between these different groupings, the features of real and fictive kinship ties, the dual nature of pre-Roman pagi and civitates as both political and ethnic entities, the evolution of political institutions, the all-embracing character of clientship networks or the changing border dynamics are some of the topics discussed.
3) Finally, the third and main part of the thesis comprises the diachronic analysis of the cultural change experienced by the societies of Northeastern Gaul from approximately 600 BC until AD 70. That means, from the beginnings of the demographic growth reflected by both archaeological and palynological data to the consequences of the Batavian revolt. Although the Middle Rhine-Moselle region represents the core study area, other neighboring regions are also taken into account, e.g. the Champagne, the Belgian Ardennes and the Lower Rhine. Some of the main issues addressed here through concrete case-studies are:
- Cycles of centralization and decentralization
- Origins of the La Tène culture
- Question of migrations in the Late Iron Age
- Application of ideas from scholars such as Foucault, Bourdieu, Giddens or De Certeau
- Emergence of the oppida
- Key role of sanctuaries in the construction of collective identities
- Distinction between different types of societies within the area under study
- Critical reappraisal of macro-ethnic categories like ‘Celts’ and ‘Germans’
- Impact of ‘Romanization’ on identity transformation
The result is a renewed view of Iron Age societies in temperate Europe and, at a more general level, a step forward in the complicated but fascinating task of constructing an archaeology of identities.
Manuel A. Fernández-Götz
Binational PhD awarded in January 2012, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain)/Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (Germany)
Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Gonzalo Ruiz Zapatero, Prof. Dr. Dirk Krausse
The aim of this doctoral thesis is to analyze the evolution of Iron Age communities in Northeast Gaul, and in particular in the Middle Rhine-Moselle region, with special consideration of questions of social identity. From this perspective, the two key concepts around which this work is structured are identity and power, i.e. the power relationships which existed between the various identity-based categories. Methodologically, a holistic approach is adopted which combines archaeological data and anthropological, ethno-archaeological and historical references.
The doctoral thesis is organized into three focal parts, beginning from the more general to the specific, with a particular emphasis on the last:
1) The first part presents a theoretical and methodological review on the different types of social identity (ethnicity, gender, age, class…) as well as the central concept of ‘power’. Together with the explanation of definitions and key concepts, each section also includes a series of historical and anthropological examples, as well as a discussion about the limitations and possibilities of an archaeological exploration on major identity categories. Moreover, a central point is the distinction between different degrees of relational and individualized identities. In short, this first part of the thesis provides an up-to-date summary of one of the hot-topics in current research agendas: the archaeology of identities.
2) The second part offers a detailed study of the different levels of ethnic identity and socio-political organization which appear superimposed and co-integrated in non-Mediterranean Gaul at the end of the Iron Age. According to written and archaeological sources, the three main socio-political levels than can be distinguished in ascending order are: 1) local groups comprising several households, 2) pagi (sub-ethnic communities) and 3) civitates (ethnic communities). The complex relationships between these different groupings, the features of real and fictive kinship ties, the dual nature of pre-Roman pagi and civitates as both political and ethnic entities, the evolution of political institutions, the all-embracing character of clientship networks or the changing border dynamics are some of the topics discussed.
3) Finally, the third and main part of the thesis comprises the diachronic analysis of the cultural change experienced by the societies of Northeastern Gaul from approximately 600 BC until AD 70. That means, from the beginnings of the demographic growth reflected by both archaeological and palynological data to the consequences of the Batavian revolt. Although the Middle Rhine-Moselle region represents the core study area, other neighboring regions are also taken into account, e.g. the Champagne, the Belgian Ardennes and the Lower Rhine. Some of the main issues addressed here through concrete case-studies are:
- Cycles of centralization and decentralization
- Origins of the La Tène culture
- Question of migrations in the Late Iron Age
- Application of ideas from scholars such as Foucault, Bourdieu, Giddens or De Certeau
- Emergence of the oppida
- Key role of sanctuaries in the construction of collective identities
- Distinction between different types of societies within the area under study
- Critical reappraisal of macro-ethnic categories like ‘Celts’ and ‘Germans’
- Impact of ‘Romanization’ on identity transformation
The result is a renewed view of Iron Age societies in temperate Europe and, at a more general level, a step forward in the complicated but fascinating task of constructing an archaeology of identities.
