Proceedings of the UISPP World Congress - Böcker

This volume presents proceedings from the session ‘Monumental Earthen Architecture in Early Societies: Technology and power display’, part of the XVII World UISPP Congress, held in Burgos (Spain), the 4th September 2014. The theme of the symposium is the archaeology of earthen architecture in pre- and protohistoric cultures, with an emphasis on constructive techniques and systems, and diachronic changes in those aspects. The main interest is in monumental architecture (not domestic), where it is better possible to appreciate the building strategies that show raw earth to be as noble a material as stone or wood, but with its very own characteristics which required the development of original solutions and construction techniques. The scope on monumental buildings also allows analyzing the political, social and economical factors that made such architecture a recognized expression of societal values and political power.

These proceedings include eight presentations. Two of them focus on the role played by the river axes and the geography of river basins as factors of circulation and settlement of Palaeolithic hunter gatherers on the European scale (Francois Djindjian) and in the surroundings of the Jura Mountains (Gérald Bereiziat and Harald Floss). José Javier Piña Abellán describes how the central valley of the River Jabalón (Ciudad Real, Spain) was peopled in the course of the second millennium B.C., and how the inhabitants still maintain a close link to the hydrography. Frederic Cruz and Christophe Petit provide new insights into the organization of the princely residences’ territories of the late Hallstatt era in the North-Western region of the Alps, taking into account their relationship to the environment, and especially the distance from the valleys. Ana Lucia Herberts documents how river crossings and related drainage structures played a crucial role in setting cattle trails in Brazil to drive the cattle from their pasture lands to the major market places in remote cities. A 3-D modelling using LiDAR altimetry has been used by Sabine Schellberg, Benoît Sittler, and Werner Konold to reconstruct water meadows that were used in historical times in the upper Rhine Valley. In their paper, Sandrine Robert and Hélène Noizet develop, as an example illustrating resilience, how an ancient meander of the River Seine, which was filled in Antiquity, still dictates the layout of the network of the streets of Paris. Lastly, Martin Orgaz and Norma Ratto addressed the social construction of landscapes by relating Inca sites to the Tinogasta region (Catamarca, Argentina) rivers whose visual features (the colour red) may be regarded as a factor that governed the selection of sites.

A significant number of Holocene societies throughout the world have resorted at one time or another to the making of paints or carvings on different places (tombs, rock-shelters or caves, openair outcrops). The aim of the session A11e. Public images, private readings: multi-perspective approaches to the post-Palaeolithic rock art, which was held within the XVII World UISPP Congress (Burgos, September 1-7 2014), was to put together the experiences of specialists from different areas of the Iberian Peninsula and the World. The approaches ranged from the archaeological definition of the artistic phenomena and their socioeconomic background to those concerning themselves with the symbolic and ritual nature of those practices, including the definition of the audience to which the graphic manifestations were addressed and the potential role of the latter in the making up of social identities and the enforcement of territorial claims. More empirical issues, such as new recording methodologies and data management or even dating were also considered during this session.

This volume brings together presentations from two sessions organized for the XVII World UISPP Conference that was held from 1-7 September 2014 in Burgos (Spain). The sessions are: The scientific value of 3D archaeology, organised by Hans Kamermans, Chiara Piccoli and Roberto Scopigno, and Detecting the Landscape(s) – Remote Sensing Techniques from Research to Heritage Management, organised by Axel Posluschny and Wieke de Neef. The common thread amongst the papers presented here is the application of digital recording techniques to enhance the documentation and analysis of the spatial component intrinsically present in archaeological data. For a long time the capturing of the third dimension, the depth, the height or z-coordinate, was problematic. Traditionally, excavation plans and sections were documented in two dimensions. Objects were also recorded in two dimensions, often from different angles. Remote sensing images like aerial photographs were represented as flat surfaces. Although depth could be visualized with techniques such as stereoscopes, analysis of relief was troublesome. All this changed at the end of the last century with the introduction of computer based digitization technologies, 3D software, and digital near-surface sampling devices. The spatial properties of the multi-scale archaeological dataset can now be accurately recorded, analysed and presented. Relationships between artefacts can be clarified by visualizing the records in a three dimensional space, computer-based simulations can be made to test hypotheses on the past use of space, remote sensing techniques help in detecting previously hidden features of landscapes, thus shedding light on bygone land uses.

