Craft production in the Medieval and Post-Medieval Mediterranean, panel at the 120th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies, San Diego, January 3–6, 2019

Our understanding of craft and production in the Medieval and Post-Medieval world has until recently been limited to the identification of production sites and the examination of consumption and distribution patterns of finished products. Discussions of craft specialization and organization of production is still entrenched in specialized works pertaining to specific commodities, and thus comparative approaches are still missing.  Furthermore, less work has been done on the social and political consequences of crafting activities.

This panel aims at stimulating scholarly interest in the social, political and environmental consequences of crafting activities, particularly related to textiles, pottery, metallurgy, glassworks and stone working. We seek papers that deal with the topography of such activities in an urban, rural or domestic setting and also consider environmental factors related to the availability and extraction of resources and raw materials. Of interest are contributions that focus on the archaeological signature of production, especially in industrial installations, tools, debris, unfinished products, and working and housing conditions of crafting communities. We ask all participants to consider the social and political implications of the activities they present. Topics might include workshop organization, craft and socioeconomic status, gendered division of labor, as well as the relation between production and state economy, and craft and political authority. Finally, papers that address issues of skill and knowledge transfer among crafting communities, as well as evidence of multi-crafting, are particularly encouraged.

Sponsored by the Medieval and Post Medieval Archaeology (MAPMA) Interest Group

Interested scholars should submit for consideration an abstract of 300-400 words in length by Wednesday, 21 March 2018 to the panel co-organizers: Fotini Kondyli (fk8u@virginia.edu) and Lucie Stylianopoulos (lws4n@virginia.edu).