The 2015 Conference

January 28–30, 2015 in Paris, National Institute of Art History

Theme 1: The Different Stages of Corpse Treatment

Reconstructing the sequence of the disposal of the dead

Invited speaker: M.P. Pearson, From corpse to skeleton: dealing with the dead in prehistory

The corpse appears abruptly at the death of an individual and gradually disappears, ultimately replaced by the skeleton, which is generally far more durable. It therefore undergoes a series of transformations that result both from natural evolution and from anthropogenic interventions related to funerary practices and beliefs. As the central element of funerary rites, the corpse is first prepared—for example, undressed, washed, and then dressed; it may be transported during ceremonies, then deposited where its main transformation will take place. This may be the grave in the case of definitive burial, or a transitional location: temporary grave, decomposition site, pyre, etc. The epilogue of the corpse’s history is the final fate of the remains: abandoned, hidden, destroyed, serving as memory supports, or recycled; the connection with the subject they represent may sometimes be maintained until the deceased is forgotten and, at times, transformed into an immaterial entity. A dynamic reading of the archaeological record allows us to reconstruct some of the stages of this “journey.” This session will welcome papers and posters related to the archaeological or anthropological evidence of these different sequences, their reconstruction, and the theorization of these stages linked to the concept of the funerary operational sequence. The expected presentations cannot therefore be limited to a site or burial presentation but must above all seek to address certain aspects of the issues formulated above.

Keywords: corpse, funerary practice, mortuary sequence (or operational chain), funerals, memory, archaeo-anthropology

Keywords: corpse, disposal of the dead, burial sequence, funerals, remembrance, archaeo-anthropology

Theme 2: Size and Conformation: The Human Body in All Its Forms

Size and shape: the human body under all its forms

Invited speaker: T. Holliday, The significance of changes in body size in human evolution

The form—in terms of size and conformation—of the human body is an inexhaustible subject of anthropological research, both for past and present populations. The objective of this theme is to review current research on:

• How this form develops in our species during ontogeny, through growth and development processes
• The variability of this form in adults (related to climatic, environmental, dietary factors, etc.)
• The perception of this form and associated body representations (e.g., obesity, aging, etc.)
• Changes in size and body proportions in hominins, and their interpretations: drift, selection in response to climatic, environmental, dietary factors, etc.)
• Rapid responses to “behavioral” factors, particularly during relatively recent major transitions
• Methodological approaches, particularly those allowing distinction between variations in conformation and variations in size.

Theme 3: Research Updates

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