Contextual Numismatics: New Perspectives and Interdisciplinary
Methodologies

AIA Meeting, Jan. 2009, Philadelphia, PA.

This panel seeks papers that expound innovative and dynamic approaches
to the contextual study of ancient coins within an interdisciplinary
framework. For centuries numismatic objects have been intensely
examined by specialists in the field with little attention to broader
questions apart from those inherent to the objects themselves. Coins
have often been reduced to mere aesthetic objects or chronological
references divorced from their original contexts in which they were
once embedded. Even modern scholarship often neglects the countless
individual dimensions of an ancient object (functional, social,
historical, political, personal, etc.). However, a multidisciplinary
treatment of these elements is necessary for a better understanding of
their contemporary contexts. In the study of ancient art and culture,
for example, Tonio Hölscher and Peter Stewart have successfully
applied such approaches. Unlike most art objects, however, coins also
have an equally strong practical and functional quality, which must be
investigated in conjunction with their other dimensions and within the
wider context of material culture. Therefore, the numismatist must
develop proper methodologies that address these factors suitably.
What can critical study of archaeologically recovered coin finds tell
us about the immaterial concerns about their use and meaning for their
contemporary consumers, and can we answer these questions with any
degree of certainty? Clearly there is an important semantic dimension
to the designs on ancient coins, but how does attention to context and
other disciplines augment our understanding of intent and reception?
How can methodologies from cultural anthropology, psychology, and
sociology be applied to advance new theoretical approaches to
numismatics? These are but a few of the myriad questions one might
ask of the material.

Please email abstracts to Nathan Elkins (NTElkins@...) and
Stefan Krmnicek (s.krmnicek@...) by June 30, 2008.
Abstracts should not exceed 250 words and must adhere to the AIA
Abstract Submission Guidelines:
http://archaeological.org/pdfs/annualconference/AIA_Style_Guidelines.pdf.