Archaeology of the Medieval World: Sources and Cities

The archaeology of the medieval world, and of historical periods in general, often has an ambivalent relationship with pasts derived from other available sources. On the one hand, interpreting the archaeological record requires external evidence, thus texts and oral traditions may become important anchors. On the other hand, archaeologists frequently struggle to integrate their findings with those of history and anthropology, and the latter usually dominate in discourses on the past.

This seminar's primary aim is to discuss various approaches to this challenge in different archaeological sub-disciplines. With a particular focus on ‘cities’ , the seminar will introduce case studies in which a gap can be found between archaeology and other sources.

The second aim of the seminar is to broaden students' contexts and allow them to get acquainted with other regions and with additional research traditions. Therefore, the meetings will present different studies from Asia, Africa and Europe which are conducted by scholars from African, Islamic, Byzantine, Indian, and medieval European archaeologies. This wide geographical spread will allow for the comparison and contrast of key issues in the 9th-14th century. 

The seminar will host keynote speakers, in a colloquium fashion, in addition to a couple of discussion-based sessions.

Proposed readings :

Andrén, Anders, 1997. Between Artifacts and Texts: Historical Archaeology in Global Perspective, English ed. 1998, New York: Plenum Press.

Rosen, Steven A., 2006. “The Tyranny of Texts: a Rebellion against the Primacy of Written Documents in Defining Archaeological Agendas”, in: Aren M. Maeir and Pierre de Miroschedji (eds.), “I will Speak the Riddles of Ancient Times”: Archaeological and Historical Studies in Honor of Amihai Mazar, Vol. II, Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 879-893.

Schmidt, Peter, 2006, Historical Archaeology in Africa: Representation, Social Memory, and Oral Traditions, Lanham: Altamira Press.

Stahl, Ann Brower, 2001. Making History in Banda: Anthropological Visions of Africa’s Past, 1. publ. New Studies in Archaeology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Organized by : Nikloas Gestrich, Carlos Magnavita, Hagit Nol