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On 18 September 2014, Scots will vote on whether to remain part of the UK or become an independent country. In the run up to the referendum, the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh is hosting a... more
On 18 September 2014, Scots will vote on whether to remain part of the UK or become an independent country. In the run up to the referendum, the School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh is hosting a workshop on identity, independence and interdependence in historical perspective. Drawing on a range of disciplinary approaches and evidence from a variety of places and periods (from the prehistoric to the modern), this one-day meeting will examine the relationship between a community's sense of identity and its political independence. How has political independence been used to mould national or regional identities? In what ways are formally independent territories enmeshed in networks of interdependence? What roles do economic, social and cultural connections play in the creation of identities? How have national, regional and local identities been reflected in political institutions and territorial boundaries? How do communities? senses of identity manifest themselves in the historical and archaeological record? This workshop will bring together specialists from the fields of history, classics and archaeology, as well as sociology and politics, with the aim of encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue.
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University of Edinburgh, 28th May 2015 Architecture has often been used for asserting influence and authority, and in recent decades we’ve seen a greater emphasis on the importance of the spaces filled by these statements of power; a... more
University of Edinburgh, 28th May 2015
Architecture has often been used for asserting influence and authority, and in recent decades we’ve seen a greater emphasis on the importance of the spaces filled by these statements of power; a ‘spatial turn’, in which historians, archaeologists and classicists are increasingly thinking about the roles of space and place in our approach to the past. This conference seeks to explore how spaces were filled and how power and authority were asserted through the materiality of the built environment, from the prehistoric world to the advent of the modern age. These places and spaces are the very canvas of the past, and as such, they were negotiated and manipulated by societies which often lacked consensus as to how space was to be used.
We would like to invite short abstracts of 250 words for twenty-minute papers relating to the projection of power through the built environment. Please email abstracts to the conference organisers Dr Juan Lewis, Dr Manuel Fernandez-Gotz, and Dr Aaron Allen by 24th April 2015.
Email: hca-power-built@ed.ac.uk
Architecture has often been used for asserting influence and authority, and in recent decades we’ve seen a greater emphasis on the importance of the spaces filled by these statements of power; a ‘spatial turn’, in which historians, archaeologists and classicists are increasingly thinking about the roles of space and place in our approach to the past. This conference seeks to explore how spaces were filled and how power and authority were asserted through the materiality of the built environment, from the prehistoric world to the advent of the modern age. These places and spaces are the very canvas of the past, and as such, they were negotiated and manipulated by societies which often lacked consensus as to how space was to be used.
We would like to invite short abstracts of 250 words for twenty-minute papers relating to the projection of power through the built environment. Please email abstracts to the conference organisers Dr Juan Lewis, Dr Manuel Fernandez-Gotz, and Dr Aaron Allen by 24th April 2015.
Email: hca-power-built@ed.ac.uk
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Dynamics of Art, Design, and Vision in Iron Age Europe
University of Edinburgh, 3–4 June 2016
A conference celebrating the achievements of Professor Peter Wells, University of Minnesota, in the field of European prehistory.
University of Edinburgh, 3–4 June 2016
A conference celebrating the achievements of Professor Peter Wells, University of Minnesota, in the field of European prehistory.
Research Interests:
The Prehistoric Society and the University of Edinburgh School of History, Classics and Archaeology invite early career researchers to submit a paper proposal for the Europa Conference. DEADLINE SUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER 2015
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Landscape Archaeology, Numismatics, Ancient numismatics (Archaeology), and 24 moreIron Age Gaul (Archaeology), Iron Age Germany (Archaeology), Late Iron Age (Archaeology), Iron Age (Archaeology), Settlement archaeology, Iron Age, Oppida, Celtic numismatics, Coins finds as archaeological artefacts, Ancient Numismatics, Ancient Coins, Celtic Coinage, La Tene Period in Middle Europe, La Tene culture, Coins, Coinage, Coin Finds, Archäologie, La Tène Culture, La Tène, Wirtschaftsarchäologie, Late La Tène Period, La Tene, and La Tene Settlements
Kleos publishes several types of papers; one of these is a dialogue paper by at least two authors. For the first dialogue of this series of articles, Karin Scharringhausen invited Dr. Manuel A. Fernández-Götz to respond to her review of... more
Kleos publishes several types of papers; one of these is a dialogue paper by at least two authors. For the first dialogue of this series of articles, Karin Scharringhausen invited Dr. Manuel A. Fernández-Götz to respond to her review of his lecture “Path to complexity: Centralization and urbanization processes in Early Iron Age Europe”, given on 2 October 2013 at the Free University Amsterdam. In her review of the lecture Karin Scharringhausen focusses on the theoretical approach of Fernández-Götz. Manuel Fernández-Götz kindly wrote the response to Scharringhausen for the first Kleos dialogue. His contribution, the rise of urbanism in Early Europe, presents his complementary thoughts rather than a direct response.
