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  ethods, 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 be best combine data of different kinds?