Chronology and Evolution Within the Mesolithic of North-west Europe ― Proceedings of an International Meeting, Brussels, May 30th-june 1st 2007

Philippe Crombe, Joris Sergant and Machteld Bats belong to the Archaeology department of Ghent University. They have all been involved for many years in Final Palaeolithic and Mesolithic research, including field-work (survey and large-scale salvage excavations), and laboratory work (techno-typological analysis, GIS, spatial analysis, etc), mainly in the sandy lowlands and wetlands of NW Belgium, but occasionally also in the Netherlands. Mark Van Strydonck and Mathieu Boudin belong to the radiocarbon laboratory of the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage in Brussels. Radiocarbon dating for archaeology and the history of the arts is the main objective of this laboratory, founded in the 1960s. One of the main fields of research in this laboratory is the study of the relationship between the sample and the event (sample selection, integrity and quality on the one hand, event analysis on the other hand). There exists a long established and close collaboration between the two institutes, which has resulted in joint research projects on dating of Mesolithic pottery food-crusts, antler mattocks, and cremated bones.