From Lascaux to Shanidar caves, from Malta temples to Stonenge (and the ‘new’ one...), from Serra da Capivara to Foz Coa park, from Australia to North Africa’s Rock Art, from Pechino to Isernia excavations, from the Musée de l’Homme in Paris to the Museum of Civilization in Quebéc, from Çatal Hüyük to the Varna village, from the Rift Valley to the Grand Canyon, most problems have to be fronted in a common perspective. But which perspective? Is it possible to have a common point of view on different values, different sites, different methodologies? The Scientific Commission for the Quality Management of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sites, Monuments and Museums© set up at UISPP by initiative of the author (UISPP-PPCHM) is aimed to examine these issues and propose solutions acceptable to all those who want to contribute to common understanding of our past history. The only certainty in fact is our Past. It is undoubted that it happened, it is undoubted that its consequences are in place today, it is undoubted that it is affecting persons, social groups or larger structures in some ways also when it is disregarded. The help of specialists from different Countries and the exchange of opinions with other colleagues from other fields and/or organizations is then needed in order to: discuss the reasons and possibilities for preservation and use of Sites, Monuments and Museums; let the management of Rock Art Sites and Parks, Prehistoric excavations, Museums and Interpretations Centres and related structures open to the public to be made according to criteria agreed at an International level, both in normal and critical conditions; enhance standards in preserving, communicating and using Sites, Monuments and Museums; involve the public and diffuse awareness; analyse tourism benefits and risks at these destinations; introduce new opportunities for jobs and training; develop networks on these topics in connection with other specialized Organizations. This session aimed to ask: what is your experience? Which problems would you like to address? What solutions can be considered?

The Bell Beaker phenomenon is one of the most fascinating horizons in European Later Prehistory, due to its vast geographical distribution, the intrinsic value of some of the artefacts comprising the Beaker package, or its supposed links to certain kinds of ritual ceremonies as shown by the frequent deposition of Beaker items in burial contexts. At present, the idea that the Beaker package is best interpreted as a symbol of power common to socially-prominent individuals by the mid-to-late third millennium BC is widely acknowledged by scholars in this field. From this point of view, the Beaker phenomenon is seen as the archaeological evidence representing an ideology which was shared by a number of prehistoric societies geographically scattered throughout much of Western and Central Europe, or, more specifically, was only shared by elite individuals within these territories.The strategies employed by these individuals to attain such privileged statuses, however, are poorly known. Therefore, in the framework of the XVII World UISPP Congress, held in September 2014 in Burgos (Spain), a session entitled ‘Analysis of the economic foundations supporting the social supremacy of the Beaker groups’ (B36) was organised by this volume’s two editors. The session focused mostly on examining this issue at a European level, and less on the study of the Beaker package itself, as a way of looking at the economic foundations that helped these individuals attain their higher social statuses.The proximity of Beaker sites to natural routes of communication highlights the importance of exchange networks through which people, objects and ideas may have circulated through Europe during this time. The Amesbury Archer in southern England is one of the best examples of interaction within Beaker territories. Having said this, considering that Beaker pots themselves were not exchanged over long distances, attention must be paid to other mechanisms of diffusion. The present volume comprises the papers presented at this session suggesting that Beaker groups may have controlled certain products and technologies.

