Hi everyone! I invite you to take part in our metalworking session titled:
From Science to History: Interpreting Archaeometallurgy
The conference is taking place in Bern Switzerland, in the 4th-7th of September 2019. In this session we welcome papers on ancient metalworking in a very broad sense. We particularly appreciate contributions that address questions or provide examples on how to integrate different research traditions, that show how the same material can be studied from different angles. In addition, we would like to discuss the difficulties that may arise when archaeometallurgists with different backgrounds try to bridge the interdisciplinary gap.
Our session can be found under the theme "Interpreting the archaeological record: artefacts, humans and landscapes" with the number 191.
The deadline for the abstracts is:
14 February 2019, 23:59 CET.
More info:
Best wishes
Ragnar Saage
Full info of the session:
From Science to History: Interpreting Archaeometallurgy
Astract
Archaeometallurgy is a multidisciplinary field populated by researchers with varying biographies. Some archaeometallurgists have their background in science or engineering, and focus on scientific analysis of metallurgical samples. Others prefer an experimental approach, trying to reconstruct ancient techniques and technologies through practical work. And some archaeometallurgists have a background in the humanities or social sciences, trying to understand metal objects and metal-working from a theoretical or cultural history point of view, or to fit them into historical narratives. Although many agree that a multidisciplinary approach would be ideal, we do not always find practical ways to combine our different approaches. A major obstacle seems to be the lack of a forum for different types of archaeometallurgists to exchange ideas, to develop overreaching research strategies and to develop a common 'language'.
In this session we welcome papers on ancient metalworking in a very broad sense. We particularly appreciate contributions that address questions or provide examples on how to integrate different research traditions, that show how the same material can be studied from different angles. In addition, we would like to discuss the difficulties that may arise when archaeometallurgists with different backgrounds try to bridge the interdisciplinary gap.
Keywords:
archaeometallurgy, metalworking, interdisciplinarity, archaeometry, science, interpretation
Ragnar Saage
Sebastian Wärmländer
Michael Neiß
Arne Jouttijärvi