»The value of mothers to society: showcasing and celebrating the achievements of an ERC-Starting-Grant team«
Katharina Rebay-Salisbury | Austrian Archaeological Institute
From 2016 to 2021, an interdisciplinary team of researchers set out to investigate motherhood and mothering practices in prehistoric Europe. Analysing the link between reproduction and women’s social status, this project explored social responses to pregnancy, birth and childrearing from the late Neolithic to Iron Age (c. 3000–15 BC) through case studies in Central Europe. As this ERC project concludes, we celebrate a collaboration that produced a new research group, Prehistoric Identities, and look forward to pursuing the many research threads that spun from VAMOS.
Our project forged new understandings of motherhood and childrearing as foundations of societies by melding the latest developments in archaeological science with developments in social theory. We integrated osteology, ancient DNA, protein and isotope analyses, histology, and organic residue analysis, as well as various modelling and imaging approaches to explore lifeways of mothers and their children. Through this process, we explored the value of mothers to long-term cultural developments such as social stratification, increasing population density and the entrenching of gender roles.
This event will review our research highlights from the last five years, discuss how our vision of motherhood in the past has changed, reflect on lessons learned and new research opportunities, and celebrate our success.
Principal investigator: Katharina Rebay-Salisbury
Funding: ERC Starting Grant 2015, Project No. 676828
