Salima Ikram

Preliminary abstract: The emergence of bioarchaeology as a field of research is strongly tied to the recognition that neither human or animals exist in a vacuum, and that the analysis of skeletal remains cannot be removed to the laboratory without taking into account the archaeological context in which they were found. Indeed, the incorporation of both archaeological, historical, and ethnographic sources of data in skeletal analyses has greatly benefited our understanding of past life ways in recent decades. However, in this view, the archaeological context is often viewed as static, while in reality the environment – whether physical or cultural – is apt to itself affect living beings to just as great an extent as it is affected by them. To that end, the theme for the 2018 BAE conference is ‘Interaction.’ This theme will form the basis of the conversation initiated by the conference organizers and keynote speaker; however, conference participants are invited to interpret the theme in its broadest sense. The conference will accept abstracts on both human and faunal remains, though scholars doing research on animal remains are particularly encouraged to apply.

‘Interaction’ can be taken to emphasize:
Interaction between humans and animals, humans and/or animals and the environment (with emphasis on the reciprocal), interaction between different human or animal groups
Interaction between various fields or specialties of research (i.e. hard sciences, social sciences, humanities)
Interaction between different groups across time