This volume presents proceedings from sessions A15a, A15b, A15c of the XVII UISPP World Congress (1–7 September 2014, Burgos, Spain). The sessions covered are: ‘Archaeological Heritage Policies and Management Strategies’, where international management models focused on legislation, public policies, management systems, and institutional contexts for research were presented; ‘Management and use of science data from preventive archaeology: quality control’, where reflections on the range of quality control in projects of applied science, including environmental topics and social standards were developed; ‘Cultural resources, management, public policy, people’s awareness and sustainable development’, which focused on local traditional crafts, many of which exist continuously from prehistory to the present day. Collectively this volume presents perspectives of archaeological heritage management in various countries and continents. It is hoped, through this, to contribute to the exchange of experiences, the sharing of solutions, and the broadening of Archaeology’s role in the sustainable development of people.

How does the study of rock art make it possible to culturally characterize its authors? What does it tell us about the function of sites? How and under what circumstances does it make it possible to delimit a cultural territory? The six articles in this volume provide case studies from Mexico, El Salvador, Costa Rica, French Guiana and Chile.

Papers address the question of exchange and mobility in prehistoric societies in relation to the evolution of their environments through the prism of their graphic productions, on objects or on walls. This volume offers the opportunity to question their symbolic behaviours within very diverse temporal, chrono-cultural or geographic contexts.

Different Times? Archaeological and environmental data from intra-site and off-site sequences brings together seven papers from Session II-8 of the XVIII UISPP Congress (Paris, 4-9 June 2018). The session questioned temporal correlations between intra-site and off-site data in archaeology-related contexts. The word ‘site’ describes here archaeological sites or groups of sites – usually settlements – that have undergone research in recent years and produced information on the duration and timing of human presence. Comparison with evidence from geomorphological and paleoenvironmental research conducted at various distances from settlements gives some interesting results, such as ‘missing’ occupation periods, distortions in human presence intensity through space as well as time, variability in explanations concerning the abandonment of settlements, etc. Examples presented here highlight: first, discrepancies between time records within built areas used for living and the surrounding lands used for other activities (cultivation, herding, travelling, etc); second, discrepancies produced by the use of different ‘time markers’ (ie. chronostratigraphy of archaeological layers or pottery evolution on the one hand, sedimentary or pollen sequences on the other hand). Although improving the resolution of individual data is essential, the authors argue that the joint and detailed examination of evidence produced together by human and natural scientists is more important for reaching a reliable reconstruction of past people’s activities. Both the session and the volume stem from the Working Group ‘Environmental and Social Changes in the Past’ (Changements environnementaux et sociétés dans le passé) in the research framework of the Cluster of Excellence ‘Dynamite’ (Territorial and Spatial Dynamics) of the University Paris 1-Panthéon-Sorbonne (ANR-11-LABX-0046, Investissements d’Avenir).

This volume presents combined proceedings of two complementary sessions of the XVIII UISPP World Congress (Paris, 2018). These sessions aimed to identify demographic variations during the Neolithic and Bronze Age and to question their causes while avoiding the potential taphonomic and chronological biases affecting the documentation.

Session XXXIV-6 of the XVIII UISPP World Congress (4–9 June 2018, Paris, France): ‘Stone in Metal Ages’ was divided in two parts. The first, ‘Late stone talks: Lithic industries in Metal Ages’, was concerned with knapping. The papers dealt with lithic technology, use-wear analyses and the relation between the decline of stone and the development of metallurgy. The second, ‘Let there be rock and metal: l’outillage en pierre des métallurgistes préhistoriques de la mine à l’atelier’, was designed for papers focussing on stone tools used for metallurgy. This publication combines these two parts. Despite the fact that metal took the place of stone in many spheres, the analysis of lithic products created during the Metal Ages has seen progressive development. Objects and tools made of flint, chert and other stone materials remain important components of the archaeological record, and their study has offered new perspectives on ancient societies. Not only have many aspects of the everyday life of ancient people been better understood, but the socioeconomic and cultural systems associated with the production, circulation and use of stone tools have offered new information not available from other realms of material culture.

The reconstruction of the technical systems of ceramic production and of its ‘chaîne opératoire’ is a means of exploring certain social structures in time and space. Papers here highlight the contribution of technological approaches to ceramics, both in archaeology and in ethnology, to the analysis of pre- and protohistoric societies.

