Warfare and violence in prehistoric Europe

Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 23 February 2005 Page Views: 6712

A conference organised by the School of Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, to be held on May 27-29, 2005. Recent archaeological findings, particularly of human remains showing trauma, have raised questions concerning the prevalence and importance of warfare and violence in prehistoric Europe.

While Europe has a rich database upon which to draw for a study of the extent and contexts of prehistoric violence (real and symbolic), different languages and research traditions have tended to lead to fragmentation of the evidence.

The intention of this conference is to bring together a group of researchers investigating different aspects of prehistoric violence, from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age, and including consideration of skeletal trauma, weaponry, architecture, iconography, and settlement patterns.

To what extent do these various lines of evidence corroborate or contradict one another? What variation can be detected in the extent and contexts of violence across space and time? And how can we integrate evidence for violence into our narratives of prehistoric lives?

Speakers include Ian Armit, Pia Bennike, Detlef Gronenborn, Anthony Harding, Chris Knüsel, Simon James, Larry Keeley, Margaret McCartney, Jonathan McCormick, Jim Mallory, Roger Mercer, Jörg Orschiedt, John Robb, Rick Schulting, David Smith and Nick Thorpe.

Registration information at: http://www.qub.ac.uk/arcpal/events.htm

Contributor Bio for Andy B: Megalithic Portal Founding Editor.

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