Research Interests:
This year's Round Table of the Committee on the Illicit Trade in Cultural Material focusses on the selling of archaeological objects at auction houses and antiquity dealers in Europe. Though several objects demonstrably have a more than... more
This year's Round Table of the Committee on the Illicit Trade in Cultural Material focusses on the selling of archaeological objects at auction houses and antiquity dealers in Europe. Though several objects demonstrably have a more than doubtful provenance, they can be sold, or, if withdrawn from the auction, sold later on without much consequences or confiscation. We would like to discuss different strategies how to reduce such practice, and shed also light on the role of archaeologists in this field: how much do we as archaeologists contribute to such sales (for instance as experts for auction houses), how much do we as archaeologists act against it? Another important point is the practice of museums, or the archaeologists in charge for the museums, to buy such items directly from the dealer, or the auction house itself. This is congruent with our statute on 'Commercialisation': raise public awareness of the legal consequences of the damage and destruction of cultural heritage, and the resulting loss of information; report any illegal activity, or trade of potentially illegally-acquired material culture; never act as an expert or advisor for auction houses, antiquaries, or private collectors if the object or collection of objects concerned are not going to be part of a collection open to public and research, and does not have a legitimate provenance; contribute in any form to discourage commercialisation of archaeological material.
Research Interests:
During the last EAA-meeting in Glasgow, the idea rose to recreate an EAA commission on illicit trafficking of archaeological heritage. Our round table is organised by the Working group of this commission. Antiquities as the 'hottest... more
During the last EAA-meeting in Glasgow, the idea rose to recreate an EAA commission on illicit trafficking of archaeological heritage. Our round table is organised by the Working group of this commission.
Antiquities as the 'hottest invest' (TIME-Magazine, 12/2007) are one of the biggest problems of archaeology. Finds deriving from unauthorised excavations, metal detectoring, robberies of museums/public collections, appear on the market with faked provenience, and are legally sold. The majority of illegal/illicit finds that enter the market, seemingly entirely legally, go unacknowledged by archaeologists. Only rarely do such finds later surface and only few, like the spectacular find of the Bronze Age Nebra-disc, are acknowledged by the wide public. In the case of more mundane finds this rarely ever occurs.
APPLY TO PARTICIPATE WITH A PRESENTATION UNTIL MARCH 1st, 2016 here: eaavilnius2016.lt
Antiquities as the 'hottest invest' (TIME-Magazine, 12/2007) are one of the biggest problems of archaeology. Finds deriving from unauthorised excavations, metal detectoring, robberies of museums/public collections, appear on the market with faked provenience, and are legally sold. The majority of illegal/illicit finds that enter the market, seemingly entirely legally, go unacknowledged by archaeologists. Only rarely do such finds later surface and only few, like the spectacular find of the Bronze Age Nebra-disc, are acknowledged by the wide public. In the case of more mundane finds this rarely ever occurs.
APPLY TO PARTICIPATE WITH A PRESENTATION UNTIL MARCH 1st, 2016 here: eaavilnius2016.lt
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The farm – a unit of land, its buildings and inhabitants – was the basic element of Iron Age settlement across Europe, represented by a range of excavated evidence and survey data. Their disposition, form and organisation, and how this... more
The farm – a unit of land, its buildings and inhabitants – was the basic element of Iron Age settlement across Europe, represented by a range of excavated evidence and survey data. Their disposition, form and organisation, and how this varied through time and geographically are central to our understanding of social, economic and cultural interactions. From the individual and household to broader demographic units, this basic rural settlement unit was a constant, a familiar touchpoint within wider rural landscape organisation. Settlements vary across Iron Age Europe, in unit size and density, in settlement distribution and landscape management, but also in terms of preservation. The rich Scottish evidence, with some exceptional preservation, offers valuable comparison to continental or Scandinavian material. The longer time-frames of northern Iron Ages allow tracing of long-term developments. To exploit this, two well-established Iron Age seminar groups have come together with the settlement archaeologists at the University of Edinburgh to offer this three-day workshop. This will connect evidence and views from across Europe to inform dialogue on common themes, regional variation and the roles of rural settlements in Iron Age societies. A holistic approach is encouraged that assimilates individual buildings into the changing textures of wider landscapes, patterns of land holding, density and permanency of settlement and the variability of land use strategies.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In large parts of Europe, walls, fences, berms or ditches around settlements or ritual places became increasingly significant from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age. Examples include fortified Chalcolithic sites such as Los Millares and... more
In large parts of Europe, walls, fences, berms or ditches around settlements or ritual places became increasingly significant from the Chalcolithic to the Iron Age. Examples include fortified Chalcolithic sites such as Los Millares and Zambujal, the Bronze Age Sardinian Nuraghi, and Iron Age hillforts and oppida such as Bibracte, Maiden Castle and Monte Bernorio. Several works have dealt with the nature (symbolic and/or defensive) of these fortifications, their architecture and the impact on the ancient landscape, including the question of hierarchy between different fortified sites and the use of their visual impact to symbolize the power of the communities. The aim of this international conference is to discuss different interpretive proposals around this kind of structures of large constructive investment, present new case studies, and enable comparative analysis between different regions and chronological periods. The colloquium will be structured in three main themes: 1) warfare and fortifications; 2) symbolic spaces; and 3) landscape impact and territorial distribution.
