2026 Meeting

January 28-30 2026 in Geneva University

 

Theme 1: Pathways of the past – Interdisciplinary approaches to ancient populations mobility

Invited speaker: to be announced

The mobility of human populations is a central theme in the study of past societies. It can take many forms: individual or collective, voluntary or forced, regular or occasional, short or long-distance, temporary or permanent, over the course of a single lifetime or multiple generations. To fully grasp these dynamics, it is often essential to establish a dialogue between different disciplines. 

The aim of this session is to highlight the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in exploring the diverse forms of mobility in ancient societies. 

This session will bring together research that relies on interdisciplinary approaches, combining and integrating data from multiple fields (e.g. bioanthropology, archaeology, palaeogenomics, isotope geochemistry) to refine, deepen and enrich our understanding of population dynamics in the past.

 

Key words: population dynamics, migration, paleogenomics, isotopes, cultural exchanges, networks, social interactions

 

Scientific committee: Camille de Becdelièvre, Jocelyne Desideri, Caroline Polet, Maïté Rivollat, Déborah Rosselet-Christ

 

Theme 2: Wounded bodies, violent societies – Multiple lenses on interpersonal violence in past societies

Invited speaker: to be announced

The study of interpersonal violence is a particularly insightful lens through which we can approach the sociocultural, economic and political dynamics of ancient societies. Individuals bearing evidence of trauma are frequently identified in archaeological contexts; but are they really signs of violence or simply accidental injuries? While it is not always easy to distinguish between the two, particularly in the most ancient periods, some contexts leave little room for doubt.

This session invites contributions based on interdisciplinary approaches, aiming to identify not only the tangible manifestations of interpersonal violence (e.g. trauma, weapons, iconography) within past human communities, but also the social constructions associated with such violence.

 

Key words: traumas, paleopathology, warfare, conflict, social violence

 

Scientific committee: Anouk Bystritzsky, Bérénice Chamel, Antony Colombo, Julie Debard, Christopher Knusel

 

Theme 3: Scientific breaking news

This theme will host new research from the discipline, including recent discoveries or methodological advances.
 

Scientific committee: Nathan Badoud, Ameline Bardo, Laura Maréchal, Audrey Poncet, Floriane Rémy

 
 

 Programm: 

 
 

Scientific Committee

Organising Committee
  • Nathan Badoud, SAGe, Service archéologique de Genève
  • Ameline Bardo,  UMR 7194 – HNHP, Paris
  • Camille de Becdelièvre, UMR7268 – ADES, Marseille
  • Anouk Bystritzsky, ARCAN, Université de Genève, InSitu-Sion, Valais
  • Bérénice Chamel, UMR 5133 – Archéorient, Lyon
  • Antony Colombo, UMR 6034 – Archéosciences, Bordeaux
  • Julie Debard, ARCAN, Université de Genève, InSitu-Sion, Valais
  • Jocelyne Desideri, ARCAN, Université de Genève
  • Christopher Knusel, UMR 5199 – PACEA, Bordeaux
  • Laura Maréchal, ARCAN, Université de Genève
  • Caroline Polet, Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Bruxelles 
  • Audrey Poncet, SAGe, Service archéologique de Genève
  • Floriane Rémy, UMR5199 – PACEA, Bordeaux
  • Maïté Rivollat, UMR5199 – PACEA, Bordeaux
  • Déborah Rosselet-Christ, ARCAN, Université de Genève

     

 

  • Nathan Badoud, SAGe, Service archéologique de Genève
  • Cécile Buquet, UMR7206 – Eco-anthropologie, Paris
  • Anouk Bystritzsky, ARCAN, Université de Genève, InSitu-Sion, Valais
  • Bérénice Chamel, UMR 5133 – Archéorient, Lyon
  • Julie Debard, ARCAN, Université de Genève, InSitu-Sion, Valais
  • Jocelyne Desideri, ARCAN, Université de Genève
  • Anne Le Maître, Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg (Autriche)
  • Nina Marchi, UMR7206 – Eco-anthropologie, Paris
  • Laura Maréchal, ARCAN, Université de Genève
  • Aurélien Mounier, UMR 7194 – HNHP, Paris
  • Audrey Poncet, SAGe, Service archéologique de Genève
  • Déborah Rosselet-Christ, ARCAN, Université de Genève