Landscape in theory and practice

2017/04/12

The Graduate School’s International Open Workshop “Socio-Environmental Dynamics over the Last 12,000 Years: The Creation of Landscapes V” attracted more participants than ever before.

1 excursion, 2 awards, 18 sessions, 26 posters, 280 talks, 350 participants, 800 sandwiches and hectolitres of coffee: That was the International Open Workshop “Socio-Environmental Dynamics over the Last 12,000 Years: The Creation of Landscapes V” from March 20–24 in bare figures. How broad the scientific exchange was can in no way be mirrored by these figures, nor could it be shown in the brief session reports during the final plenary meeting. However, these reports provided a good overview. Many sessions also plan to publish their proceedings, thus making their content available for a broad audience in the near future. Furthermore, the book of abstracts can already be downloaded from the workshop website.

Workshop participants at the Ruserberg Megalithic Graves.

Workshop participants at the Ruserberg Megalithic Graves. Photo: Hinz

A concluding highlight of the workshop was the excursion to Eastern Holstein. While Kiel “welcomed” the workshop participants with lots of rain and gusts of wind on Monday, the weather improved day by day. Finally, the sun shone brightly on Friday when the excursion bus stopped at the motte of Lütjenburg, at Hohwacht beach and at Plön castle.

At the opening session of the workshop, the Johanna Mestorf Award for outstanding dissertations in fields of human-environmental research and landscape archaeology was granted to Dutch prehistorian and theologian Annet Nieuwhof (see separate report). The workshop participants voted for Marta Korczynska’s “Vessels for the living and for the dead? Comparative studies on pottery from the Late Bronze Age – Early Iron Age settlement complex in Janowice (Lesser Poland)” as the best scientific poster; Marcel Bradtmöller placed 2nd and Maria Gelabert 3rd.

Poster session at the International Open Workshop: Socio-Environmental Dynamics over the Last 12,000 Years: The Creation of Landscapes V.

Poster session at the International Open Workshop: Socio-Environmental Dynamics over the Last 12,000 Years: The Creation of Landscapes V. Photo: Menke

Text: Jirka Niklas Menke