Descrizione del progetto
L’archeologia incontra la chimica analitica e la biologia
L’archeologia è tipicamente associata agli scavi, allo studio delle strutture e alla datazione dei reperti. Tuttavia, numerosi campi hanno sviluppato tecniche avanzate e nuovi strumenti chimici e biologici che stanno offrendo informazioni dettagliate inestimabili per la nostra comprensione dei popoli e delle culture antiche. È necessaria una formazione multidisciplinare per sfruttarne l’enorme potenziale. Il progetto ChemArch, finanziato dall’UE, sta sviluppando una rete globale di laboratori, produttori e fornitori di apparecchiature analitiche, musei e archeologi per sostenere un programma di dottorato che colmi il divario tra approcci scientifici analitici e archeologia. Il team svilupperà inoltre le migliori pratiche e gli strumenti per questo nuovo entusiasmante campo che ci aiuteranno a comprendere e conservare meglio l’eccezionale documentazione relativa ai manufatti preistorici in Europa.
Obiettivo
We propose a European Joint Doctorate in response to the need for early stage training between the analytical sciences and archaeology. Archaeological chemistry, biomolecular archaeology and archaeometry are fast growing disciplines that have reinvigorated research of museum and archaeological artefacts. These approaches now offer forensic detail regarding the origin, manufacture and use of iconic and everyday items in the past. Articles published in the last year alone, such as the extraction of human genomes from Stone Age ‘chewing gum’, the fashioning of prehistoric hunting weapons from human remains, and the identification of milk in ancient ceramic infant feeding bottles, show how this field continues to influence a range of scholars, change curatorial practice and capture the attention of the global public. However, recruiting researchers with the necessary interdisciplinary skills to meet the rapid expansion of the field has been difficult.
To address this challenge ChemArch will:
- Support the career development and training of 15 doctoral students crossing the sectoral divide between the natural and analytical sciences and social sciences.
- Create a network of European specialist labs with complementary expertise and wordwide reach.
- Link these specialised labs with non-academic research organisations, analytical instrument manufacturers, museums and field work units.
- Provide coherent training around a thematic program converging on advancing our understanding of Europe’s rich prehistoric artefact record.
- Involve leading organisations with a sustained history of delivering world-leading interdisciplinary science/humanities training at doctoral level.
- Provide a durable legacy through the joint creation of guidelines for best practice in the field and the lab and tools to help predict where future research efforts are best directed.
- Engage the public through outreach events, a set of Wikipedia entries and educational videocasts.
Campo scientifico
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-ITN - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks (ITN)Coordinatore
YO10 5DD York North Yorkshire
Regno Unito