The World of Conferences

The academic semester is gearing up as essay titles come thick and fast, and as time runs out to define my dissertation idea and hypothesis, I remember just why I enjoy human osteology, archaeology and anthropology so much.  With technology fast unlocking secrets long hidden in archaeological samples, it can be hard to keep ahead and abreast of the recent developments in bioarchaeology.  However, conferences are a key part of academia in helping to spread the knowledge and importance of current and upcoming research, and as a means to help spread your own research.  They are vital to our understanding of the diverse topic of human osteology, which often employs a multidisciplined approach.  Recently, I have signed up to attend my first conferences in May; below are the details of the conferences I’ll be at along with a cohort of my fellow MSc osteo friends-

—

Between Life and Death: Interactions Between Burial and Society in the Ancient Mediterranean and  Near East

Postgraduate Research Conference at the University of Liverpool, Friday 11th to the Saturday 12th of May 2012.  The conference agenda can be found here.

This conference will deal with the treatment of the dead, and all the usual suspects of burial rites, rituals, grave goods, funerary architecture and the way cemeteries are laid, out will be discussed in various contexts.  It will also be a chance to listen to discussions on new methodological and theoretical approaches to the archaeological record of the ancient Near East and Mediterranean, from a broad range of Post Graduate Students from a host of Universities, both nationally and internationally.  I’m personally particularly looking forward to the two talks about the Neolithic; one about Dogs, Death and Identity, and one on the signs of Violence in the Neolithic Near East.  Registration is still open and can be obtained here.

—

Early Farmers: The View from Archaeology and Science

International Conference arranged by the University of Cardiff’s department of Archaeology and Conservation, with funding from the British Academy.  Monday 14th to the Wednesday 16th of May 2012.  The conference agenda can be found here.

The integration of archaeological data and science is the theme here, with a special focus on the early farmers.  The focus of the talk shall be Neolithic European archaeology with talks on subjects such aDNA and stable isotope analysis, imaging, animal husbandry, and the health and lifestyle demographic attributes of early farmers.  This conference provides the chance to hear some of the bigger names in bioarchaeology talk about their research and views.  Prof Clarke Spencer Larsen will be talking about health and lifestyle in early farmers, whilst Dr Rick Schulting will be discussing evidence of violence in Neolithic populations.  Alongside the usual talks on culture and transformations in the Neolithic, Prof Knusel and Dr Villotte will be discussing sexual division in the LBK culture, using data from an LBK site near Stuttgart, Germany.  Registration is again still available, please click here.

 

19/04/12 Update:

The Palaeopathology Association is having its annual meeting in Lille, northern France, this year between the 27th and 30th of August.  The program can be found here.  Meanwhile Cranfield University are offering a free day course in the form of the ‘Improving Learner Experience in Forensic Science Higher Education and Practitioner Training’ on Tuesday 15th of May, based at Shrivenham, England.  Details of the day long course can be found here.