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Following the earlier Call for Sessions, the RAC 2018 Organising Committee has selected 18 sessions for the final conference. Each of these sessions will consist of 6 papers and we are now inviting paper proposals to fill these sessions.... more
Following the earlier Call for Sessions, the RAC 2018 Organising Committee has selected 18 sessions for the final conference. Each of these sessions will consist of 6 papers and we are now inviting paper proposals to fill these sessions. Papers will be assigned a 30-minute slot and it is recommended that speakers should not talk for more than 20 minutes to allow time for questions. We encourage paper proposers to contact session organizers to discuss their planned paper but all proposals have to submitted to the rac2018@ed.ac.uk e-mail address.
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Resumen de la sesión: Recientemente, la noción de "resistencia" ha logrado un considerable protagonismo en las Ciencias Sociales, si bien ha generado problemas debido a la heterogeneidad de significados que se le atribuyen: desde la... more
Resumen de la sesión: Recientemente, la noción de "resistencia" ha logrado un considerable protagonismo en las Ciencias Sociales, si bien ha generado problemas debido a la heterogeneidad de significados que se le atribuyen: desde la contestación violenta y organizada hasta las pequeñas disidencias en la vida diaria. El auge de la versión "suave" del concepto se debe a James Scott (1990), según el cual toda práctica de desobediencia merece el calificativo de resistencia siempre que sus protagonistas la entiendan así. El problema es que una conceptualización tan laxa considera prácticas de resistencia actividades que son en realidad triviales (Brown 1996), y entiende el poder como una propiedad que los grupos subordinados no poseen y al margen de la cual actúan. Obvia así que el poder existe en todo sistema de relaciones, y que su visibilidad y funcionamiento cambian según las
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Jesús García Sánchez – Investigador Pós-Doutoral da Universidade de Leiden Manuel Gago Mariño – Prof. Associado da Universidade Santiago de Compostela José Manuel Costa-García – Investigador Pós-Doutoral da Xunta de Galicia. Grupo de... more
Jesús García Sánchez – Investigador Pós-Doutoral da Universidade de Leiden
Manuel Gago Mariño – Prof. Associado da Universidade Santiago de Compostela
José Manuel Costa-García – Investigador Pós-Doutoral da Xunta de Galicia. Grupo de Investigación Síncrisis, USC.
Manuel Fernández-Gotz – Leitor da School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Universidade de Edimburgo
Jesús García Sánchez – Investigador Pós-Doutoral da Universidade de Leiden
Manuel Gago Mariño – Prof. Associado da Universidade Santiago de Compostela
José Manuel Costa-García – Investigador Pós-Doutoral da Xunta de Galicia. Grupo de Investigación Síncrisis, USC.
Manuel Fernández-Gotz – Leitor da School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Universidade de Edimburgo
Manuel Gago Mariño – Prof. Associado da Universidade Santiago de Compostela
José Manuel Costa-García – Investigador Pós-Doutoral da Xunta de Galicia. Grupo de Investigación Síncrisis, USC.
Manuel Fernández-Gotz – Leitor da School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Universidade de Edimburgo
Jesús García Sánchez – Investigador Pós-Doutoral da Universidade de Leiden
Manuel Gago Mariño – Prof. Associado da Universidade Santiago de Compostela
José Manuel Costa-García – Investigador Pós-Doutoral da Xunta de Galicia. Grupo de Investigación Síncrisis, USC.
Manuel Fernández-Gotz – Leitor da School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Universidade de Edimburgo
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The Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University hosts an international conference on the archaeology of the Roman period in Portugal and its place in the Roman West. The conference brings together archaeologists and ancient historians... more
The Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University hosts an international conference on the archaeology of the Roman period in Portugal and its place in the Roman West. The conference brings together archaeologists and ancient historians from different academic backgrounds who are working in the Iberian peninsula and the wider Western Mediterranean. It aims to present new data and insights from various fields and approaches, and to discuss their significance for our understanding of Roman expansion and colonialism.
