Dear Colleagues,
The upcoming Pan African Archaeological Association (PANAF) congress will be held from July 26th – 31st 2026 in Maputo, Moçambique [https://panaf2026moz.com/]
They have accepted a session concerning Bioarchaeology which may be of interest. The abstract and title follow below.
Questions about and/or interest in submitting a paper to the session can be addressed to Robert Stark (robert.stark(at)uwaterloo.ca).
best wishes
Julie
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Session Title: Bioarchaeological Connections Across the Continent
Session Abstract
The field of bioarchaeology plays a crucial role in understanding the lifestyles and lived experiences of past populations, shaping inferences and findings from archaeological contexts and placing the past within a humanised lens. Approaches to inter-regional connections shaped by archaeological insights are well established. A similar tone has, arguably, not as often been seen from a bioarchaeological perspective, with researchers often unintentionally siloed within their areas of focus which can limit engagement and awareness of broader trends and ongoing research in bioarchaeology across diverse regional, temporal, and methodological contexts. This understandable situation is often pronounced for the continent of Africa given the multifold diversity of landscapes, cultural time depth, and differing research traditions and legacies. This session aims to be an inclusive, continent-wide synthesis of current and future directions in bioarchaeological research across time and space in Africa. This session seeks to included papers dealing with ongoing projects, research syntheses, community engagement, biomolecular methods, and all other facets of bioarchaeological inquiry. Through the consideration of diverse bioarchaeological research spanning the continent, it is hoped that a deeper sense of the broader themes and research currently underway in African bioarchaeology can be further illuminated. This session aims to foster a multi-regional and diachronic approach, bolstering inter-disciplinarity and researcher connections, as well as potential routes for future collaboration across diverse and inter-connected African landscapes.
