Future preservation of past life: A multidisciplinary investigation into preservation of ancient biological remains from medieval cemeteries.
The remains of ancient past life, plants, animals, and humans, often appear unrecognisable, brown, and fragmented, sometimes leaving just a stain or a microscopic trace in the soil. Why and how should we care for this type of material for future research?
In the study of past humans, few finds are more telling than human remains themselves. Bones and teeth have always provided important evidence for archaeologists but have recently become increasingly valuable with the advent of new methods such as ancient DNA and protein analyses. Such biomolecules tell the stories of individuals and populations through time. Unfortunately, the material is sensitive to decay and contamination, which may compromise analyses. It is thus important to understand the complicated mechanisms responsible for the degradation or preservation of biological remains.
To investigate this, the Future Past project (2021-2026) carried out an excavation and installed environmental monitoring in an urban medieval cemetery in Stavanger, Norway. The conditions of the freshly excavated remains were then compared to the skeletal remains already in the museum collections. The project combines traditional archaeology with environmental science and molecular biology, using state-of-the-art methods to analyse both the material and environmental conditions.
Future Past conference
The Future Past research group now invites interested members of our professional and stakeholder networks to a conference summarising the results and discussing the impacts of the research carried out. The conference is free and hybrid; one may attend physically one or both days, or digitally.
Program
The conference program is still being developed, but the conference will have two main themes:
Day 1: Past Life: Biographies of past physical lives in Rogaland inferred from archaeological biological remains
This part will cover the research carried out in the project on reconstructing both life and landscape in medieval to post-medieval Rogaland, including the analyses of a lake core, skeletal analyses and radiocarbon dating.
Day 2: Future Preservation: Understanding degradation of biological remains
This part will cover the research on decay processes and preservation of relevance to heritage management and conservation.
You can register for the conference using this link.
Deadline for registration: 1st of March
