HEADS. Human Evolution: Adaptations, Dispersals and Social Developments. UNESCO World Heritage Thematic Programme. Ankara & Çatalhöyük, Turkey

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1 + human history from dispersals and migrations to adaptations to sedentary societies, implications for the HEADS Human Evolution: Adaptations, Dispersals and Social Developments UNESCO World Heritage Thematic Programme November 2014 Ankara & Çatalhöyük, Turkey

2 human history from dispersals and migrations to adaptations to sedentary societies, implications for the An international meeting of experts to be held in Ankara, Turkey and with a visit to the World Heritage Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey from November 2014 in order to reconsider the way in which sites related to the transition from hunter-gatherers to food production are conceptualized by the UNESCO and represented on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Identifying the Neolithic Revolution is without a doubt one of Prehistoric Science s biggest contributions to contemporary thinking. The adaptation of agriculture and pasturage as fundamental systems of food production is the material precondition of demographic, social and economic change that has allowed this historic change to be sped up. In the last 5,000 years, the adaptation of agriculture has transformed a scarcely populated world of small, self-sufficient communities into the overpopulated and complex globalized world in which we now live. It is for this reason that knowledge and the explanations of this process, its causes and immediate and long-term consequences, are key topics in Prehistoric Science and Anthropology. Archaeological research is so far spread and well developed throughout the world that it has begun adding new nuclear areas up to around ten of these, to the more classic areas (the Fertile Crescent, East Asia, Mesoamerica and the Andean area), and these new areas now make monocausal and deterministic explanations based on climate or demographic pressure impossible. These same advances show that even if the Neolithic Revolution is a global process the areas features are local and often independent. The increasing access and refinement of radiocarbon dating methods improve the quality of information. Research has not only spread to new areas which have revealed original transition to food production processes but has also benefitted from new archaeobotanical and archaeozoological methods, particularly in the incorporation of the domain of genetics. Consequentially, many new questions regarding multiple disciplines and areas of investigation have opened up. This meeting of international experts seeks to explore several fundamental categories of analysis through the perspective of multidisciplinary research, interdisciplinary dialog and international collaboration. The phenomenon of transition could be approached from several different perspectives, including but not limited to: Adaptations: related to behavioral ecology; Revisionist: HG as subordinated by modernity; Indigenous: HG aspirations at the centre of scholarly debate. Experts who assume these perspectives and more will participate in this international meeting. The main categories of analysis to be explored include the interaction between nature and culture, technical responses to active environments and behavioral responses to climate change, early Holocene dispersals; household behavior and the study of domestic spheres and spheres of social interaction, the concept of built environments and the use of environmental structures and 1

3 features; hunter-gatherer farming ecology; archaeological site distribution and formation; symbolic practices, spaces used for rituals, spaces which have accumulated meaning over time; the concept of monumentality and the role of rock art; demography and social inequalities. Special attention will be given to the role of the Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük World Heritage property in the transition, the way in which the site s Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) is defined and the implementation of related methods of conservation. A group of international experts distinguished in their respective fields will approach the aforementioned categories of analysis sharing their groundbreaking research in palaeogenetics, ecology studies, zooarchaeology, mathematical models, ecological models, underwater archaeology, dendrochronology, the study of taphonomy and more. Micro levels of analysis will be employed to consider fine-grained archaeological evidence on several scales including micromorphology; microfossils and the scientific characterization of sediments. This analysis of archaeological deposits broadens our understanding of the Neolithic Revolution; we may trace human activities and their social constructs and develop a more comprehensive understanding of the aforementioned categories of analysis. The objectives of this meeting are to define the layout and constituency of transitional sites considering their features, taphonomical processes and the related limits of protection; to reflect on the categories of analysis of the forms of transition, settlements, production and symbolism; to discuss the applied research for conservation of transition related archaeological sites; to discuss the role of ethnology, ethnography and anthropology and human ecology in the definition of households and territories; and to reflect on the advantages of the in relationship with current hunter-gatherers. The Human Evolution: Adaptations, Dispersals and Social Developments (HEADS) World Heritage Thematic Programme, since its inception in 2008 has sought to develop applied research to provide long-term preservation of early sites related to Human Evolution and to create twinning initiatives between World Heritage properties to share best practice methodologies for conservation and site management. As the Programme enters Phase II, having successfully completed the outlined Action Plan of Phase I, it seeks to further develop its conservation initiatives. In this meeting we call upon an international community of experts to critically examine definitions of areas of protection and the role of preventative archaeology through various theoretical and methodological frameworks in order to reconsider the way in which sites related to the transition from hunter-gatherers to food production are conceptualized by the UNESCO and represented on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The UNESCO Office in Mexico is responsible for the implementation of the HEADS World Heritage Thematic Programme and is working in close collaboration with the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO to convey a substantial discussion on how to better represent and include this essential period of the history of humanity in the. 2

