AIA-6E: Breaking New Ground in Southeastern Europe with Innovative Strategies: Research by Emerging Scholars (Colloquium)

Sponsored by:

AIA Eastern Europe/Eurasian Interest Group

Organizers

Sterling Wright, Pennsylvania State University; and Erina Baci University of Michigan

Overview Statement

The advent of innovative technologies has added significant value to archaeological research taking place in southeastern Europe. Ancient DNA, GIS, and stable isotope analysis have all broadened the breadth of questions that can be answered with empirical evidence. For instance, ancient DNA findings yielded new information about the complex genetic landscapes of the Neolithic and Bronze Age in the Mediterranean. However, unifying the findings from these emerging fields into a single narrative becomes a daunting task. Few opportunities exist to break down the academic silos of these various disciplines. This session bridges this gap by offering an opportunity for early career scholars with different training backgrounds to showcase their work. The papers in this session will cover several topics, including ancient DNA, paleomicrobiology, GIS, stable isotope analysis, and osteological analysis. While their topics and methodologies are diverse, they have a common focus in archaeological material in southeastern Europe. An important accomplishment from this session will be to illustrate how new strategies can address questions that were previously thought to be unanswerable using more traditional methods. Through this concerted and purposeful work, this session will highlight how transdisciplinary action is required to foster research that addresses grand challenges in archaeological research.