Individualization, Urbanization and Social Differentiation: Intellectual and Cultural Streams in Eurasia (800-400 BC) 11 – 13 February 2013 Stuttgart, Germany Haus der Wirtschaft, Willi-Bleicher-Straße 19, 70174 Stuttgart Contact: manuel.fernandez-goetz@rps.bwl.de The study of cultural and intellectual phenomena is one of the most fascinating, but at the same time most demanding challenges in historical and archaeological scholarship. In many parts of Eurasia the centuries between c. 800 and 400 BC mark a fundamental turning point that was accompanied by the appearance of a whole range of phenomena that were to play an important part in shaping our world. Some of the key elements we might mention are writing, urbanization, individualization or intercontinental trade networks. Following on from the Priority Programme ‘Early Celtic Princely Seats’ (2004-2010) funded by the German Research Foundation, and coming at the end of the major exhibition ‘The World of the Celts’, these phenomena are to be discussed and analysed from a broad perspective. The focus will be on the processes of urbanization that took place at this time. However, this will be done not only from the conventional perspective of settlement archaeology, but first and foremost by putting the emphasis on the preconditions and consequences for thought, mentality, philosophy, art or religion. A meeting of eminent scholars from the fields of archaeology, ancient history, ethnology, sociology, philosophy and religious studies can contribute to a deeper understanding of the processes that led to the evolution of the first towns and to the integration of local and sub-regional groups into larger federations. Key speakers include, amongst others, Lord Colin Renfrew, Kristian Kristiansen, Jean Guilaine, Jan Assmann, Hans-Joachim Gehrke, Mario Liverani, Gary Feinman, John Bintliff or John Collis. A wide range of themes will be discussed and compared during the course of the following sections: The Beginnings of Social Differentiation; Typologies of Social Complexity; Between Myth and Logos; 800-400 BC: A time of changes; The first cities: Concepts, Models and Definitions; The first cities: Visible and Invisible; The first cities: Looking far away; The first cities: Between Mediterranean and Keltiké; The La Tène Art as expression of changing identities. Key concepts of the conference are the longue durée and grand narrativ; the geographical limits are China and the Atlantic coast, although with greater emphasis on Europe. The central question must be that of how these changes in thinking that find their expression in ancient written sources are reflected in the archaeological material, and how this material can, in turn, best be interpreted from a social-historical perspective. Furthermore, archaeological and ancient historical research should be made accessible for the broader discussion of cultural science in the humanities and social sciences.
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