Program > By author > C. stahlschmidt Mareike

Session Title:
Pyroarchaeology from hunter-gatherer contexts to sedentary and complex societies
Chairs:
Carolina Mallol (Departamento de Geografía e Historia, Campus de Guajara, Universidad de La Laguna, Spain)
Shira Gur-Arieh (Culture and Socio-Ecological Dynamics (CaSEs) Research Group, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain)
Christopher E. Miller (Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany)
Ruth Shahack-Gross (Department of Maritime Civilizations, Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel)
Mareike C. Stahlschmidt (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Leipzig, Germany)
Abstract:
Fire had a pivotal role in human evolution and technological development. In prehistory, it enabled improved nutrition, contributed to advanced lithic technology, provided heat and light, and acted as a focal point for social and cultural activity. In later periods, the use of pyrotechnology was a key element of technological developments such as pottery and plaster production, metallurgy, and glass making. Thus, the study of fire use and pyrotechnology in archaeological contexts can contribute to our understanding of past human behavioural and technological evolution. In addition, it provides us with valuable information regarding past environments through the study of combustion residues. In this session, we invite talks presenting theoretical, methodological or applied studies involving archaeological fire, from hunter gatherers to sedentary complex societies.