INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE « BRONZE 2014 » June 17-20, 2014 - Strasbourg, Hôtel du département

The Middle Bronze Age and the origins of the Late Bronze Age in Western Europe, from the coasts of the Mediterranean

to Scandinavia (17th-13 th century BC)

More than 20 years after the CTHS conference at Stasbourg/Haguenau

Dynamique du Bronze moyenen Europe occidentale, the «Bronze 2014»

conferenceproposestorevisitthischronologicalperiod inthe lightofrecent

discoveriesandnewresearch.

InWestern Europe, the Middle Bronze Age develops over a period of three

centuries from the 17th to the 14th century BC followed by a transitional period

during the 14th‐13th centuries BC (the recent Bronze Age in the Mediterranean),

period that is marked by continuity and major changes that announce the Late

BronzeAge.

Duringthelasttwentyyearspreventivearchaeologyhasgrownexponentially

inFranceandintherestofEurope,providingdatathathaslargelyrenewedresearch.

The2014Strasbourgconferenceaimstopresentpapersgivingageneraloverviewof

thisnewresearch.

TheconferencewilltakeplaceattheHôtelduDépartementduConseilGénéral

duBas‐RhininStrasbourgandwillbeorganisedaroundthreethemes:

- Regional Syntheses

- Periodisation: absolute and relatif timelines

- Socio-economic models of the Middle Bronze and the

emergence of the Late Bronze Age

Session 1. Regional Syntheses

Following thewell established traditionof theBronze conferencesorganised

bytheAPRAB,theobjectiveoftheStrasbourgmeetingistoreviewourknowledgeof

MiddleandEarlyLateBronzeAgesocieties inMiddleandWesternEurope,anarea

spanning from the Atlantic Ocean to the Alps, from the Baltic Sea to theWestern

Mediterranean.Materialculture(chrono‐typology,culturalphases,technology,social

andeconomicdomains),funerarypractices,settlementtypesandthemodalitiesand

rhythmsoflandscapeoccupationwillbeatthecentreofdiscussionsandsyntheses.

The firstdayof the conferencewill bedevoted to thepresentationofpapers

relating to France and its borders. Regional workgroups (organised according to

administrative boundaries)were set up in 2012 to produce these overviews. This

workwillthenbeusedtoelaborateinterregionalsynthesesforwhichgroupswillbe

createdasmuchaspossibleaccording to cultural affinities.Generaloutlinesof the

themesthatneedtobeaddressedwereproposedinordertofacilitatecomparisons

betweeneachgeographicalregion.

Session 2. Periodisation: absolute and relatif timelines

TheMiddleBronzeAgeandthebeginningoftheLateBronzeAgeisparticularly

representative of the current problems incurred by Protohistorians concerning

chronologicalsystems.

The multiple chronological systems and the problems of directly comparing

and correlating them will constitute a first discussion theme. For example, major

difficulties can be found within a same geographical area (the north Alps for

example) that uses several regional reference systems. These marked differences

lead us to consider and reconsider themethods, criteria, contexts and the objects

usedintheconstructionofthereferencesystems.Dotheobjects,betheymetallicor

ceramic, used in theperiodisationsevolve at the same rhythm?Andwhatof other

evidencethatpertainstomaterialcultureandsocialpractices?

We will also be examining the historical conformity of the proposed

chronologicaldivisionsandtheirpossibleapplicationtotherestofWesternEurope.

IsthetraditionaldivisionbetweentheMiddleandLateBronzeAgereallypertinent?

Fromaculturalandsocialstandpoint,arethesystemsusedinCentralEurope(BzC,

DandHaA1)or in theMediterranean(Middle,RecentandLateBronzeAge)more

efficient?

Traditional periodisationswork hand in handwith chronometricmethods of

dating, even if their use is not systematic all overEurope.Radiocarbon dating has

becomemuchmorepreciseover theyears,but it is theever increasingnumberof

analysesthatarecarriedoutthathaschangedhowthistoolisused.Fromthesimple

compilation of dates to Bayesian probabilities, what are today’s possibilities and

whatdotheybringtochrono‐typology?

Could however other techniques such as thermoluminescence or

archaeomagnetic dating be more adapted to dating this chronological period as

radiocarbon analysis suffers from irregularities in date calibration particularly for

the14thcenturyBC?

Also,with the abandon of BronzeAge settlement on the shores of theNorth

Alpine lakes during this period,what is the latest on dendrochronology?Do other

areas,inparticularthosesouthoftheAlpshavethemeansofcompletingtheframeof

referencefortheMiddle/LateBronzeAge?

Asmanyaspectspertainingtochronologywillbetackledinsession1,wewill

mainlyconcentrateongeneralsynthesesthatcovervastareas,newapproachesand

methodsaswellasthehistoriographyortheepistemologyofchronologicalsystems.

Session 3. Socio-economic models of the Middle Bronze

and the emergence of the Late Bronze Age

TheclimatewascolderandwetterduringtheMiddleBronzeAge.Whatarethe

consequencesofthisdeteriorationoftheclimateontheeconomy?Isitattherootof

major crises that caused the abandon of existing field systems or inversely led to

agriculturaldiversificationandtheoccupationofnewareas?Suchmajoreventssuch

astheabandonoftheNorthalpinelakesorthecollapseoftheterramaresystemin

thePovalleyhavealreadybeenidentifiedandtheseneedtobere‐examined.Similar

totheBesançonconference(Environnementsetculturesàl’âgeduBronzeenEurope

occidentale,CTHS2004),approachesanalysingtheinteractionbetweensocietiesand

theirenvironmentwillofcoursefindtheirplaceintheconference’sprogramme.In

addition,itwillalsobenecessarytotackletheconsequencesofthesecrisesinterms

ofpaleodemography,populationmobility,etc.

