Scope

Major changes occurred worldwide in the Mesolithic and Neolithic. Changes in climate, physical landscape, ecology and human subsistence and cultures. How these changes happened, and what implications they had, is best researched by joining traditional archaeology with archaeological science-based approaches like geoarchaeology, archaeobotany, archaezoology, isotope studies and palaeogenetics. Goal of the “Transformations” conference is to discuss the various transformations during the Mesolithic and Neolithic, how they interact and influence each other, and the ways they can be investigated. The conference is centred around four themes:

Subsistence and diet

The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition is equated with a change from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence. Fully understanding what this entailed requires knowledge of pre-agricultural (hunter-gatherer) diet and food procurement, understanding of agricultural practices and use of non-agricultural food sources by agriculturalists.

Migration and identity

The Mesolithic and Neolithic are marked worldwide by human migration events. Identification of large-scale migrations based on palaeogenetic data leaves questions on how these migrations worked out on regional and local scales. And it raises questions on group identity, the nature of (artefact-typology based) cultures and on the representativity of the archaeological record of human remains.

Use of space

In settlement sites a range of techniques are used to mark which areas were used for which activities within dwellings, or how activities were distributed within settlements. In the wider landscape, understanding human land-use - e.g. vegetation management or crop cultivation - and their spatial aspects requires different types of research into the physical landscape, ecosystems and the (often ephemeral) archaeological remains.

Dynamics vs. continuity

Stone age humans lived in landscapes that could be highly dynamic. Post-glacial climate warming and rising sea levels were long-term processes that set the stage for human potential. Medium and short timescale landscape-dynamics, owing to coastal drowning, storm erosion, occasional river avulsion, irregular river floods and natural fires will likely have had noticeable impacts on the lives of stone age humans. Integrating geoarchaeology with other disciplines makes it possible to study the implications of the disasters and opportunities provided by dynamic and stable landscape elements.