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Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: > From: Marta Portillo Ramirez <[log in to unmask]> > Date: 15 July 2016 at 15:07:49 BST > To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: 82nd SAA session call: The Archaeology of Livestock dung > > Dear colleague, > > I am pleased to formally invite you to participate in the session entitled “Of Dung and Humans: The Archaeology of Livestock dung”, co-organized by Marta Portillo and Wendy Matthews (University of Reading) in the framework of the 82nd Annual Meeting (SAA) that will be held in Vancouver, Canada from the 29th of March to the 2nd of April 2017. > > The main objective of this session is to review state-of-the-art methods that further our identification and understanding of archaeological livestock dung, and to highlight avenues for potential future growth/development in this key area of research. The session will place together/explore recent research from a wide diversity of archaeological and environmental disciplines, including archaeobotany, archaeozoology, geoarchaeology, chemistry, experimental archaeology, ethnoarchaeology and studies of the built environment. Multidisciplinary attempts to delineate the complex environmental and social contexts of animal management/human-animal interactions and dung exploitation from all archaeological records and periods are most welcome. We suggest participants particularly explore our ability to trace human-animal interactions and the role of livestock dung in different contexts through time and in key episodes of environmental and social change. We expect to generate a compilation of innovative research that will be published in a peer-review journal or monograph. > > Please see below for session description and the attached PDF for more information on how to submit an abstract online through the conference system: > > http://www.saa.org/Portals/0/SAA/Meetings/Call%20for%20Submissions%202017.pdf > > You are kindly requested to submit as soon as possible your proposal for an oral presentation to [log in to unmask] If you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact me. > > We hope that this session will be of your interest and that you may be able to send an abstract and to see you in Vancouver next year. > > Please also let us know of anyone else who you think may be interested. > > Yours sincerely, > > Marta and Wendy > > > Of Dung and Humans: The Archaeology of Livestock dung > > Abstract > Dung is a key interdisciplinary area of research as it provides valuable information on a wide range of environmental and ecological issues and socio-economic and cultural aspects of human life. Livestock dung is commonly found in many settlements, especially after the domestication of herd animals. However, dung materials are regularly overlooked or missed using conventional excavation procedures, despite their worldwide economic importance as suppliers of fertilizer, fuel and building material. > This session showcases interdisciplinary approaches to debates surrounding the identification and interpretation of dung remains in archaeological contexts through multi-proxy analytical techniques in bioarchaeology, geoarchaeology and biochemistry. Additionally, the use of ethnography and experimental archaeology provide robust comparative data and models on factors affecting its composition, preservation and taphonomy, as well as the environmental, management and cultural practices influencing these. By bringing together participants working in a variety of geographic and temporal foci and from different fields of research, this session will review the state-of-the-art identification methods and approaches to further our understanding of archaeological livestock dung, and to identify avenues for potential future growth/developments in this key research area. > > -- > Dr Marta Portillo > EU Horizon 2020 Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow > Room 1.28 | Allen Laboratory > Department of Archaeology > University of Reading > Whiteknights Box 227 > Reading RG6 6AB > Tel: +44 (0) 118 378 7981 > Email: [log in to unmask] >