4 Preliminary Meeting Programme November 2014 Monday 10 Arrival of participants to Sheraton Ankara Hotel and Convention Center Tuesday 11 9 a.m. Official itinerary to be provided by the Turkish National Commission for UNESCO Visit to Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük, UNESCO World Heritage Site 7:30 p.m. DINNER 10 p.m. Return to Ankara Wednesday 12 9 a.m. Official Opening Session Welcome by Institutional Organizers Mr Öcal Oğuz, President, Turkish National Commission for UNESCO Mr Abdullah Kocapinar, General Director of Cultural Heritage and Museums, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey (to be confirmed) Ms Nuria Sanz, Head of the UNESCO Office in Mexico Presentation of the objectives of the meeting in the framework of the HEADS Programme Ms Nuria Sanz, General Coordinator of the World Heritage Thematic Programme HEADS, Representative of the UNESCO Office in Mexico and 3

5 10 a.m. Head of the Latin America and the Caribbean Unit, UNESCO World Heritage Centre 20 Scientific Session I The universality of sedentarism and implications for the World Heritage Convention Chair Ms Nuria Sanz, UNESCO Dr Nicholas Conard, University of Tübingen, Germany Settlement dynamics: land use, spatial organization and settlement intensity. 30 Dr Ian Kuijt, Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, USA Neolithic food storage: critical categories of analysis in transitionalrelated sites p.m. LUNCH Scientific Session II Chair Dr Nicholas Conard, University of Tübingen Dr Güner Coşkunsu, Mardin Artuklu University, Turkey Lithic remains as World Heritage: discerning transitions in the Neolithic. 30 Dr Arkadiusz Marciniak, Institute of Prehistory, University of Poznan, Poland The Late Neolithic transition. The case of Çatalhöyük East. 30 4

6 Scientific Session III Chair Dr Robin Dennell, University of Exeter, UK Regional perspectives: the Neolithic transition in China. 30 Dr Gary Crawford, University of Toronto, Canada The Origin of Maize Based Agriculture and Iroquoian Society in Ontario, Canada. 30 Dr Tom Dillehay, Vanderbilt University, USA Taphonomy of food production and social organization in the Andes: the case of Huaca Prieta, Peru :15 p.m. COFFEE BREAK 5:15 p.m. Scientific Session IV Applied research for transition-related sites Dr Ruth Bollongino, Johannes Gutenberg University, Germany Palaeogenetic perspectives: the analysis of transitional sites through ancient mitochondrial genomes. 30 Dr Wulf Schiefenhoevel, Max Plank Institute for Ornithology, Germany Ethological perspectives: considering human behaviour in the Neolithic transition p.m. DINNER Thursday 13 9 a.m. Scientific Session V Taphonomy and transition-related sites 5

7 Chair Dr Ian Kuijt, University of Notre Dame Dr Evangelia Pişkin, Middle East Technical University, Turkey 9: 45 a.m. Zooarchaeology in transitional societies: evidence from Anatolia, the bridge between the Near East and Europe. 30 Dr. Ximena Suárez Villagrán, University of Tübingen, Germany Micro categories analysis: the use of micromorphology for taphonomic studies in archaeological sites p.m. LUNCH 2 p.m. Thematic Working Groups: I. Applied research for transition-related sites II. World Heritage criteria for transition-related sites III. OUV of transition-related sites IV. Protection and conservation of transition-related sites 3:30-3:45 p.m. COFFEE BREAK 3:45-4 p.m. Presentation of results of working groups Final and closing remarks 6 8 p.m. DINNER Friday 14 6

8 Departure of participants 7

WORKSHOP ON. Jointly organized by the. International Seabed Authority Kingston, Jamaica. Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India AGENDA

WORKSHOP ON. Jointly organized by the. International Seabed Authority Kingston, Jamaica. Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India AGENDA WORKSHOP ON POLYMETALLIC NODULES RESOURCE CLASSIFICATION Jointly organized by the International Seabed Authority Kingston, Jamaica & Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India AGENDA Vivanta by Taj,