Workshop - A Joint Consideration of the Study of Prehistory in Britain and Portugal: Towards a Critical Understanding of Time, Space, Practice and Object in the Prehistoric Past

Location: Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, Porto

Dates: Friday 28th (Manhã: Sala 208; tarde: Sala de Reuniões) and Saturday 29th January 2011 (Sala de Reuniões)

Organised By: Sérgio Monteiro-Rodrigues (DCTP-FLUP e CEAUCP) and Lesley McFadyen (DCTP-FLUP e CEAUCP)

Sponsored By: Departamento de Ciências e Técnicas do Património da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto (DCTP), Centro de Estudos Arqueológicos das Universidades de Coimbra e Porto (CEAUCP) - Research Group 'Espaços e Territórios da Pré-história', Universidade do Porto, and the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.

This workshop brings together researchers that work on Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age sites in Britain and Portugal. There have been many conferences on monumentality in prehistory, the nature of prehistoric occupation, and the social meaning of space and time in the past. These conferences have been important in introducing several key speakers and their theoretical approaches, and without a doubt they have produced major changes to the ways in which we perceive our archaeological evidence. The focus of all of this thinking has not however come directly from the evidence but from the significance of our perceptions of it, and so often the detail has become secondary to ideas and methodologies. This workshop wants to kick-start discussion by making sure that research comes from, and follows, the materials themselves. The workshop organisers have therefore invited several of the participants to present aspects of the prehistoric sites that they work on, and from this detail we will move back into a series of structured debates on our understandings of time, space, practice and object in the prehistoric past. The workshop organisers have also invited several of the participants to chair and maintain the structure of the debate in each session. The two days are organised as a workshop in order to encourage as much debate as possible about the case studies and the issues that are involved in the study of prehistoric sites. Our conviction is that joint discussion and collaborative knowledge, rather than individual formal presentations, make a more effective medium within which to work.

We welcome the participation of developer-funded archaeologists that undertake research on prehistoric sites, as well as those that study prehistory in the university from the level of Masters Student to Professor. Whilst most of the case studies will be presented in English, we also encourage discussion in Portuguese. The small-scale nature of the event, and the informal setting, are therefore vital in working between the two languages and ensuring understanding.

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