Archaeological Research on Migration as a Multidisciplinary Challenge

Abstract

Migration is a key concept in archaeology. It is a common explanation for the distribution and diffusion of cultural traits. However, it is more often an axiomatic postulate than the result of sound methodological analysis. The weaknesses of this approach have become apparent and have brought migration-as-explanation into disrepute. For archaeological investigation of the Migration Period the problem is further aggravated. Ancient written sources report an abundance of migrations associated with particular peoples. These sources often provide the coordinate system of archaeological investigations with fatal consequences as archaeology runs the risk of losing its independent methodological basis. Recently, new methods derived from the life sciences have joined in and have created new approaches to migration analysis. These methods sometimes provide a corrective that can compensate for the weaknesses of archaeology’s own methodology. Archaeology now faces new challenges. Archaeological sources are often neither compatible with written sources, nor with the findings of the diverse life science methods. It is becoming apparent that archaeology has lost its previous methodological command for investigating migration. As a scientific discipline archaeology has to finds its place in migration research anew.

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