From Mine to User: Production and Procurement Systems of Siliceous Rocks in the European Neolithic and Bronze Age presents the papers from Session XXXIII of the 18th UISPP World Congress (Paris, June 2018). 23 authors contribute nine papers from Parts 1 and 2 of the Session. The first session ‘Siliceous rocks: procurement and distribution systems’ was aimed at analysing one of the central research issues related to mining, i.e. the production systems and the diffusion of mining products. The impact of extraction on the environment, group mobility and the numbers involved in the exploitation phase were considered; mining products were also examined with a view to identifying local and imported/exported products and the underlying social organization relating to the different fields of activity. The second session ‘Flint mines and chipping floors from prehistory to the beginning of the nineteenth century’ focused on knapping activities. The significance of the identification of knapping workshops in the immediate vicinity of mine shafts and of their presence in villages as well as in intermediary places between the two was considered in the analysis of chaîne opératoire sequences. The potential of product quality and artefact distribution to contribute to the understanding of the social organisation of the communities being studied was also examined.

Session VIII-1 of UISPP 2018 in Paris ‘Mapping the Past’ brought together several contributions reflecting on the need to develop sustainable and reliable approaches to mapping our landscape heritage. The session was guided by the crucial concept termed the ‘archaeological continuum’. This concept can be defined as a proactive approach to landscape survey based on the summative evidence detected (or detectable) within the area under examination, reducing spatial and chronological gaps as far as possible through the intensive and extensive application of a wide variety of exploratory methods and analytical techniques. Research work across Europe as well as contributions presented in this session have demonstrated that it is now possible to explore the whole landscape of carefully chosen areas and study them as an archaeological continuum. Archaeological interpretations derived from this kind of approach can be expected to reveal different layers of information belonging to a variety of chronological horizons, each displaying mutual physical (stratigraphic) and conceptual relationships within that horizon. The raising of new archaeological questions and also the development of alternative conservation strategies directly stimulated by the radical ideas inherent in the concept of the ‘archaeological continuum’ are among the major outcomes of the session.

Sessions XXXVIII-1,2 of UISPP 2018 in Paris were dedicated to monumental constructions and to complex exchange networks in the Pacific. Both topics have been extensively commented on and described by indigenous experts, explorers, missionaries, and scholars over the last two centuries, however these have been made famous only for the most impressive examples such as the moai statues of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) or the kula exchange system of the Trobriand Islands. Some of the latest research on these key aspects of Pacific islands societies are made available in this volume to researchers focusing on the region, but also to a more global scientific community and to the general public. The volume reflects the tremendous progress made in Pacific island archaeology in the last 60 years which has considerably advanced our knowledge of early Pacific island societies, the rise of traditional cultural systems, and their later historical developments from European contact onwards. Interdisciplinarity is particularly stimulating in the Pacific region, where the study of the archaeological record and of chronological sequences are often combined with other kinds of information such as ethnohistorical accounts, oral traditions, and linguistic reconstructions, in the French tradition of ethnoarchéologie and the American tradition of historical anthropology.

Studies on the Palaeolithic of Western Eurasia presents the papers from Sessions XVII-4 and XVII-6 of the 18th UISPP World congress (Paris, June 2018). The geographic areas discussed in the Session 4, Central and Eastern Europe, are prehistorically strongly articulated, their cultural successions are highly similar, and they share several common archaeological issues for investigation. The papers disseminate a wealth of archaeological data from Bavaria to the Russian Plain, and discuss Aurignacian, Gravettian, Epigravettian, and Magdalenian perspectives on lithic tool kits and animal remains. The papers of Session 6 are concerned with lithic raw material procurement in the Caucasus and in three areas of the Iberian peninsula.