Certain areas such as the Terramare see the development of real

agglomerations linked to intensive agriculture whereas in other areas, traces of

settlementsarestillquitedifficulttoidentify.Howdoweinterpretthesedifferences

fromasocialpointofview?

In relation tomaterial culture, thisperiod is alsodistinguishedbyan intense

accelerationofmetalproduction,bythemoreandmoresophisticatedweaponsand

tools and an increase in the number of hoards. The developments in how objects

were consumedand the increasedneed for rawmaterials leadus to reflecton the

statusofbronzeproductionandofthebronzeworkerwithinBronzeAgesociety.

ThelongdistanceexchangeofobjectsacrossEurope,theexchangeofideasand

techniques, of religion and the mobility of people also define this very dynamic

period.ForthemostofthispartofEurope,thefunerarycontextoftheMiddleBronze

Age is characterised by inhumations under burial mounds which are gradually

replacedatthetransitionwiththeLateBronzeAgebycremationsinurnswithmetal

and pottery grave goods. This transition phase also sees the appearance of the

culture of la céramique cannelée (grooved ware pottery) covering an area from

Middle Europe to the Paris basin.What links these phenomena and what is their

historicalvalue?DotheMiddleBronzeAgeandthebeginningoftheLateBronzeAge

constituteacoherentcycleofsocialdevelopmentorevenahistoricalperiodontheir

own?What is theroleplayedby this transitionalperiod in thedevelopmentof the

LateBronzeAge;aprefaceorabreakfromMiddleBronzeAgetraditionsasisseenin

Mediterraneansocietiesaround1200BC?

These thoughts must not however conceal the many possibilities of

contributionsonchronologicalsequenceswhichcannotbeoverlookedwhenseeking

tocomprehendthisperiod.

Informations

The conference will take place over 3 days, with 12 half hour papers (20

minutes per paper, 10 minutes discussion time) per day. Poster sessions with 5

minutepresentationswillalsobeorganised.Allconferencepaperswillbepublished.

Paperscanbegiven inFrench,EnglishorGerman, thepowerpoint textsdo

however need to be in English (or translated into French for the papers given in

English).Colleaguesthatwishtopresentapaperoraposter(preferablyinsessions2

and3)areinvitedtoreturnthepropositionformbeforeDecember31st2013atthe

followingaddress:bronzemoyen2014@gmail.com.

Anyquestionsorqueriesconcerningtheconferencecanalsobesenttothis

address.

Registration formsmustbe receivedbeforeFebruary15th2014 submitted

withtwoshortabstracts(abouthalfapage)writteninFrenchandEnglishandafull

pageillustration(drawingorBWphoto).

Full registration fees are40€, students20€ and include full access to the

conference, the pre‐acts, coupons for coffee breaks and cocktails and tourist

information about the Strasbourg area. Lunches are not included. The Hôtel du

département isnear to the«PetiteFrance»,Strasbourg’s touristcentrewithmany

restaurantstochoosefrom.

Registrationfeesmustbepaidbycheque(ineuros)toAPRABandsenttothe

followingaddress,foreigncolleaguesarerequestedtopayattheconference.

Sylvie BOULUD

Université de Nantes

UFR Histoire, Histoire de l'Art et Archéologie

Chemin de la censive du tertre - BP 81227

44312 Nantes cedex 3

TheconferenceisorganisedbyAPRABinthetraditionoftheinternational«Bronze»

meetings,inpartnershipwiththeUniversityofStrasbourgandtheMISHAofAlsace,theUMR

ARCHIMEDEofStrasbourg,theUMR6298ARTEHISofDijon,INRAP,thePôleArchéologique

InterdépartementalRhénan(PAIR),theDirectionrégionaledesAffairesculturelles‐Service

régionaldel’Archéologied’AlsaceandtheUniversityofFreiburg.

Organization committee

Anne‐MarieADAM,UniversityofStrasbourg‐UMR7044Archimède

ChristopheHUTH,DepartmentofPrehistoricArchaeology–UniversityofFreiburg

PhilippeKUCHLER,PAIR

MarinaLASSERRE,SRAAlsaceandUMR7044Archimède

ThibaultLACHENAL,APRABandCNRS‐UMR5140ArchéologiedesSociétésMéditerranéennes

ClaudeMORDANT,APRABandUMR6298ArTeHiS

ThéophaneNICOLAS,INRAP,APRABandUMR8215Trajectoires

Jean‐FrançoisPININGRE,UMR6298ArTeHiS

SuzannePLOUIN,UnterlindenMuseumofColmarandUMR7044Archimède

BénédicteQUILLIEC,DSTINRAPandUMR8215Trajectoires

CécileVEBER,INRAP,UMR7044ArchimèdeandAPRAB

StefanWIRTH,APRABandUniversityofBurgundy‐UMR6298ArTeHiS

http://bronze2014.sciencesconf.org