FROM BIRKA TO BONAMPAK Global Archaeologies of Captivity and Unfreedom by Ben Raffield, Visiting Scholar, Center for Comparative Archaeology

Since prehistory, the institution of unfreedom has found expression as an economic,socio-political, and even cosmological phenomenon—a ubiquitous mechanism of control
that has been practised, at one time or another, across the globe. Drawing primarily on research recently conducted on the archaeology and history of the Viking-Age slave trade,
this presentation will explore the potential for comparative research to shed light on the concept of unfreedom as it manifested during the past, as well as its role in influencing the
developmental trajectories of human societies.