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Conference
Announcement
Hunter-Gatherer
Societies and Space: the archaeological
record and its interpretation
Co-ordinators:
Fernando Oliva and Caroline Wickham-Jones
http://www.uchile.cl/vaa/americanista/
Hunter-gatherer-fisher
societies are interpreted through a number of different
dynamics including the type and apparent function of
the remains as well as the features and possible symbolism
of the natural terrain. In this way we look at the meaning
of space, both within and between sites. The formation
and interpretation of the archaeological record is reflected
in a complexity of processes which vary according to
many factors including the scales of space and time,
the organisational properties of the societies involved,
mobility strategies, activity patterns, and the geographical
and environmental characteristics of the land and sea-scape.
Processes of taphonomy have also to be taken into account.
To
complicate matters, these processes, while perhaps well
understood at an individual level, do not operate evenly.
There is a bias in the way that the landscape is, and
was, perceived, and even this has changed through space
and time. Certain sectors of the landscape have exerted
undue influence on past populations at difference times,
and post-depositional processes have also varied. The
use of any spot within the landscape is the result of
a complex process of decision making which seeks the
optimal solutions appropriate to the moment. Various
resources all come into play, as do symbolic factors.
One
important factor for the modern archaeologist is to
establish the structural patterning visible within the
distribution of sites in a landscape. Individual sites
have responded not only to their own set of conditions,
but they also operated together as part of a wider system.
The incompleteness of the archaeological record means
that this can be difficult to establish, but it has
to remain an important goal.
In
this symposium we aim to compare work on hunter-gatherer-fisher
societies within different latitudes. There is much
interesting work going on between Europe and the northern
hemisphere, and South America, but we rarely have the
opportunity to share our experiences. It is our intention
to open up the dialogue. Thus the relationship between
topographic work and the H-G-F record in different regions
has especial value, including both open air sites and
caves and rockshelters. We wish to include both a general
inter-change of information and a discussion of theoretical
and practical approaches.
This
discussion should not only broaden the tools that we
can bring to our interpretations of past societies but
it should also add to our practical knowledge, such
as of economic and other decision making. The role of
mobility, for example, is one aspect of H-G-F life that
is approached very differently, both within Europe as
well as further afield, and we feel that the time is
ripe to consider this. Another aspect might be to consider
just how we define the H-G-F way of life. The societies
in which we are interested existed from the Mesolithic
in Europe into the beginning of the twentieth century
in parts of S America. They operated under many different
conditions and they are approached in many different
ways.
We
feel that the benefits of a symposium on these lines
are many, and we hope that you will be able to attend.
There is much to learn, not only in terms of interpretation
but also in terms of basic methodological approaches.
For
further information contact: http://www.uchile.cl/vaa/americanista/
World
archaeology courses at the University of Oxford
Oxford
offers both a
- One-year
MSt (Master
of Studies) degree in World Archaeology
and a
- Two-year
MPhil (Master of Philosophy)
degree in World Archaeology
Students
make full use of the opportunities for study and research
provided by Oxford's Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers Museums
and their respective libraries, as well as the University's
other archaeological resources.
These
taught courses in World Archaeology allow graduate students
to develop their interests in areas of the world beyond
Europe and further back in time than the development
of farming. Major areas of regional expertise lie in
sub-Saharan Africa, Australasia, Palaeolithic Europe
and the Islamic world. Staff members have particular
research interests in, and can provide teaching that
covers, hunter-gatherer archaeology, the archaeology
of colonial contact and archaeological method and theory.
For
more information see our web site: http://athens.arch.ox.ac.uk/masters/
MSc
in Environmental and Contextual Archaeology
Department
of Geography and Anthropology, Oxford Brookes University
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/social/postgrad/envarch/masters_home.html
 click
to enlarge (higher resolution
posters for printing available in Microsoft and PDF
format):
©
Western Academic & Specialist Press Ltd 2003
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