Five sessions revolve around new insights from landscape archaeological projects, developments in the economy, the process of military expansion, processes of centralization and urbanization, and the ritual and religious sphere. A key goal of the conference is to discuss how the Portuguese panorama compares to other areas in the Iberian peninsula, and to foreground its contribution to current debates about Roman expansion and incorporation in the Central and Western Mediterranean.
With a view to assess the potential of integrating best practices in archaeological approaches and methodology, different national and disciplinary research traditions and historical frameworks will be explicitly discussed. As such, the conference aims to explore ways to collaborate more closely between various Mediterranean areas and research projects, and to develop a shared research agenda.
Five sessions revolve around new insights from landscape archaeological projects, developments in the economy, the process of military expansion, processes of centralization and urbanization, and the ritual and religious sphere. A key goal of the conference is to discuss how the Portuguese panorama compares to other areas in the Iberian peninsula, and to foreground its contribution to current debates about Roman expansion and incorporation in the Central and Western Mediterranean.
With a view to assess the potential of integrating best practices in archaeological approaches and methodology, different national and disciplinary research traditions and historical frameworks will be explicitly discussed. As such, the conference aims to explore ways to collaborate more closely between various Mediterranean areas and research projects, and to develop a shared research agenda.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
In recent years, there has been widespread interest among theoretical archaeologists in what has been labelled as a ‘material’ or ‘ontological’ turn, whose aim is to recognise the importance that material and other non-human entities have... more
In recent years, there has been widespread interest among theoretical archaeologists in what has been labelled as a ‘material’ or ‘ontological’ turn, whose aim is to recognise the importance that material and other non-human entities have in human societies. This has crystallised in multiple approaches, such as Symmetrical Archaeology, Material Engagement Theory or Entanglement Theory, but also has points of similarity with the memetic approach in Darwinian archaeology. Despite these approaches deriving from very different backgrounds, their interest in exploring the capacity that things have to affect the world sooner or later implies the need to address whether things and non-humans have agency. But the concept of agency is difficult in itself, as it has a long history of being an exclusively and distinctively human attribute. Moreover, and despite recent attempts to separate agency and intentionality, both terms seem to be bounded in the minds of most archaeologists, some of whom propose that, in order to study the impact that non-human and material entities have in the world, another term should be coined.
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In many parts of the world, the earliest large aggregated settlements existed for only a short time. Large temporary aggregations are found among some hunter-gatherer societies, lasting from days to weeks to months. When large settlements... more
In many parts of the world, the earliest large aggregated settlements existed for only a short time. Large temporary aggregations are found among some hunter-gatherer societies, lasting from days to weeks to months. When large settlements acquired a more permanent character, some retained a rather ephemeral character and only existed for a few generations or less. This symposium explores two aspects of the social dynamics of such settlements: the forces and processes that led people to aggregate; and the forces and processes that led to the break-up of such settlements. We include both case studies of ancient settlements, and theoretical/comparative papers. Papers focus particularly on the following questions: (1) What was the relative role of ritual, economic, political forces, and defense, in creating and dissolving short-lived aggregations? (2) Were they a regular part of the rhythms of certain ancient settlement systems, as suggested by Graeber and Wengrow, or were they a rarer or more sporadic phenomenon? (3) Should ephemeral urban settlements be considered as evidence of failure and collapse, or rather of flexibility and adaptation? (4) What can such episodes of short-lived aggregation teach us about processes of urbanization in the past and present?
