MESO2025 - Session 2. Colonisation

Coordinated by Astrid J. Nyland and Graeme Warren

Abstract

 This session welcomes contributions that explore  themes related to colonisation processes in the  Mesolithic and Late Palaeolithic. This can involve  several aspects and situations. Firstly, "pioneer"  colonisation of previously uninhabited regions or  specific areas, including mountainous/alpine regions,  or islands or archipelagic landscapes. This  may sometimes mean re‐colonisation of areas  deserted for differing periods of time. In such  context, the potential "memory" of these earlier  landscapes is an under‐explored topic. Another  related process involved migrating people entering (to them) new  lands, but where people already lived. How are such meetings visible in the archaeological material and how does considering these meetings as a  colonisation process help us understand them?

Colonisation processes need to be engaged with in  different ways via the application of different   methods, explanation models, and theoretical perspectives. Here are some potential questions to address: (i) Is "colonisation" an appropriate term to  use to describe the processes by which people moved into new landscapes in European prehistory? (ii) How  do various types of "mobility" fit with the concept of  "colonisation"? (iii) What caused people to move to  new lands? (iv) Can we identify "memory" of  previously occupied landscapes? (v) Which climatic or  environmental conditions push people out or  make areas attractive? Are there limits to ecological  conditions to where people choose to settle? (vi) Can  we improve the chronological resolution of  colonisation processes? (vii) How did people    familiarise themselves with new  territories,  resources, and people? (viii) How are relations to new  or old lands and people maintained or  expressed? (ix)  How can we differentiate between  permanent moves into new land and seasonal  exploitation of marginal landscapes?  (x) How do new  sources of evidence, such as genetic data, change  our  understanding of colonisation processes and  how do we best combine data of different kinds?