Functional studies between East and West: are we finally closer?
Theoretical context of early development and acknowledgement of the discipline, theoretical and methodological split between Eastern and Western approaches, subsequently created two distinct "traditions" or "schools" of thought and practice. Recently, since the beginning of the 3rd millennium, 3 international conferences opened the debate and exchange of ideas on the discipline: is it time to walk in the same direction broadening horizons?
Preparation meting
We are planning to meet some when during October/November 2005 with a restrict number of colleagues in order to settle the program, here below, about the Lisbon Colloquium.
The subject for Lisbon Colloquium would be something related to the above mentioned theoretically based issue:
We are planning to invite the leading scholars and ask them to develop this issues both on the methodological, chronological and applied side of the discipline.
NB The proposed papers (title and scholars involved) are in the process of being contacted.
We are contacting the colleagues but excavation and holydays …doesn’t help a lot!!!
1- Risch & Plisson (Form and Function?)
2- Clemente Conte & Mansur (Ethnoanalogy from the Southern areas?)
3- Anderson & Van Gijn & Skakun (Functional analysis and the origin of Agriculture?)
4- Malewska-Kukawka (Functional approach in eastern Europe?)
5- Korobkova & Sharovskaya & Esakia & Skakun & Alexashenko (Functional analysis in modern time?)
6- Schelinski & Girya (Functional analysis and its technological fall-up in tools reconstruction?)
7- Vasiliev & Cohen (Functional approaches in eastern and western schools?)
8- Longo & Sala & Olle & Verges (Functional approach to Lower Palaeolithic cultural environment)
9- Keeley (???)
10 - Odell (Where is going Functional analysis?)
11 - Hayden (Functional analysis and the modelling of past economic systems?)
12- Fullagar & Procopiu (The role of Residues analysis and the new methodological approaches to functional studies)
The 33rd UISPP commission is entitled:
"Tools function and socio-economical reconstructions of the past"
President: dr. Natalia SKAKUN (Russian Academy of Sciences, RAS, St. Petersburg, Russia)
Co-ordinators:
Secretary: dr. Laura Longo (Museo di Storia Naturale di Verona, Italy)
Scientific Advisor: dr. Hugues Plisson (UMR 6636 du CNRS, Aix en Provence, France)
Main goal of the Commission:
The aim of functional studies is to show the potential of the issues it is dealing with for archaeological reasoning and the modelling of past humankind economic systems.
The main topic of this Commission is devoted to the very complex issues related to functional analysis and the role played by artefacts in the reconstruction of ancient economic systems. This implies that the reconstruction of past artefacts production and use is not just a matter of re-enactment worked materials, actions, or techniques. What actually functional analysis commission is concerned of, is dealing with the issues that aimed to understand the evolution of production techniques and their economical consequences for people that at one time produced and used the artefacts in a social context.
Topics
Methodological and Theoretical issues
Technology
Tribology
Artefacts and Tools production
Experimental archaeology
Ethnography and ethnoanalogies
Economy (Hunting, Agriculture, Specialized tool production, etc.)
Technological facilities and analytic results
Organic residues
Phytolithes
Digital data processing
Facilitate the knowledge of scientific production (web site; translations; data-base; etc.)
Members of the Commission
G. Korobkova
N. Skakun
P. Anderson
N. Aleksanshenko
R. Arasova
S. Beyries
I. Clemente Conte
K. Esakya
R. Fullagar
M. Gurova
B. Hayden
L. Hurcombe
J. Ibanez
I. Jadin
L. Kimball
L. Longo
I. Malewka- Kukawka
G. H. Odell
H. Plisson
H. Procopiu
AL. van Gijn
R. Yerkes
CHRISTENSEN Marianne,
S. Yamada