Neolithic and Bronze Age Studies in Europe: from material culture to territories presents eight papers from the 2018 UISPP Congress. Topics include the neolithisation process in the Iberian Peninsula; faunal exploitation in early Neolithic Italy; the economic and symbolic role of animals in eastern Germany; Copper Age human remains in central Italy; animal figurines; spatula-idols; territories and schematic art in the Iberian Neolithic; and finally Bronze age hoards at a European scale. The diversity of the papers reflects contemporary approaches and questions in those periods.

Big Data and Archaeology presents the papers from two sessions of the 18th UISPP World Congress (Paris, June 2018): Session III-1 (CA): ‘Big data, databases and archaeology’, and Session III-1 (T): ‘New advances in theoretical archaeology’. The advent of Big Data is a recent and debated issue in Digital Archaeology. Historiographic context and current developments are illustrated in this volume, as well as comprehensive examples of a multidisciplinary and integrative approach to the recording, management and exploitation of excavation data and documents produced over a long period of archaeological research. In addition, specific attention is paid to neoprocessual archaeology, as a new platform aimed at renewing the theoretical framework of archaeology after thirty years of post-modernism, and to the refinement of the concept of archaeological cultures, combining processual, contextual and empirical approaches.

Earthen Construction Technology presents the papers from Session IV-5 of the 18th UISPP World Congress (Paris, June 2018). The archaeological study of earthen construction has until now focused on typology and conservation, rather than on its anthropological importance. Earth is the permanent building material of humankind, and was used by the world’s earliest civilizations for their first urban programmes. The architectural and engineering know-how required to carry out these monumental achievements can only be obtained through archaeological research: extensive excavations with attention to architectural and structural features, and their collapse, coupled with typological, mineralogical, micromorphological, botanical, chemical, and mechanical studies of building materials. This line of research is recent, starting in the 1980s in Europe, but is rapidly growing and illustrated in this volume.

Mobility and Exchange across Borders presents the proceedings of Sessions XXXIVIV and XXXIV-V of the 18th UISPP World Congress (Paris, June 2018). Over the last few decades, the study of cultural interactions in the Iron Age has been considerably renewed thanks to the application of new methods and tools, opening the way to new research perspectives. The papers provide different examples from various archaeological contexts and regions while applying new methodologies able to highlight the diversity of cultural transfers. Their purpose is to stimulate a debate on human interactions and cultural transfers in order to open up new analytical perspectives on this topic and to critically examine the markers and approaches traditionally used to identify human and object mobility during the first millennium BC. Through the different approaches and perspectives presented herein, this volume aims to contribute to the renewal of the scientific debate on mobility and interactions as important drivers of societal change and to stimulate future research and debate.

New Advances in the History of Archaeology presents the papers from three sessions organised by the History of Archaeology Scientific Commission at the 18th UISPP World Congress (Paris, June 2018). The first session, From stratigraphy to stratigraphic excavation in pre- and protohistoric archaeology organised by Massimo Tarantini and Alessandro Guidi, reviews the development of stratigraphical methods in archaeology in many European countries. The second session, Epistemology, History and Philosophy of Science: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on the History of Archaeology, organised by Sophie A. de Beaune and Oscar Moro Abadia, is characterised by different examples of intersections between archaeology and other disciplines like history and the philosophy of science. Finally, four papers discuss the development of different types of interdisciplinarity in Europe and South America. These were presented in the third session, Archaeology and interdisciplinarity, from the 19th century to present-day research, organized by Laura Coltofean, Géraldine. Delley, Margarita Díaz-Andreu and Marc-Antoine Kaeser.

Understanding and Accessibility of Pre-and Protohistorical Research Issues: Sites, Museums and Communication Strategies presents the papers from Session XXXV-1 of the 18th UISPP World Congress (Paris, June 2018). Museums are increasingly seen as the place where scientific research and heritage education meet, rather than being simply a location for exhibitions. The eight contributions from Italy, the United Kingdom, Senegal, Spain and the Netherlands address the following related issues: the mediation of language from research usage to public usage, making the museum visit an educational experience, universal accessibility, involvement of the local community in the management of the sites and museums, use of media and new technology to bring scientific content to the public.