Postdoc in Archaeology – Early Stone Age Landscapes in Southern Scandinavia - Hiring in process/Finished, not possible to apply

The Research Project

We are offering a two-year postdoctoral position to reconstruct human landscapes and adaptations in the wider Kattegatt region of southern Scandinavia during the Early Stone Age. This area played a vital role in the postglacial resettlement of northern Europe at a time of turbulent climatic and environmental fluctuations. However, more recent land uplift combined with rising sea levels have fractured this archaeological record into a complex mosaic of submerged landscapes, raised shorelines and terrestrial sites, hindering efforts to achieve an updated and more holistic understanding of early prehistoric cultural trajectories. Divergent national and regional research traditions have added further interpretive biases. Convergent interest in improving archaeological understandings of the Kattegatt region has stimulated growing cooperation between Lund and Aarhus Universities. The strengthening of these collaborations provides a broader academic framework for this postdoctoral position.

Research Duties

The postdoctoral fellow will be able to identify and develop new research themes that align with the main goal of the project, which is to generate a new base-line synthesis of the Kattegatt region’s Late Glacial and early Holocene archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records. Besides developing his/her own research questions, the first year will involve working closely with other team members in Lund and Aarhus to integrate archaeological, palaeo-ecological, chronological and other proxy data from across the wider study region. The project already has access to a large grey literature, including legacy data and new spatially-referenced archaeological, palaeoecological and geological datasets generated by the on-going commercial and industrial developments of submerged landscapes, which have yet to be analyzed with targeted archaeological research questions. These diverse datasets will be combined with additional information from the surrounding terrestrial landscapes of eastern Denmark and the western and southern areas of Sweden. One initial goal will be the generation of a series of “time-slice” maps that reconstruct cultural, ecological, topographic and shoreline developments, targeting known and likely distributions of archaeological sites and associated assemblages (e.g. lithics, organic artefacts and ecofacts) across both terrestrial and submerged landscapes. This updated chrono-spatial framework will then be used to inform further prospecting and fieldwork activities in and around the Kattegat.

The focus of the second year remains more open, enabling the candidate to pursue further research themes that align with the wider aims of the project. The candidate will also play a key role in submission of large- and medium-sized funding proposals to expand research into the Early Stone Age landscapes and heritage of the Kattegatt region (e.g. national funding agencies, Horizon Europe programs, etc.)

Applicants should be trained in Stone Age Archaeology. Broad knowledge of Scandinavian prehistory and some familiarity with GIS would be useful. Reading knowledge of Scandinavian language(s) would be an advantage. The position primarily involves analysis and synthesis of existing datasets published in the Scandinavian language(s). Diving and underwater excavations skills are therefore not required.

Teaching, supervision and other administrative duties comprise a maximum of 20 % of the position.

Required qualifications

The candidate must have been awarded a Ph.D. or an international degree deemed equivalent not more than three years before the application deadline. If the degree was awarded earlier, the candidate must provide certificates of parental leave, illness or similar reasons for leave in the application. Applicants must be able to document advanced proficiency in English.

Assessment criteria

The main criterion for a postdoctoral fellowship is research expertise. The grounds for assessment are the ability to develop and conduct high-quality research, and also teaching skills. In all other respects, the assessment will be based on the requirements specified for the post. As documentation for the assessment of qualifications, applicants are to submit a project plan of the research they intend to carry out during their appointment. Only applicants whose research plan and previous work could strengthen the research team and the project as a whole will be considered for the position of postdoc.

Desirable qualifications in descending order of importance:

• Ability to identify and resolve novel research questions in Stone Age Archaeology
• Experience of conducting inter-disciplinary research that integrates humanistic themes with data, methods and techniques from across the natural sciences
• Familiarity with regional datasets and working knowledge of GIS or other methods or approaches that could contribute to project goals
• Capacity to work both independently and within an international interdisciplinary team

Instructions for application and reserach plan

The application must include:

• A CV.
• A copy of the Ph.D. degree.
• A list of publications (including DOI, ISBN or ISSN numbers).
• A signed plan of no more than 1500 words (not including list of references) of the research project the candidate intends to pursue during the fellowship.

The research plan is to contain a description of:

• Aim and research question.
• Theory and method.
• Relation to the international research front including the most important international work in the field of research.
• Schedule and expected results.
• The applicant’s qualifications and competence to conduct the project.

The applicant is responsible for making sure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions above and for submitting it to the University by the application deadline through the recruitment portal.

Conditions

The appointment is a fixed-term position for a maximum of two years and is full time in accordance with “Agreement on fixed-term employment as a postdoc” between labour market parties dated 4 September 2008 (Swedish Agency for Government Employers, OFRs, SACO-S and SEKO). The university applies individual salary setting.