Transylvania

The Quinn Lab is part of three collaborative research projects examining identity and inequality in the Transylvanian region of Romania. We have ongoing international partnerships with researchers the University of Cambridge, the Max Planck Institute, and Muzeul National al Unirii-Alba Iulia. 

Bronze Age Transylvania Survey – The development of mining and metallurgy during the Bronze Age coincides with the development of institutionalized social inequality in Europe. While metal was a key resource across the continent, very little research into the organization of metal production and mining communities within ore-rich regions has been conducted. By examining the social contexts in which the technological and economic systems developed, the BATS project hopes to provide insight into the emergence and evolution of social complexity in Bronze Age Europe. This project has supported by the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, the University of Michigan, and Hamilton College.

Forging Identities: Past and Present – This project examines how archaeologically oriented and community-engaged cultural heritage revitalization efforts influence awareness and ultimately public policy about key social advocacy issues. The research focuses on traditional mining techniques in southwest Transylvania that are threatened by globalization. There will be several tangible outcomes of this project including a pop-up museum exhibit, online material, public archaeology days, lectures, and publications. This project is supported by the University of Michigan Arts of Citizenship program.

Mortuary Archaeology of the Rameț Bronze Age Landscape (MARBAL) – This collaborative research project explores inequality and identity in Transylvanian mining landscapes. Through excavations of an Early Bronze Age cemetery at Rameț and field survey of its position within the wider cultural landscape, mortuary archaeological and bioarchaeological approaches will reveal the extent to which inequalities performed through mortuary rituals matched inequalities in daily life. Follow the project on the MARBAL website.