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Les mouvements de population pendant les Âges des Métaux (de la période chalcolithique à l'âge de Fer tardif) sont devenus un sujet majeur au cours des dernières années. Bien que la mobilité humaine – plus spécifiquement celles des élites... more
Les mouvements de population pendant les Âges des Métaux (de la période chalcolithique à l'âge de Fer tardif) sont devenus un sujet majeur au cours des dernières années. Bien que la mobilité humaine – plus spécifiquement celles des élites et des femmes – est depuis longtemps soutenue par les archéologues, ce sont les débuts des nouvelles méthodes en bioarchéologie qui nous ont forcé ces dix dernières années à repenser l'importance de la mobilité humaine, leur corrélation avec les genres et leur impact sociétal. Tandis que les analyses génétiques ont fourni de nombreuses données illustrant le mouvement d'un large groupe majoritairement masculin provenant des steppes Eurasiennes et en direction de l'Ouest, les analyses isotopiques du strontium, quant à elles, mettent en évidence une mobilité féminine large et complexe qui a amplement excédé nos attentes. Il est temps de repenser les mouvements de population au cours des Âges des Métaux en intégrant toutes les données archéologiques possibles, des analyses typologiques traditionnelles aux nouvelles approches ADN. Comment les migrations sur de grandes distances et les mobilités de groupes reposant sur le genre interagissaient-elles ? Comment les déplacements s'organisaient-ils ? Quelles routes suivaient les migrants ? Et par quels moyens voyageaient-ils ? Comment les réseaux de circulation ont-ils changé au cours de cette période ? A quel point ces " migrations " étaient-elle simplement le résultat de mouvements humains institutionnalisés et pensés sur le long terme ? A quel point ces mouvements dépendaient-ils, par exemple, des règles de résidence patrilocale ? Comment est-il possible de lier les perspectives locales et globales portant sur la mobilité ?
Notre volonté est de motiver les chercheurs à présenter leur idées novatrices allant au-delà de la simple identification d'individus comme étant locaux ou non-locaux (sur la base de matériels culturels ou d'analyses scientifiques) et d'avoir une meilleure compréhension des mouvements de populations en prenant le recul nécessaire sur les preuves accumulées et en intégrant diverses sources de données. Des communications se concentrant davantage sur les aspects théoriques seraient également appréciées, tout comme des articles ayant pour objectif d'intégrer l'archéologie des sens ou d'incorporer des approches anthropologiques sur les mouvements des populations du passé.
Pour soumettre une proposition de communication orale ou par poster, merci d'envoyer un résumé de 150-200 mots accompagné de vos coordonnées et de votre affiliation avant le 31 Janvier 2019 à l'adresse mail suivante: migrationmetalages@gmail.com
Notre volonté est de motiver les chercheurs à présenter leur idées novatrices allant au-delà de la simple identification d'individus comme étant locaux ou non-locaux (sur la base de matériels culturels ou d'analyses scientifiques) et d'avoir une meilleure compréhension des mouvements de populations en prenant le recul nécessaire sur les preuves accumulées et en intégrant diverses sources de données. Des communications se concentrant davantage sur les aspects théoriques seraient également appréciées, tout comme des articles ayant pour objectif d'intégrer l'archéologie des sens ou d'incorporer des approches anthropologiques sur les mouvements des populations du passé.
Pour soumettre une proposition de communication orale ou par poster, merci d'envoyer un résumé de 150-200 mots accompagné de vos coordonnées et de votre affiliation avant le 31 Janvier 2019 à l'adresse mail suivante: migrationmetalages@gmail.com
Research Interests:
Population movements in the Metal Ages (from the Chalcolithic to the Late Iron Age) have become a major topic in the last years. Whereas human mobility – especially of elites and women – has long been assumed by archaeologists, it was the... more
Population movements in the Metal Ages (from the Chalcolithic to the Late Iron Age) have become a major topic in the last years. Whereas human mobility – especially of elites and women – has long been assumed by archaeologists, it was the dawn of new bioarchaeological approaches that forced us to rethink scales of human mobility, their correlation with gender and their societal impact in the last decade. Genetic analyses have provided ample data for the movement of a large and predominantly male group of individuals from the Eurasian steppes to the west, while strontium isotope analyses have unfolded an extent and complexity of female mobility that has exceeded our expectations by far. It is now time to rethink human mobility in the Metal Ages by integrating all possible archaeological data, from traditional typological analysis to new a-DNA approaches. How did large-distance migrations and gender-based mobilities interact? How was travel organised? What routes did they follow? And by what means did they travel? How did patterns of mobility change during the Metal Ages? How much are our " migrations " just the outcome of long-term institutionalised mobilities of individuals e.g. due to patrilocal residence rules? How can we link global and local perspectives on mobility?
We want to motivate researchers to present innovative ideas on the topic that go beyond identifying single individuals as non-local (on the basis of material culture or scientific analysis) and aim for a more comprehensive understanding by zooming in and out of the evidence and by integrating all possible kinds of sources. We also appreciate papers which focus on more theoretical aspects, and papers which try to integrate archaeologies of the senses or anthropological approaches to human mobility in the past.
To submit a proposal for either a paper or poster, please send a c. 150-200 word abstract by 31st January 2019 with your name and affiliation to: migrationmetalages@gmail.com
We want to motivate researchers to present innovative ideas on the topic that go beyond identifying single individuals as non-local (on the basis of material culture or scientific analysis) and aim for a more comprehensive understanding by zooming in and out of the evidence and by integrating all possible kinds of sources. We also appreciate papers which focus on more theoretical aspects, and papers which try to integrate archaeologies of the senses or anthropological approaches to human mobility in the past.
