 |
 |
Dear colleagues, The deadline for the submission of paper proposals to the 23rd Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) is fast approaching. We would like to invite you to submit a paper proposal before the 15th of March, following the instructions that can be found at http://www.eaa2017maastricht.nl/, to the session that Umberto Albarella and I are organising, entitled “The ‘long’ 16th century: archaeological evidence for innovations in the rural world (technology, agriculture and husbandry)” (session number: # 75). SESSION ABSTRACT During the 16th century, Europe shifted from being ‘medieval’ to being ‘modern’ because some crucial changes occurred in all aspects of life. Abundant documentary evidence has allowed historians to investigate some of these changes, such as the exploration of other continents, the opening of oceanic trade routes, the remarkable development of politics, science, philosophy, international law and art, and the Protestant Reformation. However, changes also occurred in the rural world, and, arguably, affected the character of human societies even more profoundly than the political and religious upheavals. In the period between the Black Death (14th century) and the Agricultural Revolution (18th century), unquestionably the countryside of Europe was transformed in both its appearance and practices. This session will analyse changes that occurred in the 16th century, as this is the time following the end of the Middle Ages, but earlier than the Agricultural Revolution as traditionally defined. Can we see the roots of rural world transformations already in the 16th century, or was this a time still more closely connected to medieval practices? We aim to bring together researchers from a variety of disciplines (zooarchaeology, archaeobotany, geoarchaeology, landscape archaeology, material culture studies, etc.) to investigate the nature of agricultural innovations that occurred in the rural world during the ‘long’ 16th century. This may include improvements in agriculture and animal husbandry, the introduction of new plant and animal species, and technological changes in the countryside. Although the session will focus on the archaeological evidence, the contribution of historians is most welcome. KEYWORDS medieval, modern, agriculture, husbandry, technology ORGANIZERS Idoia Grau-Sologestoa: Dpt. of Geography, Prehistory and Archaeology, University of the Basque Country (Spain) Umberto Albarella: Dpt. of Archaeology, University of Sheffield (United Kingdom)