International Workshop
„Engraved bones: Engraved bones: Gripping aids, signs, and decorations“
will be part of the meeting of the Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques (UISPP) commission „Modified Bone and Shell“.
The two-day workshop will be held at the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte Berlin from April 23rd to 24th, 2026. The day of arrival would be Wednesday April 22th, and we propose a day of Museum visits on Saturday, April 25th.
The topic is inspired by the EU-funded project EVINE (Evolution of Visual Information Encoding), which examines the development of sign systems, beginning with geometric markings on mobile objects from the Palaeolithic period.
Osseous artefacts often feature geometric motifs, also referred to as signs, patterns, or marks. The term ‘geometric’ encompasses simple non-figurative forms such as dots, lines, and crosses, as well as more complex patterns. It also includes frequently observed semi-abstract depictions like vulvae, while excluding elaborate figurative representations of animals, humans, and anatomical features of such depictions.
Decorated mobile objects are predominantly made from materials such as ivory, bone, or antler, though they may also incorporate other organic or inorganic materials. In the chaîne opératoire, these types of modifications are often classified as finition—the final step in the production of osseous artefacts. These modifications involve enhancements that add finishing touches without altering the object’s overall morphology. Such changes may serve practical purposes, like facilitating hafting (e. g. through notches or cuts), or aesthetic ones, such as refining edges and surfaces, adding decorations, applying pigments, or polishing.
In this workshop, we will focus on decorative elements in Prehistory, spanning from the Lower Palaeolithic to the Neolithic. Our goal is to critically examine the challenges and possibilities of distinguishing between non-intentional, utilitarian, and decorative markings. We will explore their varied functions and meanings, while considering the cognitive and cultural insights these practices can provide into human evolution. By integrating interdisciplinary perspectives, we seek to deepen our understanding of the role these markings played in shaping human behavior, social organization, and symbolic thinking throughout evolutionary history.
We plan four sections:
1. Synthesis of material assemblages, exceptional finds as well as inventories
2. Technological approaches to mark-making, technology and traceology
3. Approaches to function and possible meaning, and the relations between media and markings
4. Theoretical and cognitive approaches to graphic expressions
To participate at this event, we kindly ask you to confirm your participation by January 31st, 2025. Please send us the tentative title and a short abstract of your contribution and a short CV ( e.dutkiewicz@smb.spk-berlin.de ).
To ensure a rich foundation for discussion during the workshop and facilitate the timely publication of its outcomes, we kindly request you to submit your draft manuscript by December 2025. The guidelines for the publication will be given to the participants in a pre-workshop online-meeting with the interested participants on April 23rd, 2025.
Ewa Dutkiewicz, Christian Bentz and Éva David
More information can be found on the workshop website.