Drafts by Iris Rom
Research introductions by Iris Rom
TMA58, 2018
Introduction by Iris Rom
Events by Iris Rom
Archaeology has focused on the mortuary context since its inception. The earliest antiquarians to... more Archaeology has focused on the mortuary context since its inception. The earliest antiquarians took advantage of prominent burial monuments and other grave contexts in their search for curios and information about past societies. While burials tell us much about the ways in which people buried their dead, they have also been a valuable resource for reconstructing the ways in which people lived. Today, the technical advances made in the study of human remains themselves allow for more detailed study of past peoples than ever before. With that change has come an added responsibility concerning the proper handling of human remains. During this symposium, co-organised between the Universities of Groningen and Leiden, we aim to start a discussion between researchers interested in studying cultural and emotional aspects of burial practices, and those using human remains as a data source for lifestyle and population studies, to which the issue of ethical practices is crucial.
April 19
Session 1: Bioarchaeology and the use of funerary remains for population studies
Session 2: Funerary archaeology and exploring approaches to death and mourning
Session 3: Human remains and ethical practice in archaeology
April 20
The workshop will focus discussion on the results of the three sessions. The aim of the interactive workshop sessions is to engage ReMA and PhD students in critical review of mortuary archaeology today and to explore opportunities for collaborative research.
Conference Presentations by Iris Rom
Programme and abstracts of the MORTUARY ARCHAEOLOGY TODAY symposium & workshop, 19 -20 april 201... more Programme and abstracts of the MORTUARY ARCHAEOLOGY TODAY symposium & workshop, 19 -20 april 2018, Groningen (Universities of Groningen and Leiden / ARCHON)
Articles by Iris Rom
Paleo Aktueel, 2019
Dead and gone: On the absence of graves
Every now and then, archaeologists come across periods o... more Dead and gone: On the absence of graves
Every now and then, archaeologists come across periods or regions that seem to lack graves. Instead of addressing these absences, researchers often resort one of several standard explanations, such as “We haven’t found the burial location yet” or “Apparently, these people employed ways of disposal that cannot be traced in the archaeological record”. While such observations are entirely justifiable, they also leave many unaddressed questions. Did this society opt for archaeologically invisible
ways of disposal of their loved ones? Why are these graves missing? Case studies from our PhD projects on mortuary archaeology, relating,
respectively, to the Bronze Age in Greece and the Iron Age in northwestern Europe, aim to investigate such questions. Whereas archaeologists are generally reluctant to interpret “non-data”, we pose that the absence of graves also provides invaluable clues as to how people perceived life and death in prehistoric societies.
Reviews by Iris Rom
Uploads
Drafts by Iris Rom
Research introductions by Iris Rom
Events by Iris Rom
April 19
Session 1: Bioarchaeology and the use of funerary remains for population studies
Session 2: Funerary archaeology and exploring approaches to death and mourning
Session 3: Human remains and ethical practice in archaeology
April 20
The workshop will focus discussion on the results of the three sessions. The aim of the interactive workshop sessions is to engage ReMA and PhD students in critical review of mortuary archaeology today and to explore opportunities for collaborative research.
Conference Presentations by Iris Rom
Articles by Iris Rom
Every now and then, archaeologists come across periods or regions that seem to lack graves. Instead of addressing these absences, researchers often resort one of several standard explanations, such as “We haven’t found the burial location yet” or “Apparently, these people employed ways of disposal that cannot be traced in the archaeological record”. While such observations are entirely justifiable, they also leave many unaddressed questions. Did this society opt for archaeologically invisible
ways of disposal of their loved ones? Why are these graves missing? Case studies from our PhD projects on mortuary archaeology, relating,
respectively, to the Bronze Age in Greece and the Iron Age in northwestern Europe, aim to investigate such questions. Whereas archaeologists are generally reluctant to interpret “non-data”, we pose that the absence of graves also provides invaluable clues as to how people perceived life and death in prehistoric societies.
Reviews by Iris Rom
April 19
Session 1: Bioarchaeology and the use of funerary remains for population studies
Session 2: Funerary archaeology and exploring approaches to death and mourning
Session 3: Human remains and ethical practice in archaeology
April 20
The workshop will focus discussion on the results of the three sessions. The aim of the interactive workshop sessions is to engage ReMA and PhD students in critical review of mortuary archaeology today and to explore opportunities for collaborative research.
Every now and then, archaeologists come across periods or regions that seem to lack graves. Instead of addressing these absences, researchers often resort one of several standard explanations, such as “We haven’t found the burial location yet” or “Apparently, these people employed ways of disposal that cannot be traced in the archaeological record”. While such observations are entirely justifiable, they also leave many unaddressed questions. Did this society opt for archaeologically invisible
ways of disposal of their loved ones? Why are these graves missing? Case studies from our PhD projects on mortuary archaeology, relating,
respectively, to the Bronze Age in Greece and the Iron Age in northwestern Europe, aim to investigate such questions. Whereas archaeologists are generally reluctant to interpret “non-data”, we pose that the absence of graves also provides invaluable clues as to how people perceived life and death in prehistoric societies.