Excavating Deep History:Establishing and Circulating Knowledge of Human Origins

Funded by the British Academy, this one day international and interdisciplinary workshop will examine the ways in which the methodologies of archaeology and palaeoanthropology have developed in the years since 1859 and will investigate the ways in which the knowledge produced by these developing methodologies has been put to work by academics and the wider public/s

When it comes to academic influence, the impact that palaeoanthropology and prehistoric archaeology have had on the public imagination over the last 150 years is hard to assess. From Lord Avebury’s Prehistoric Times (1865) to the Natural History Museum’s current Britain: One Million Years of the Human Story, people have eagerly consumed accounts and narratives of human origins. Academics too have been eager to mobilise this knowledge in their own work, with both social and natural scientists absorbing and adopting parts of these prehistoric stories. This event will focus on exploring some of the questions raised by this situation.

Funded by the British Academy, this one day international and interdisciplinary workshop has two aims:

• To examine the ways in which the methodologies of archaeology and palaeoanthropology have developed in the years since 1859, particularly in relation to understandings of human ‘origins’ and
• To investigate the ways in which the knowledge produced by these developing methodologies has been put to work by academics and the wider public/s

Speakers (confirmed)

• Stuart Carroll (University of York) Stephen Pinker and the Deep History of Violence
• Steve Fuller (University of Warwick) Cognitive Archaeology and Neurohistory
• Matthew Goodrum (Virginia Tech) Debating the Meaning of Stone Implements and Ice Age Humans, 1858-60
• Oliver Hochadel (CSIC, Spain) Cannibalism and Solidarity in Atapuerca: Narratives About our Ancestors
• Jon Marks (UNC-Charlotte) It’s Kinship All The Way Down: The Newest Data and the Oldest Research Programme
• Sara Perry (University of York) Who Exactly is a Real Archaeologist?
• Amanda Rees (University of York) Cultures or Civilisations: How do we Talk About Origins?
• Penny Spikins (University of York) Neanderthals: Too Close for Comfort?

Registration

There is no charge for this event, but please register here
http://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/excavating-deep-history-establishing-and-circulating-knowledge-of-human-origins-tickets-11975893219

Poster

Human Origins poster (PDF , 154kb)