Multispecies archaeology is an emerging field of research within archaeology, drawing inspiration from the “animal”, “nonhuman”, and “multispecies” turns across the humanities and social sciences. The label “multispecies” has been adopted by archaeologists working in very different theoretical paradigms, across the sciences and humanities divide. What is labelled multispecies archaeology varies greatly across regions and time periods. As a result, multispecies archaeology, despite its considerable promise to drive innovative work across the discipline, currently lacks a well-defined program that would establish a solid foundation for future work. The workshop brings together a diverse group of experts to consider what methods, theories, and concepts form the core of a distinct multispecies archaeology – and what will be required to move the field forward. We aim to establish multispecies archaeology as an integrative research programme that is not limited to “social zooarchaeology”, but also brings together scholars from other research domains (e.g. plant studies, material culture studies, Indigenous archaeology etc.). Participants will identify and present on key concepts and contribute positive examples of excellent work in multispecies archaeology, helping to generate a bibliography of key works across regions and time periods. Input presentations and discussions at the workshop will form the basis for a position paper on the present and future of multispecies archaeology.
Link: https://www.volkswagenstiftung.de/en/funding/funding-offer/scoping-workshops
Contact person: Dr. Shumon T. Hussain