International Workshop "Sedentism"

"Worldwide research perspectives for the shift of human societies from mobile to settled ways of life"
23 - 24/10/2008

Organizers: The German Archaeological Institute, Research Cluster 1 "From Sedentarization to Complex Societies: Settlement, Economy, Environment"

Against the background of the cultural circumstances of the Old World, the phenomenon of sedentarization is traditionally regarded as being closely connected with the transition from a hunter-gatherer mode of subsistence to a productive mode (agriculture and animal husbandry) with the simultaneous appearance of pottery and polished stone tools - a process generally termed 'Neolithization'. New research results in various parts of the world, however, show that the term 'Neolithic', when too strictly applied, does not do justice to the actual developments associated with sedentarization: the beginnings of sedentariness and the emergence of a productive mode of economy did not always coincide, and indeed the development could lead in contrary directions. Even in those areas of the Near East and south and central Europe which display fully Neolithic culture early on, the process was more complex than many have assumed thus far. The need to undertake a comparative analysis of the general circumstances of sedentarization in the highly diverse natural and cultural environments of the Old and New World is acute. The workshop is aimed to intensify this important research into one of mankind's most momentous evolutionary steps towards the emergence of complex societies.

Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Dr. Markus Reindel
Kommission für Archäologie Außereuropäischer Kulturen (KAAK) Bonn
Dürenstraße 35-37
D-53173 Bonn
Tel.: 0049-1888-7712-21
Email: reindel@kaak.dainst.de

Program (PDF, 24 KB) [17/04/08]

Place : Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Wiegandhaus, Podbielskiallee 69-71, D-14195 Berlin
begins : 23/10/2008
finish date : 24/10/2008