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Paper short abstract

This paper examines how migration, emotions, and belonging shaped human experiences in deep prehistory. Archaeology shows mobility as an adaptive social process, where emotions influenced movement, strengthened group ties, and shaped deep-time belonging.

Paper long abstract

This paper contributes to the conference theme “Emotions on the Move” by examining how migration, emotions, and belonging shaped human experiences in deep prehistory. Archaeological evidence shows that mobility was a continual adaptive strategy, expressed through lithic technologies, settlement choices, and environmental responses. These material signatures reveal that movement was deeply social, shaping identities and structuring interactions across landscapes.

Anthropologically, prehistoric mobility is understood as an affective process. Although emotions themselves do not fossilize, they become visible through cultural practices carried by migrating groups—ritual behaviours, symbolic traditions, and technological styles that reproduced belonging in unfamiliar environments. Long-distance exchange networks indicate trust, cooperation, and emotional interdependence, while defensive structures and territorial boundaries suggest fear, tension, and social closure.

By integrating archaeological data with anthropological insights, this paper argues that emotions were fundamental to prehistoric mobility, guiding dispersal decisions, sustaining group cohesion, and anchoring deep-time forms of belonging.