Plague in diachronic and interdisciplinary perspective / Cremation remains in archaeology (EAA 2016) : 2 appels à com’
Extended deadline : 1st March 2016
Session TH5-05:
Plague in diachronic and interdisciplinary perspective
Plague, an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, occurred in at least three major historical pandemics : the Justinianic Plague (6th to 8th century), the Black Death (from 14th century onwards), and the modern or Hong Kong Plague (19th to 20th century). Yet DNA from bronze age human skeleton has recently shown that the plague first emerged at least as early as 3000 BC. Plague is, as any disease, both a biological as well as a social entity. Different disciplines can therefore elucidate different aspects of the plague, which can lead to a better understanding of this disease and its medical and social implications.
The session shall address questions like :
- Which disciplines can contribute to the research on the plague? What are their methodological possibilities and limitations?
- How can they work together in order to come to a more realistic and detailed picture of the plague in different times and regions?
- Which ways had societies to react to the plague? How can they be studied or proved?
- Which commons and differences can be seen between the Justinianic Plague and later plague epidemics? Are there epidemiological characteristics that are essential and/or unique to plague?
- What are possible implications of the pandemic spread and endemic occurrence of plague through the ages for the interpretitaion of historical and cultural phenomena?
We would like to invite researchers from the disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, biology, history, medicine and related subjects to present papers in our session.
Session TH5-04:
Cremated remains in archaeology: new methods, findings, and interpretations
Cremated remains have historically been a neglected area of archaeological evidence, with many early excavators discarding remains with little attempt at formal analysis ; until recently, they were undervalued as a resource and their potential under-explored. Nevertheless, traditions of cremating the dead have been common across Europe and therefore a large amount of knowledge about past societies lies in the understanding of cremated remains. The last three decades have seen a dramatic increase in the attention paid both to individual deposits of cremated remains and to this class of material as a whole. Standardised methodologies for demographic analysis are now well established, and the development of radiocarbon methodologies applicable to cremated bone increased the perceived interpretative value of this material among a wider audience. The study of cremated remains is now in a phase of maturation, with new methodologies, often aided by technological advances, allowing sophisticated analysis and interpretation. This session aims to bring together researchers from across Europe working with cremated remains, to present new developments in their analysis and interpretation, and new finding sresulting from these developments. We aim to foster international discussion, communication and collaboration to share methods, results, expertise, and expand the common knowledge about this branch of bioarchaeology.
Dates : Du mercredi 31 août 2016 au dimanche 04 septembre 2016
Lieu : Vilnius, Lituanie