To submit a proposal for either a paper or poster, please send a c. 150-200 word abstract by 31st January 2019 with your name and affiliation to: migrationmetalages@gmail.com
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The so-called Late Hallstatt period (6th and 5th centuries BC) witnessed profound cultural changes in Central Europe, including the emergence of complex chiefdoms or even some early state formations, the development of the first urban... more
The so-called Late Hallstatt period (6th and 5th centuries BC) witnessed profound cultural changes in Central Europe, including the emergence of complex chiefdoms or even some early state formations, the development of the first urban centres, an intensification of contacts with the Mediterranean world, and the penetration of some eastern nomadic populations traditionally labelled in scholarship as Scythians. However, numerous questions remain open, particularly concerning the transition between the late 5th and early 4th centuries BC. Assessing the end of the Late Hallstatt and beginning of the Early La Tène periods is even more problematic in the south-eastern alpine region and the Carpathian Basin, which do not necessarily conform to the traditional chronological and interpretative models derived from Central Europe. The aim of this conference is to rethink the chronological, social and political models in the light of new data. In particular, we will:
• Compare different historical developments in eastern and western Central Europe in the period between the 6th and 4th centuries BC.
• Define cultural similarities and differences between the so-called western and eastern Late Hallstatt circles.
• Compare different research traditions and strategies used in Late Hallstatt research between the central-western (Germany, Austria, Slovak Republic) and the south-eastern regions (Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania).
• Compare different historical developments in eastern and western Central Europe in the period between the 6th and 4th centuries BC.
• Define cultural similarities and differences between the so-called western and eastern Late Hallstatt circles.
• Compare different research traditions and strategies used in Late Hallstatt research between the central-western (Germany, Austria, Slovak Republic) and the south-eastern regions (Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania).
Research Interests:
The concept of a La Tène period – soon conceptualised in terms of a ‘culture’ and frequently equated with an alleged ‘Celtic’ ethnicity – has been a fundamental element of archaeological narratives for over a century. As the EAA annual... more
The concept of a La Tène period – soon conceptualised in terms of a ‘culture’ and frequently equated with an alleged ‘Celtic’ ethnicity – has been a fundamental element of archaeological narratives for over a century. As the EAA annual meeting moves for the first time to Switzerland, the home of the eponymous archaeological site of La Tène, it is a good occasion to revisit this influential concept and how it has shaped (and still shapes) Iron Age interpretations and practices. This session invites proposals that rethink some of the main elements linked to the La Tène concept, from chronologies to migrations and models of cultural contact. In particular – but not exclusively –, we invite papers that take a critical look at the concept from the ‘margins’, i.e. areas such as south-eastern Europe, northern Germany, Britain and Iberia that have traditionally been regarded as peripheral. How can we move away from these core-periphery models? How did artistic styles spread and develop? What do we mean by “latènisation”, and how did it work (if it did)? And what lessons can we learn from the margins in order to reconceptualise the very foundations of the La Tène concept and to develop alternatives?
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
International Conference on early urbanism and cultural interaction across Europe during the Iron Age
29-30 March 2019
Milan, Palazzo Reale, Piazza Duomo 14 (third floor)
29-30 March 2019
Milan, Palazzo Reale, Piazza Duomo 14 (third floor)
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[ES] Mediante esta contribución queremos exponer el modelo Romanarmy.eu de investigación arqueológica, difusión y ciencia en abierto en el reciente proyecto arqueológico desarrollado por miembros de nuestro equipo en las inmediaciones de... more
[ES] Mediante esta contribución queremos exponer el modelo Romanarmy.eu de investigación arqueológica, difusión y ciencia en abierto en el reciente proyecto arqueológico desarrollado por miembros de nuestro equipo en las inmediaciones de Sasamón (Burgos, España). Consideramos que este caso de estudio ilustra nuestros intereses en dos líneas: en primer lugar, la necesidad de investigar la presencia y el papel del ejército romano en la zona de Sasamón puesto que esta se conoce por unas pocas fuentes escritas que parecen contradecir la evidencia arqueológica; y en segundo lugar, el fuerte interés comunitario en la historia del ejército romano plantea un terreno óptimo para desarrollar nuestra propuesta de ciencia en abierto, interacción con el público a través de las redes sociales y difusión de resultados y conclusiones entre la población local. Palabras clave: Ciencia en abierto, arqueología del conflicto, ejército romano. -------------- [PT] Através desta contribuição, queremos apresentar o modelo Romanarmy.eu de investigação arqueológica, divulgação e ciência aberta em relação ao projeto arqueológico recentemente desenvolvido por membros da nossa equipa na área de Sasamón (Burgos, Espanha). Consideramos que este caso de estudo ilustra perfeitamente os nossos interesses em duas linhas, nomeadamente na necessidade de se investigar a presença e o papel do exército romano na área de Sasamón, uma vez que esta é conhecida através de algumas fontes escritas que parecem contradizer as evidências arqueológicas, e pelo forte interesse da comunidade local na história do exército romano, o que oferece um terreno ideal para desenvolver a nossa proposta de ciência aberta, interação com o público através das redes sociais e disseminação dos resultados e conclusões entre a população local. Palavras-chave: Ciência Aberta, Arqueologia do Conflito, Exército Romano.
