People of the Great Stones Symposium is an international multi-disciplinary exploration of non-industrial societies from both the Old and the New World, with special focus on the significance of monumental building.

Monumental ceremonial and ritual spaces are hallmarks of human development that predate agriculture and technology.   Can modern minds ever hope to understand the way Neolithic societies were thinking?  We will explore the traditions of various Indigenous people in pursuit of a clearer interpretation of how civilization got on its current path.

The PEOPLE of the GREAT STONES SYMPOSIUM welcomes contributions from researchers, scholars working across diverse disciplines, sites and practices, as well as tribal spokespersons and historians.  Typical presentation time for accepted papers is 25 minutes.  At least one author must attend to present and for inclusion in the conference publication.  Our program will include selected individual papers as well as an anticipated satellite program of events.  Presentations and subsequent publication will be in English.  250-300 word abstracts of presentations should be submitted in English, in either Text, Word or PDF formats.   Please include author’s background, and academic or institution affiliation.  Send to:  ​<< symposium@OTSF.org >>

Considering non-industrial cultures, presentation targets to be addressed from both (either) perspectives:

•           ART and ARCHITECTURE – (to include personal adornment and body modification) as expressions of emotions and beliefs
•           BELIEF SYSTEMS – Cosmology, burial and marriage custom, rites of passage, rituals & ceremony
•           SOCIAL STRUCTURE – Class distinctions, task specialization, cohesion and motivation, psychology
•           SUSTAINABILITY – Survival strategies, resource management, defense and contested territory, preservation of history & traditions
•           USE of NATURAL PHENOMENA – indications for intention -includes Archaeoastronomy and interpretation of cosmological events, Archaeoacoustics and special sound behavior