The UCL Institute of Archaeology is delighted to host the 41st annual Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference in December 2019. Founded in 1937, the Institute is one of the largest centres for world archaeology, archaeological sciences and heritage & museum studies in the UK, situated in the heart of the capital.
Venue: UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AL
Human – animal relationships have often been viewed in terms of domination and exploitation, whilst more recently there has been an emphasis on commensality, intimacy and trust. Power and knowledge flow around such relationships, directed by the agency of both human and animal participants. In addition, knowledge of animals may shape human – human interactions, being used to empower or to marginalise animal specialists. Within mainstream archaeology, the significance of animals is largely confined to economy and domestication, and the power, knowledge and agency that revolve within and around animal-human interactions are essentially ignored.
This session will encourage discussion and debate on the dynamics of human-animal relationships, exploring ways in which animals themselves, together with those who interact with them have shaped human history. Animals have not ceased to be an important means for constructing human relationships; rather, human relationships have become so complex that it is frequently forgotten that animals, their agency and their exploitation may lie unrecognised at the very base of these constructs. Knowledge and power are clearly interwoven through these relationships. Themes to be explored may include (but are not limited to) theory and theoretical approaches to animals in human societies, animal-based cosmologies, cross-disciplinary perspectives and animal-related technologies.
Organisers: Andrew Reid; UCL • Joanna Lawrence; University of Cambridge • Mariana B. Muñoz-Rodríguez; University of York • Claire Ratican; University of Cambridge • Laerke Recht; University of Cambridge
13:30 | Joanna Lawrence, University of Cambridge | Introduction
13:35 | Jill Goulder, University College London | Donkeys - the secret agents
13:55 | Neil Erskine, University of Glasgow | Farm, Field, and Fauna. Socialisation in the agricultural hinterlands of the 3rd Millennium Jazira
14:15 | Lonneke Delpeut, Leiden University | The expression of human-horse relationships in ancient Egypt
14:35 | Claire Ratican, University of Cambridge | Animal and HumanBodies in Producing Viking Age Persons
14:55 | - | BREAK
15:25 | Erica Priestley, Independent researcher | Waste Not - A Re-examination of Neanderthal Hunting Strategies and their Relationships with Animals
15:45 | Erin Crowley, University of Minnesota | Commensal Feasts with Commensal Beasts
16:05 | Andrew Reid, UCL | Livestock, agency and the human career
16:25 | Joanna Lawrence, University of Cambridge; Andrew Reid, UCL; Claire Ratican, University of Cambridge; Laerke Recht, University of Cambridge | Discussion