M/F PhD position DC5 in the HORIZON Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) Doctoral Network ArCHe: “Archaeological Coastal Heritage: Past, present and future of a hidden prehistoric legacy”

This DC5 doctoral student is one of 10 doctoral students in the ArCHe doctoral network "Patrimoine archéologique côtier: Passé, présent et futur d'un patrimoine préhistorique caché" (Coastal archaeological heritage: past, present and future of a hidden prehistoric heritage). The recruiting institution is the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) within the CReAAH laboratory. The PhD student will be registered at the University of Rennes (ED ESC). The main place of work will be CReAAH, University of Rennes (France). Several academic assignments will be carried out within the ARCHE network. The thesis supervisor will be Marie-Yvane Daire (CNRS: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France) and the co-supervisor will be Inger Marie Berg-Hansen, University of Oslo. Several secondments will take place during the thesis, to enable comparative studies. The first (3 months) will be at the University of Oslo (Norway), under the supervision of I/M/ Berg-Hansen. The second (2 months) at the University of Latvia (Latvia) under the supervision of V. Bērziņš .
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.

DC5- For a history of maritime techniques in Europe: Norms and uses of techniques in prehistoric coastal communities
Description :
Techniques mediate the actions of humans on their environment and constitute essential archaeological evidence of the norms and practices of past populations in their lived landscapes. Because the prehistory of the shore has long been marginalized in the grand narrative of human origins, no synthesis has been produced on the particularities of these technical systems and networks compared to those developed in the inland of the continents. Based on bibliographic data (publications, reports, inventories) and databases, the project studies coastal hunter-fisher-gatherer toolkits dated to 12 000 – 2000 cal BC made of different raw materials (lithic, bone, shell), techniques or structures (marine or estuarine fisheries, prey processing devices, storage structure) across Europe (Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic). They also concern several other registers of action on matter as culinary practices and means of displacement movement (boats and navigation). This investigation is resolutely multi-disciplinary, integrating technological and archaeological data, archaeozoological, ethnographic data and experimental archaeology. The aim of DC5 is firstly to establish a common methodology for interrogating such data and unifying the results. As part of the dissertation/research, a relational database should then be established to define technical solutions adopted by HFG hunter-fisher-gatherers in these different environments. The question of their originality in relation to continental techniques is central to defining the historical dynamics on the shores at the beginning and during of thein the early Holocene. The cultural and topographic diversity of the coastal earlier prehistory in Europe appears to be an asset for identifying standards and adaptations, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean seas. The question of the functionality of certain habitats (shipyards, prey processing areas, habitats related to the maintenance and use of fisheries, etc.) is central to DC5, as this logistical organization of territories is likely to reflect original social structures. This doctoral research project requires the mobilization of numerous registers of knowledge dealing with various chronological prehistoric contexts, fueled by a real spirit of curiosity and interdisciplinarity.
Expected Results: 1) An open-access database with hierarchical entries listing maritime techniques identified in sites from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic in parts of Europe (hosted on a server at the TGR-Humanum, (France)). 2) A cataloguing of maritime techniques for museums and public exhibitions. 3) Elaboration of a prospective study that will link the techniques and the activities carried out in prehistoric habitats and the occupation of territories (in the form of an article in English in a peer-reviewed journal) (synergies with DC2 and DC3).
Sv.: Marie-Yvane Daire (CNRS), co-sv.: Inger Maria Berg-Hansen (UiO)
Planned secondment(s):
acad.: UiO (sv.: I. M. Berg-Hansen, M13-15, 3M, purpose: To study lithic technology from Norwegian sites),
UL (sv: V. Bērziņš, M23-24, 2M, purpose: To study bone implements in Latvia);
non-academic: ARQVA (sv.: R. Sabio, M10, 1M, purpose: insights in museum communication, preservation, conservation)

Activities :
Compile archaeological data linked to the thesis topics
- Establish a citizen tool accessible to researchers to compare different areas.
- Make the grey literature of each countries accessible.
- Work on spatial placement and meaning of data collected.
- Describe, understand and the maritime lifestyles and technical practices of Prehistoric groups.
- Work on the corpus in interaction with the European researchers involved in the project.
- Publication.
- Oral communications.
In addition to the doctoral research work, academic and non acdemic secondments during the thesis will enable comparative studies. The first (3 months) will be at the University of Oslo (Norway), under the supervision of I/M/ Berg-Hansen. The second (2 months) at the University of Latvia (Latvia) under the supervision of V. Bērziņš.
Eligibilty criteria:
The candidate will hold a Master degree in Archaeology, Prehistory or related fields (Archaeometry, Archaeostatistics, Archaeology and Cultures of the Ancient World, Maritime archaeology, heritage studies).
- MSCA Mobility Rule: researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment
- All researchers recruited in a DN must be doctoral candidates (i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment)

Assessment 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. Knowledge of the language of the host country may 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

Documentation to be sent in by the applicants:
- Letter of motivation, including 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, as well as two reference persons to be contacted by the selection committee (name, relation to the candidate, e-mail address and phone number)
- CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work), complete list of publications and academic works, proof of language proficiencies and proof of master diploma.

The offer is accessible in French and English

In addition to the gross salary 3957,60 EUR (and under eligibility conditions)
- mobility allowance EUR 600 per month
- family allowance (under conditions)