Children of Cain: Identity and violence in Late Prehistory

Bioarchaeological approaches are regularly applied in the study of human remains. Osteological analysis can provide information on age, sex, physical features, activity and pathology, isotope analysis on subsistence and mobility patterns, and DNA analysis on admixture and ancestry, among others. While unquestionably important aspects for our understanding of past lifeways, their implications have not been fully explored yet. Particularly in the case of isotopes, food and place are intrinsically linked to identity: we are what we eat, with whom we eat and where we eat. A series of challenges and unprecedent outcomes have arisen from applying this premise to explore the life-histories of those involved in the violence observed in Neolithic France.

The aim of this workshop is to bring together a group of experts who are thinking about similar methodological and interpretative issues, and who have, to some degree, worked together. As it is meant as a discussion-rich workshop, we are not emphasizing presentations in the usual sense, but we have identified key presenters to provide wider introductions (60 mins). We have also asked other researchers to talk (20-25 mins), or otherwise contribute using a maximum of 10 slides (15 min), to the following sessions.

Scientific Committee

Hélène Barrand-Emam (ANTEA Archéologie, UMR 7044 Archimède, Univ. Strasbourg, France), Fanny Chenal (INRAP – Grand Est, UMR 7044 Archimède, Univ. Strasbourg, France), Teresa Fernández-Crespo and Gwenaëlle Goude (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Minist Culture, LAMPEA, Aix-en-Provence, France), Christopher Knüsel (UMR 5199 PACEA, Univ. Bordeaux, France),  Philippe Lefranc (INRAP – Grand Est, UMR 7044 Archimède, Univ. Strasbourg, France), Bertrand Perrin (ANTEA Archéologie, UMR 7044 Archimède, Univ. Strasbourg, France), Rick Schulting (School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, UK), Christophe Snoeck (Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium).

Organizing Committee

Axelle Davadie (DRAC Grand Est, Service Régional de l’Archéologie, Minist. Culture, Strasbourg, France), Teresa Fernández-Crespo, Gwenaëlle Goude and  Caroline Ikkache (Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Minist Culture, LAMPEA, Aix-en-Provence, France), Javier Ordoño (ARKIKUS - Virtual reconstruction of past heritage, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain), Yaramila Tchérémissinoff (INRAP Grand Sud, Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Minist Culture, LAMPEA, Aix-en-Provence, France).