PhD Research Grant in Prehistoric Archaeology
Topic: Ritual by the sea: Marine symbolism during the late Palaeolithic and the Mesolithic of Atlantic Europe (DC4)
Call: HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01-01 (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, Doctoral Networks)
Deadline for the applications: February 4th, 2024
Legal requirements:
- MA Degree in Archaeology or equivalent
- Applicants should be eligible to be admitted in the Programa de Doctorado en Arqueología Prehistórica (Escuela de Doctorado de la Universidad de Cantabria) during the academic year 2024-2025
- Applicants should not be in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment
- All applicants recruited in a DN must be doctoral candidates (i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment)
- MSCA Mobility Rule: Applicants of any nationality are accepted but must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Spain for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment
Centre: Universidad de Cantabria. Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria (Santander, Spain)
Duration: 3 years (September 2024 to August 2027)
Salary: 3 104.20 € per month/ 37 250.40 € per year (plus mobility allowance and, if applicable, family allowance)
General information on the DN ArCHe:
The Doctoral Network ArCHe (https://www.arche.uio.no/) will train 10 PhD fellows for increasing the scientific and public value of Europe’s archaeological coastal heritage, focusing on the legacy of Stone Age hunter-fisher-gatherers (c. 12,000–2000 calBC). Including some of the earliest remains of human activity, this fragile and very heterogeneous legacy is crucial for understanding human engagement with the coast. Today, it is embedded in a variety of geographic settings across Europe, differing in environmental development, which face massive environmental and human threats, and is approached in various ways in cultural heritage management. ArCHe addresses the challenges of this fractured field with an innovative past–present–future approach focused on connecting the legacy from the past, its present status as archaeological heritage and prospects for its future protection and integration into lived landscapes. With six beneficiaries and nine associated partners, ArCHe unites academic research centres and non-academic organizations (cultural heritage sector, specialist organisations, museums and media). Within this joint platform for research and training, customized PhD projects will allow for cross-fertilization of knowledge among researchers and partners through scientific courses, workshops, conferences, applied secondments and transferable skills tuition. Training in archaeology, anthropology, critical heritage studies, heritage management, bioarchaeology, geology, oceanography, coastal engineering/preservation and communication relevant to coastal heritage and environment will equip the ArCHe PhDs with advanced interdisciplinary and cross-regional knowledge and skills applicable to various academic and non-academic fields across Europe. Through best practices, the PhD projects will contribute to the visibility, preservation and sustainable integration of the vulnerable cultural heritage in coastal areas facing global environmental and development challenges.
Project description:
Symbolic thinking is one of the most specific traits of human nature. This thesis attempts to explore a very rarely analysed part of the archaeological record as a part of the symbolic discourse on the cosmology of the late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherers in Atlantic Europe (Iberia, Western France): the marine resources. Their relevance through that period was extremely varied from one region to another. Yet, evidence of the symbolic use of objects or images related to the sea is nearly constant. Amongst these is the systematic use of marine molluscs for the fabrication of adornment items, or the elaboration of figurines or relevant tools in marine mammals’ bones, teeth or ivory. Depictions of marine animals (fish, cetacean, pinnipeds, marine birds) are also relatively frequent in Palaeolithic rock and portable art. It will also be analysed whether the large accumulations of marine molluscs known as shell middens were only related to practical subsistence activities, or can also have some kind of symbolic meaning, as some scholars have recently suggested. Finally, the relevance of the sea or symbolic representations thereof in the funerary practices will be examined, both from the point of view of the location of the burials and the origin and symbolic meaning of the grave goods. A number of interdisciplinary methods are combined in a novel way to study these issues: 1) iconographic analysis of Palaeolithic and early Mesolithic rock and portable art, 2) archaeobiological methods such as archaeomalacology, ZooMS, schlerochronology and stable isotopes analysis on shells to establish with precision their origin and the collection period, 3) contextual analysis of the finds with marine symbolism, 4) Comparison with ethnographic observations on marine symbolism in modern hunter-gatherers’ societies.
Expected Results:
1) Exhaustive catalogue of marine depictions in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic art. 2) Analysis of the origin and distribution of materials of marine origin among the adornment items of the Palaeolithic-Mesolithic. 3) Assessment of the marine relevance in the funerary behaviour of late hunter-gatherers. 4) Deepening of the understanding of the role of symbolism in human societies. 5) Resources for museum, communication and the heritage management policies.
Academic secondments:
Rennes (CNRS-CReAAH; supervisor: Catherine Dupont): four months; purpose: analysing the archaeological documents on the late Mesolithic sites of southern Brittany. Salamanca (University of Salamanca; supervisor: Esteban Álvarez): four months; purpose: working on adornment of items and Palaeolithic portable art
Non-academic secondments:
Cartagena (ARQVA; supervisor: Rafael Sabio): one month; purpose: training in museum communication, preservation and conservation
Main supervisor: Prof. Pablo Arias (Universidad de Cantabria
Co-supervisors: Dr. Catherine Dupont (CNRS) and Prof. Esteban Álvarez (University of Salamanca)
Applications should be sent to the following address: SimTIC@unican.es
Documents to be sent in by the applicants:
- Application Form
- Letter of motivation
- Project proposal (approximately 14,000 characters including spaces, references in addition) describing how the candidate would approach the given PhD-topic, including substantial reflections (not more than 4,200 characters including spaces) on how the specific PhD-project topic will contribute to achieving the general aims of the Doctoral network ArCHe as described on the ArCHe homepage (https://www.arche.uio.no/). A progress plan should be included.
- CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work)
- Complete list of publications and academic works
- Proof of language proficiencies. Given that the project is conducted in English, possession of a high level of proficiency in that language (minimum B2) is a mandatory requirement
- Two reference persons to be contacted by the selection committee (name, relation to candidate, e-mail address and phone number)
- Copy of MA degree diploma(s) and academic transcripts
- Applicants may be asked to submit their Master’s theses or further information later
Selection criteria:
- Scientific excellence to fit the PhD project including the comparative ArCHe-perspective: international, interdisciplinary, intersectoral and with a past-present-future perspective.
- Fluent (oral and written) English skills as the project operates in English language.
- Fluency in Spanish is not required, but can be considered a merit
- Interdisciplinary knowledge
- Regarding the project proposal:
- Originality, independent thinking
- Knowledge of the state of the art and how the applicant goes beyond this
- Theoretical and methodological foundation
- Scientific ambition and innovativeness
- Feasibility and progress plan
- Suitability of the proposal not least in terms of the Doctoral network thought, and specifically regarding to ArCHe
- Ethics implications
All of the above are assessed based on submitted documentation and the interview. In addition, the following soft skills are assessed during the interview:
- High motivation for doing their PhD in a MSCA-Doctoral network, and specifically ArCHe
- Flexibility
- Team-mindedness
- Previous training or experience in the specific academic knowledge and skills (see above)
