Geo-Archaeological Aspects

Del 22 al 24 de Septiembre de 2006 se va a celebrar en Gante (Bélgica) un congreso sobre GeoArqueología. El título es Geo-Archaeological aspects of rivers and river plains. A continuación adjuntamos los objetivos de este congreso.

Más información en Dominique.Godfroid@UGent.be

Geomorphology and archaeology have great overlapping interests. Archaeological studies are more and more imbedded in a broader regional context. The study of archaeological site networks is now seen as part of the whole human ecosystem and especially transformations of the latter are the object of much research. This contextual archaeology focuses on the multi-dimensional expression of human decision making within the environment. A better and integrated knowledge of the physical landscapes of past times is a great help for all archaeologists concerned.
In turn archaeological studies provide dating evidence to better understand the development of geo-systems through the times of human occupation. A firmer basis is produced for the assessment of the human impact on the physical environment and for the testing of geomorphic evolution models.

To further strengthen the mutual interests of both disciplines a 2nd colloquium is organised in the Flemish town of Ghent (Belgium), after a successful meeting on ‘Geo-archaeology of Landscapes of Classical Antiquity’ in October 1998. This three-day meeting will focus on the geo-archaeological aspects of rivers and river plains. From the early beginnings these particular landforms attracted Man by the many possibilities offered but also hindered him by many constraints. In the last decades many regional archaeological surveys have procured excellent data about past settlement behaviour and land use along rivers and river plains. Geomorphic studies were more and more an integrated part of this research on the long-term evolution of fluvial landscapes. Many scholars, of both disciplines, are now convinced that to tackle problems and questions concerning rural site formation processes, surface visibility, ancient land division, settlement location, etc. we need to further integrate the approaches. At the same time such integrated studies are able to identify the most important landmarks of human landscape use in the past and help to assess their state of preservation and need for valorisation in today’s environment.
The first two days of the colloquium speakers of different countries will present (in English and French) interdisciplinary case studies from a wide time-frame. The geographical context is not limited but focus will be on the Mediterranean area. Simultaneously an important poster session will be organised. There is an open call to participate as a speaker or with a poster presentation. The scientific committee will screen the abstracts and select the proposals most suited for oral presentations. The proceedings of the colloquium will be published in a special issue of the international journal BELGEO. All contributions, oral and poster, will qualify for publication in the proceedings volume after international peer-review.
On the optional third day, a geo-archaeological excursion in Flanders is programmed. This will no doubt help to strengthen new and old ties between geomorphologists and archaeologists.