GARCÍA SÁNCHEZ, J.; GAGO MARIÑO, M.; COSTA-GARCÍA, J. M. & FERNÁNDEZ-GÖTZ, M. (2019): "El modelo Romanarmy.eu: patrimonio, comunicación e investigación en el pasado romano de Sasamón (Burgos)". M. Rolo (Ed.), Arqueología 3.0 II. Comunicaçao, divulgaçao e socialização da arqueologia. Vila Viçosa: Fundação Casa de Bragança: 101-119.
GARCÍA SÁNCHEZ, J.; GAGO MARIÑO, M.; COSTA-GARCÍA, J. M. & FERNÁNDEZ-GÖTZ, M. (2019): "El modelo Romanarmy.eu: patrimonio, comunicación e investigación en el pasado romano de Sasamón (Burgos)". M. Rolo (Ed.), Arqueología 3.0 II. Comunicaçao, divulgaçao e socialização da arqueologia. Vila Viçosa: Fundação Casa de Bragança: 101-119.
Research Interests:
The School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh is welcoming you to this three-day key event in conflict, battlefield and military archaeology. The conference brings together students, professionals,... more
The School of History, Classics and Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh is welcoming you to this three-day key event in conflict, battlefield and military archaeology. The conference brings together students, professionals, practitioners and academics at different career stages to present papers and posters to discuss and debate their research in this increasingly important discipline. We invite submissions of papers or posters on all aspects of conflict archaeology from all periods. Papers should be presented in English and be of 15 minutes duration, with a further 5 minutes for discussion and questions. Posters should be in A1 format.
Please send abstracts (max. 200 words), to foc2020@ed.ac.uk. Abstracts should be submitted by Wednesday 15 th January 2020 at the latest. Successful proposals will be notified before the end of February 2020. We also ask authors to submit a short biographical profile (max. 50 words) with their proposed paper or poster.
Please send abstracts (max. 200 words), to foc2020@ed.ac.uk. Abstracts should be submitted by Wednesday 15 th January 2020 at the latest. Successful proposals will be notified before the end of February 2020. We also ask authors to submit a short biographical profile (max. 50 words) with their proposed paper or poster.
Research Interests:
Selected papers from workshops organized by The Assembly Project (TAP). This is the second volume from TAP, the first international collaborative project dedicated to investigating the role of assemblies in the emergent power structures... more
Selected papers from workshops organized by The Assembly Project (TAP). This is the second volume from TAP, the first international collaborative project dedicated to investigating the role of assemblies in the emergent power structures of medieval northwest Europe. The volume contains 13 papers. Enjoy.
Research Interests:
The archaeological study of conflict (from battlefields to military infrastructure and massacre sites) has been experiencing an exponential growth in the last few decades. However, most of the research is focused on the actual moment of... more
The archaeological study of conflict (from battlefields to military infrastructure and massacre sites) has been experiencing an exponential growth in the last few decades. However, most of the research is focused on the actual moment of conflict rather than on the short, medium and long-term consequences. In this session, we would like to focus on the period after major military events, in particular-although not exclusively-episodes of conquest. What was the demographic impact of war, and how and when did population figures recover (if they did)? Are there evidences for violence and repression in the years/decades after the conquest? Can we see major transformations in social structure or rather elements of continuity? What was the impact of conflict on the landscape and on settlement patterns? Do we observe phenomena of population mobility (for example forced relocation of groups) after war? We welcome papers that discuss these and other related questions, both on a theoretical-methodological level and through specific case studies. The chronological framework of the session encompasses from late prehistory to the early modern period, as we aim to have a wide range of contributions that provide elements for comparison and wider reflection.
Research Interests:
Geophysical Prospection on a Roman Camp in Scotland