Session: #562

Theme & Session Format

Theme:
Theories and methods in archaeological sciences
Session format:
Session, made up of a combination of papers, max. 15 minutes each

Title & Content

Title:
Comparative Microregional Research in Bronze Age Central and Eastern Europe: Theories, Methods and Future Perspectives
Content:
The most successful approach to study the organisation of early complex societies is through diachronic, multi-disciplinary, multi-scalar projects aimed at the investigation of entire microregions. This approach enables the study of social phenomena in their wider context, with results that are inconceivable through projects focusing either on microscale archaeological patterns, or broad regions following tropes of early culture-historical narratives. The contextual variability resulting from the application of intensive comparative methods in various microregions could inform us about changing, conflicting ideas, identities and alternative articulations of social, political and economic processes. By revealing such multivocality and complexity of past societies systematic microregional studies expose social dynamics and facilitate new research questions to be addressed.
Following the collapse of the Iron Curtain a diversity of microregional archaeological approaches to Central and Eastern European Bronze Age societies have been developed articulating different elements of postprocessual archaeologies with national archaeological traditions. Our objective is to provide a platform for Bronze Age archaeologists working in Central and Eastern European countries to discuss the virtues of varied and often contradicting microregional approaches. We encourage contributions focusing on various aspects of microregional archaeological research: intra- and inter-site archaeological analyses of domestic and ritual activities, mortuary behaviours, depositional practices, consumption and production, or holistic landscape and environmental studies. Presentations providing critical comparative analyses of different microregional projects are especially welcome.
Keywords:
microregional studies, Bronze Age
Session associated with MERC:
no
Session associated with CIfA:
no
Session associated with SAfA:
no

Organisers

Main organiser:
Peter Czukor (Hungary) 1,2
Co-organisers:
Csaba Bodnár (Hungary) 1,3
Eszter Fejér (Germany) 4
Tamás Polányi (United States) 5,6
Affiliations:
1. Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Budapest
2. Móra Ferenc Múzeum, Szeged
3. Museum of Fine Arts, Department of Classical Antiquites, Budapest
4. Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Prähistorische Archäologie, Berlin
5. Northwestern University, Department of Anthropology, Evanston
6. Archaeologist and Project Manager SWCA Environmental Consultants