PhD position on Archaeobotany

As part of the SNF Professorship awarded to Dr. Ferran Antolín (Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science (IPAS), Dept. of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel) a fully-funded 3-year PhD position is announced within the project "Small seeds for large purposes: an integrated approach to agricultural change and climate during the Neolithic in Western Europe" (2018-2021). The project aims to investigate agricultural dynamics in the NW Mediterranean region during the Neolithic.

Your tasks

• Assistance in the compilation of available archaeobotanical data in the study region
• Analysis of archaeobotanical samples from waterlogged contexts (wells) from a Neolithic site located in Southern France, interdisciplinary evaluation of the data (with a team of specialists in different fields) and publication of the results
• Development of new means of approaching crop biodiversity in Prehistory through digital image analysis
• Study of recent and archaeological crop remains with geometric morphometrics, statistical processing of the data and publication of the results
• Dissemination of results in conferences and the general public.

 

Your profile

• BA in Botany, Archaeology, Anthropology or History
• MS in Prehistory or Environmental Archaeology (or a similarly relevant field)
• We are seeking a candidate with a strong background in the determination of plant macroremains and some experience with morphometric analysis and/or the statistical processing of data (with R).
• The candidate should show the capacity of working independently, as well as in a team, have good planning ability, communication skills and be ambitioned in goals
• A good level of English is required, while German, French, Spanish, Catalan and/or Italian will be considered as a benefit. If not the case, the willingness of the candidate to learn German is expected.

 

We offer you

• A fully-funded doctoral programme based on SNF salary conditions
• Training on geometric morphometrics during a short stay at the University of Montpellier.
• A range of courses taught at the University of Basel
• Integration in our interdisciplinary research group at the IPAS
• Up-to-date working conditions in a highly motivating and enriching working environment
• Funding for attending conferences and courses