Dear All, I hope this email finds you well.

My co-organisers and I would like to draw your attention to the following Call for Papers (below and attached) for the forthcoming 12th EAA conference, held in Krakow, Poland.

At present the session has been provisionally accepted, with final confirmation anticipated at the end of January.

We are keen to have your suggested titles / abstracts to gauge interest in the session, which promises to be highly interesting and thought provoking.

Please contact either myself or Sara Robinson at the e-mail addresses below with any ideas for papers/posters.

Very best regards and please allow me to take this opportunity to wish you all (somewhat belatedly)the very best for the New Year!

Call for Papers : "Animals and Alimentation: The Material Culture of Animals in Diet and Cuisine".

The exploitation of animals as a source of nutrition and subsistence is a defining characteristic of human-animal relationships. However, the complexity of interaction goes far beyond the mere satiation of hunger. Animals have been the catalyst for a plethora of technological and artistic developments focussed on faunal exploitation and perceptual representation; indeed they have themselves been used as an expression of material culture.

This session aims to draw together not only aspects of material culture relevant to economic and subsistence exploitation of animals, but also the use of fauna as symbols of expression within the realm of diet and cuisine. The session is by definition unrestricted to period; it aims to encompass the diversity of activity ranging from initial domestication to the use of fauna as icons of status at the dining table.

Papers are welcomed that outline methodological perspectives illustrating novel approaches to the interpretation of changes and developments in material culture relevant to the topic. Case studies highlighting specific examples of the role of fauna “at the table” or with special significance within the diet are also encouraged.