39th Association for Environmental Archaeology Conference
It is our pleasure to announce that the “39th Association for Environmental Archaeology Conference” will be hosted from 29th November to 1st December 2018 at Moesgaard Museum (MOMU) and Aarhus University ‘Moesgaard Campus’ in Denmark. The venue of the meeting is the new museum building, which houses key Danish archaeological collections and is a major focus for environmental archaeology. MOMU has strong collaborative links with the Department of Archaeology & Heritage Studies of Aarhus University, a leading department in its field.
Some of the earliest applications of ecological knowledge in archaeology (if not even the start of human palaeoecology itself) are traceable to mid-19th century Denmark. Back then, archaeologists and natural scientists started collaborating to study anthropogenic shell deposits known as køkkenmøddinger (kitchen middens). The early studies on these well-preserved sites probably represent the first truly interdisciplinary excavation projects in the history of archaeology. These addressed research themes still relevant to environmental archaeology and archaeological science today, such as environmental and vegetational changes, site formation processes, plant and animal exploitation, seasonality of human behaviour, subsistence and diet.
As we are in the course of another ‘scientific revolution’ in archaeology, with the development of biomolecular archaeology and ancient DNA, all the aforementioned topics are relevant for the AEA meeting in Aarhus. Papers merging different methods of environmental and biomolecular archaeology will be particularly welcome, as well as contributions on the human palaeoecology of Scandinavia and northern Europe. Oral presentations and posters dealing with methods which have not been applied on Scandinavian contexts previously, are also relevant for this conference.
We look forward to seeing you in Aarhus,
with best wishes
Marcello A. Mannino, Associate Professor in Archaeological Science, School of Culture & Society, Aarhus University
Peter Hambro Mikkelsen, Department of Archaeological Science and Conservation, Vice-director of Moesgaard MuseuM.