T03/01 Dialogues in landscape archaeology: A renewed focus into human-environmental interactions and settlement patterns from past people’s experiences
Format: Paper presentations with discussion
Organisers: Macham Mangut, Ph.D
Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Jos
Department of History, Northwestern University
mangutm@unijos.edu.ng; macham.mangut@northwestern.edu
Bongumenzi Nxumalo, Ph.D
Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Pretoria
Department of History, Northwestern University
Bongumenzi.Nxumalo@up.ac.za; bongumenzi.nxumalo@northwestern.edu
Over the past couple of decades archaeology has reinvented itself multiple times, integrating new methods and theories, and branching across multiple disciplines and boundaries between the natural and social sciences, as well as the humanities. By constantly moving, it is a dynamic and exciting field. This session will bring together a broad depth of knowledge about the topical, contemporary issues in landscape research practice where past societies interacted, modified and assigned order to their surroundings. Given the above background, this session will explore several topics of current interest (searching for models and methodology) that bridge the gap between landscape archaeology, environmental archaeology and landscape ecology across the globe. The session will be relevant to researchers working in the exploration of regional land use history and settlement patterns, how humans impact the landscape and environment, and how to use these past experiences to model adaptation and future challenges brought by human and natural challenges on landscape. This session will seek to advance the understanding of human-spatial and environmental dynamics to settlement histories, conveying newer perspectives and deeper insights on landscape archaeology. Participants will benefit not only from the information provided by the speakers, and the many different perspectives on landscapes, settlement patterns, climate science and modelling, but also from the exchange of ideas between researchers in the course of the discussion(s).
T03/02 ‘Enduring’ landscapes in South Asia
Format: Paper presentations with discussion
Organisers: Kaushik Gangopadhyay
Department of Archaeology, University of Calcutta, India
kgarch@caluniv.ac.in
Coline Lefrancq
Research Fellow, CNRS (National Centre of Scientific Research), France; ArScAn: Archéologie de l’Asie centrale/Archaeology of Central Asia
coline.lefrancq@cnrs.fr
Varada Khaladkar
University of Calcutta; Independent Researcher, India
varada.khaladkar@gmail.com
This session will examine approaches to landscape archaeology in South Asia from the Neolithic to the medieval period, focusing on the enduring aspects of landscapes in the past as gleaned through archaeological remains. The South Asian sub-continent—presently comprised of several nation states—has immense spatial breadth and temporal depth going back to the early dawn of hominin culture as early as two million years BP. South Asia is also home to one of the oldest bronze age civilizations of the world, namely the Harappan civilization (4th millennium BCE), and numerous early farming communities were established in different ecological zones of the sub-continent. Located in the transitional period between proto and early history, Iron age ‘megalithic’ cultures are found in almost all regions of the sub-continent. The Early Historical (circa 600 BCE to 600 CE) and Medieval periods (circa 600 CE to 1200 CE for the so-called Early Medieval period; circa 1200 CE to 1526 CE for the so-called Late Medieval period) proceed with increasing complexities, engaging with urban landscapes coexisting with rural landscapes. However, despite these complexities, approaches in archaeological investigation continue to be largely culture-historical (i.e. defining a cultural phase based on material remains and studying ‘evolutionary sequences’) and site centric. We argue that there exists a tremendous scope to adopt a ‘landscape’ approach in South Asian archaeology. Even if landscape studies have increased during the last decade, there are still relatively few archaeological examples. This session will include the following broad topics:
a. Theoretical trends in landscape archaeology of South Asia.
b. Landscape archaeology of early farming communities (Neolithic to the Iron age)
c. Landscape archaeology and the early historical and Medieval periods in South Asia.
T03/03 Cultural Landscape Mapping – International Perspectives
Format: Paper presentations with discussion
Organisers: Jim Wheeler, Director Extent Heritage; Honorary Senior Lecturer School of Archaeology and Anthropology Australian National University; Chair Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists (AACAI) Victoria Chapter, Australia, jwheeler@extent.com.au
Dr Duncan Wright, Assoc. Prof., School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Australia, duncan.wright@anu.edu.au
Bill Bell, Acting Heritage, Research & Policy Manager, Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, Australia, bill@gunditjmirring.com
Adam Black, Acting Chief Operating Officer, Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, Australia, adam@gunditjmirring.com
Dr Michael Wallace, Post-Excavation Manager, Headland Archaeology, Australia, Michael.Wallace@headlandarchaeology.com
In recent decades, there has been a philosophical shift in archaeological research from traditional site-based approaches to more dynamic, landscape-oriented frameworks for understanding and mapping past human mobility. This transition reflects an increasing recognition, both within academic circles and among First Nations communities, that human societies have historically occupied not just physical sites, but entire cultural landscapes and seascapes. These broader conceptualisations of space challenge a conventional focus on campsites, settlements and sacred places.
Cultural landscape mapping has benefited from the rapid development and integration of innovative techniques that capture both tangible and intangible aspects of heritage. Methods now encompass a wide range of geospatial tools, including LiDAR, photogrammetry, geophysics, digital twins, and augmented reality visualisations, alongside increasingly sophisticated approaches for documenting cultural values, toponyms, and individual biographies. These technologies allow for multi-vocal, interdisciplinary research, drawing from fields such as anthropology, ethnography, heritage studies, human geography, and art history.
This session seeks to bring together academic researchers, professional archaeologists, and First Nations people interested in cultural landscape mapping. We welcome contributions from across the globe that explore theoretical frameworks, methodologies, or alternative approaches to this evolving field. All presenters will be invited to join a panel discussion at the end of the session, creating a valuable opportunity to advance the field by sharing experiences, exchanging insights, and exploring diverse perspectives on cultural landscape mapping.
T03/04 The Ethnoarchaeology of Landscapes and Mobilities
Format: Paper presentations with discussion
Organisers:
Brenda J. Bowser: California State University, Fullerton, USA, bbowser@fullerton.edu
John W. Arthur: University of South Florida, USA, arthurj@usf.edu
Ahana Ghosh: Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, India, ahanag@iitgn.ac.in
One of the tremendous capacities of being human is mobility from one place to another. Archaeologists can use various technological innovations to ascertain that people and their crafts have moved, but determining why people shifted from one place to another often eludes archaeologists. Ethnoarchaeological research contributes to archaeological interpretations by listening to living people who have moved through landscapes or remember narratives of mobilities from past times. These movements of people and their objects and material practices through time are a major theme in this session, addressing ethnoarchaeology’s role in contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of why people move and the archaeological record of those movements. Although people may have been pushed or pulled into new landscapes, moved permanently, or traversed cultural landscapes for generations, they are often still tied to their original settlement and landscape and maintain those relationships through ceremony and other practices. In this session, archaeologists working in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Australia present their diverse mobility research. We aim to bring together archaeologists who apply ethnoarchaeological approaches in their work on landscapes and mobility, thus generating a lively dialogue on the different lines of evidence for approaching why people and their things move.