Dear colleagues, we would like to draw your attention on
the session that will be held in the European Association of Archaeologists meeting in Vilnius, on the August 31-September 3rd 2016.

Abstract

In recent years scholarly interest has been growing in the investigation of the origins and means of interaction across Eurasia. The processes of translocation of foods, fibrous plants, medicine, spices, precious stones and metals across the continent, thousands of kilometers away from their centers of origin, have played a significant role in the territories they influenced. In the case of domesticated plants and animals, not only did their adoption force the lifestyles of people to adjust and change, but also the animal and plant species had to change as they were moved into climatically different regions. 

The question remains - who received the first translocated items: the elites or the commoners? In past literature, ecological opportunism, economic relationships and cultural identities were put forward as possible motivations behind the movement of food, while other research has emphasized the social dimensions of plant translocation. The motives and timings of many translocated items have yet to be discussed in greater detail.

In this session we invite talks analyzing evidence of the translocation and movement of various advances, including food, medicine/hallucinogens, fabrics, metals and raw materials. With the application of both theory and archaeological science we call for papers that look at social change linked with the arrival of novel items, also analyzing the drivers responsible for such movements.