HomeConstructing Kurgans
Constructing Kurgans
Burial mounds and funerary customs in the Caucasus, Northwestern Iran and Eastern Anatolia during the Bronze and Iron Age
Published on Friday, October 13, 2017
Abstract
The tradition of burying the dead in burial mounds (kurgans), usually consisting of a funerary chamber limited by stone or brickslabs and covered by dirt and gravel, started in the fourth millennium BCE in the northern Caucasus and then spread south to the rest of the Caucasus regions, eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. The spread of the kurgan tradition, as well as the territorial, political, social, and cultural values embedded in their construction and their symbolic relation to the surrounding landscape are under debate. The workshop aims to examine chronological issues, cultural dynamics at inter-regional scale, rituals and burial patterns related to these funerary structures. The beliefs and ideologies that possibly connected the "kurgan people" over such a wide geographical area, as well as past and present theoretical frameworks, will also be discussed.
Announcement
Argument
The tradition of burying the dead in burial mounds (kurgans), usually consisting of a funerary chamber limited by stone or brick slabs and covered by dirt and gravel, started in the fourth millennium BCE in the northern Caucasus and then spread south to the rest of the Caucasus regions, eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. The spread of the kurgan tradition, as well as the territorial, political, social, and cultural values embedded in their construction and their symbolic relation to the surrounding landscape are under debate. The workshop aims to examine chronological issues, cultural dynamics at inter-regional scale, rituals and burial patterns related to these funerary structures. The beliefs and ideologies that possibly connected the "kurgan people" over such a wide geographical area, as well as past and present theoretical frameworks, will also be discussed.
Keynote lecture
- Adam Smith, Goldwin Smith Professor of Anthropology (Cornell University, USA), “Cult, Charisma, and Kingdom: Bronze Age Funerary Rituals in the Southern Caucasus”
Organizing institutions
- CAMNES, SoRS - School of Religious Studies Via del Giglio 15, 50123 - Firenze, Italy https://www.camnes.org
- Archéorient-UMR 5133 Université Lumière-Lyon 2/CNRS, 7 rue Raulin - 69365 Lyon cedex 07, France http://www.archeorient.mom.fr
Submission guidelines
Please use the form below to submit an abstract of the paper you intend to present at the workshop (max. 300 words). Workshop abstract submission form
Abstract submission deadline: 1 December 2017
The organizing committee will select abstracts according to specific criteria such as new or original field data, bio-anthropological data and innovative theoretical and methodological approaches.
Accepted contributors will be notified by 15 December 2017.
Abstracts of accepted papers will be published on the website by 31 January 2018.
The language of the workshop will be English. No translation services will be available. Presentation should not exceed 30 minutes, including 5-10 minutes for questions and discussion.
Speakers are requested to deliver the full text of their paper by 20 March 2018 (for guidelines please refer to the Chicago Manual of Style. They will have the opportunity to modify and update their text after the conference.
Accepted papers will be included in the proceedings of the Workshop and published in a peer-reviewed volume of the SANEM series. Contributions are due by 30 October 2018.
Contacts
For more detailed information and updates visit our website: camnes.org
or e-mail the Workshop Secretariat: kurgan.workshop@camnes.org
Timeline
- Abstract submission deadline: 1 December 2017
- Notification of acceptance by: 15 December 2017
- Publication of abstracts and final program on website: 15 January 2018
- Full text paper submission deadline: 20 March 2018
- Contribution for Proceedings submission deadline: 30 October 2018
Organizing and scientific committee
- Guido GUARDUCCI (CAMNES)
- Nicola LANERI (CAMNES-SoRS)
- Sylvie MÜLLER CELKA (Lyon 2/CNRS)
- Giulio PALUMBI (Lyon 2/CNRS)
- Stefano VALENTINI (CAMNES)
Participation
Participation is free but registration is mandatory (more details about the registration will be available after the publication of the final program).
The attendance of speakers at all the workshop sessions is requested.
Speakers must hold a PhD degree or equivalent.
Participation includes
- Badge
- Workshop welcome kit (ONLY for speakers)
- Morning and afternoon coffee breaks on March 29-30
- Lunches on March 29 and 30 (ONLY for speakers)
- Dinner buffet on March 29 (ONLY for speakers).
- Transportation to the workshop venue and accommodation are at the participant's expense. However, the organizers will book room quotas at special rate in hotels conveniently located near the workshop venue.
Subjects
Places
- Ex-Church of San Jacopo, Via Faenza 43
Florence, Italian Republic
Date(s)
- Friday, December 01, 2017
Attached files
Keywords
- Kurgan tradition, funerary customs, Caucasus, Anatolia, Bronze Age, Iron Age, burial patterns, funeral anthropology, funerary structures
Contact(s)
- Workshop Secretariat
courriel : kurgan [dot] workshop [at] camnes [dot] org
Information source
- Claire Giguet
courriel : claire [dot] giguet [at] mom [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Constructing Kurgans », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Friday, October 13, 2017, https://doi.org/10.58079/yj9
