Under neolithisation scholars understand multiple processes of social and economic transformation which begin at different times and follow regional trends in the Near and Middle East. It is within the complex relational and spatial framework of the household that these shifts in the structure and activities of Neolithic communities are easiest to apprehend and study. The conference will therefore focus on the domestic sphere in order to highlight and understand the polymorphous nature of what we call neolithisation. Various thematic sessions will be held to shed new light on current data: “Impacts of the shift to a sedentary/semi-sedentary lifestyle”; “Organising the house and the household”; “Private space/public space”; “Acquisition, production, transformation and use”; “Eating-Moving”; “Symbolic manifestations”;“The living and the dead”.

The inter-university association Routes de l'Orient is calling for contributions for the forthcoming conference “From the Caucasus to the Arabian peninsula: studying domestic spaces in the Neolithic” to be held in Paris (France) on 16-17 October 2015. The association promotes current research in Oriental archaeology and invites all scholars invested in projects regarding the Neolithic in the Greater Near East to take part. The conference will represent a forum in which to set forth new ideas and confront old ones, expose new data and put into question current theories on the emergence of the first agro-pastoral societies from the Caucasus to the Arabian peninsula.

Argument

Under neolithisation scholars understand multiple processes of social and economic transformation which begin at different times and follow regional trends in the Near and Middle East. It is within the complex relational and spatial framework of the household that these shifts in the structure and activities of Neolithic communities are easiest to apprehend and study. The conference will therefore focus on the domestic sphere in order to highlight and understand the polymorphous nature of what we call neolithisation. Various thematic sessions will be held to shed new light on current data: “Impacts of the shift to a sedentary/semi-sedentary lifestyle” ; “Organising the house and the household” ; “Private space/public space” ; “Acquisition, production, transformation and use” ; “Eating-Moving” ; “Symbolic manifestations” ;“The living and the dead”.

The conference proceedings will be published in a special issue of our peer-reviewed online journal Routes de l'Orient.

Submission Guidelines

Both oral and poster contributions are welcome on subjects within the scope of the conference. Proposals must be submitted via email to routesorient@hotmail.fr before February 23rd 2015 as a single attachment (.doc format). This document must specify your name and surname, email address, status and institution, the type of contribution you consider (oral or poster), its title, keywords, and an abstract no more than 300 words long. The conference will be held in English and French. In accordance with the goals and values of Routes de l'Orient, submissions by young researchers (MA, PhD, post-doctoral fellows) will be given priority.

Deadline: February 23rd 2015

Scientific committee

• F. Abbès,
• P. Anderson,
• E. Coqueugniot,
• Chataigner C.,
• G. Duru,
• J. J. Ibáñez Estévez,
• L. Khalidi,
• B. Lyonnet,
• M. Mashkou,
• S. Méry,
• M. Özbaşaran.