Category / Archaeology

Opportunity to get more involved in preparing Archaeology REF 2028 submission – impact and engagement

BU research, Impact, REF Subjects

We are looking to recruit 2 x impact champions in UOA 15 (the Unit of Assessment for Archaeology) to help support preparations for our next REF submission in 2027. The deadline for expressions of interest is the 27th October 2023.

These roles are recruited through an open and transparent process, which gives all academic staff the opportunity to put themselves forward. Applications from underrepresented groups (e.g. minority ethnic, declared disability) are particularly welcome.

We are currently preparing submissions to thirteen units (otherwise known as UOAs). Each unit has a leadership team with at least one leader, an output and impact champion. The leadership team is supported by a panel of reviewers who assess the research from the unit. This includes research outputs (journal articles, book chapters, digital artefacts and conference proceedings) and impact case studies.

All roles require a level of commitment which is recognised accordingly, with time to review, attend meetings, and take responsibility for tasks.

This vacancy is for joint impact champions for UOA 15 Archaeology. The roles are available as a job share, on the basis of a combined total of 0.2 FTE (split to be decided in discussion with successful applicants).

Undertaking a UOA role can be enjoyable and rewarding, as one of our current impact champions can testify:

“As a UoA 17 impact champion, I work closely with the UoA 17 impact team to encourage the development of a culture of impact across BUBS. I try to pop into Department / research group meetings when I can to discuss impact, and I’ve enjoyed meeting people with a whole range of research interests. Sometimes it can be tough to engage people with impact – understandably; everyone is busy – so it’s important to be enthusiastic about the need for our BU research to reach the public. Overall, the role is about planting the seeds to get researchers thinking about the impact their work might have in the future (as well as the impact they have already had, sometimes without realising!)”

Dr Rafaelle Nicholson – UOA 17 Impact Champion

How to apply

All those interested should put forward a short case (suggested length of one paragraph), explaining why they are interested in the role and what they believe they could bring to it. These should be clearly marked with the relevant role and unit and emailed to ref@bournemouth.ac.uk by 27th October 2023.

Further details on the impact champion role, the process of recruitment and selection criteria can be found here:

Role Descriptor

Process and criteria for selection

For more information, please contact ref@bournemouth.ac.uk, or the UOA Leader Kate Welham with queries..

Researchers discover huge Neolithic monument on the Isle of Arran

BU research, Fusion themes, Impact, REF Subjects, Research communication, Research news

Bournemouth University researcher involved in groundbreaking discovery on Scottish island.

by Stephen Bates

A team of researchers have discovered what is believed to be a complete Neolithic cursus set within a rich prehistoric landscape on the Isle of Arran, Scotland.

This monument type is amongst the first that was built by farmers in Neolithic Britain and is huge – measuring 1.1km long and 50 metres wide.

A cursus is a vast Neolithic monument comprised of one or more rectangular enclosures. The cursus on Arran is defined by a large stone, earth and turf bank running around the entire perimeter of the enclosure. Constructing this monument would have involved staggering amounts of labour, transforming the entire local landscape.

This monument type could date to perhaps as early as 3500 BC, researchers say. It is the most complete example of this site type found in Britain and the opportunity to investigate a cursus bank is very rare and hugely exciting.

Prehistoric field boundaries, clearance cairns and round houses, at least some of which may be contemporary with the monument, have also found in the same landscape, all preserved within peatland, sealing the archaeological layers. Ancient soils representing the original Neolithic land surface, together with cultivated soils from the Bronze Age period, provide an unparalleled opportunity to understand how contemporary farming practice and settlement interacted with the cursus monument and how early farmers transformed this place.

Dr Emma Jenkins, Associate Professor in Archaeology at Bournemouth University, co-led the landscape geoarchaeology and environmental science work at the site, supported by Dr Sarah Elliott, Deputy Head of Department, Life and Environmental Sciences (LES) and Harry Manley, Demonstrator in LES.

This involved excavating areas near the cursus into the Neolithic land surfaces and Bronze Age field systems which will allow samples to be taken for dating and other environmental evidence. This will help the team to understand how people used and managed this important landscape and feed critical information into the rewilding strategy about the landscape history of the area.

Dr Jenkins said, “The Isle of Arran is well known for Machrie Moor with its Prehistoric stone and timber circles; standing stones and burial cairns but the discovery that these may be part of a much larger complex which included this enormous cursus elevates this into a region of global significance on a par with other ceremonial landscapes like Stonehenge. As an environmental archaeologist I am particularly excited by the discovery of well-preserved soils, contemporary with the creation of the cursus which means we can investigate how people used and modified this landscape from the time of the first farming communities in Britain.”

This research will provide invaluable information about landscape history and past ecosystems that will feed into the Rewilding strategy currently being put together by landowner David Bennett and the Northwoods Rewilding Network and wider work by Arran Geopark.  The team also supported participation by members of the local community in the research process and are exploring future learning and creative opportunities responding to the investigations.  Artists from the region were supported by North Ayrshire Council and Arran Theatre and Arts Trust to explore the excavation.

Professor Nicki Whitehouse, Professor of Archaeological Science, University of Glasgow,  said: “The initial discoveries reveal a highly unusual combination of a ceremonial monument within a prehistoric farming landscape. It is part of a continuum that likely linked to the ritual site at Machrie Moor, probably forming part of something much more extensive. The science work will allow us to understand about the animals and plants people farmed, how people impacted the landscape and its ecosystems and transformed their soils for cultivation – and what we may learn from this today.”

The combination of investigating all these elements together is highly unusual and has also involved experts from Universities of Birkbeck, Reading, Coventry, Birmingham, and Southampton as well as archaeologists from Archaeology Scotland and Historic Environment Scotland.

The discovery has seen widespread media coverage, including in The National, The Guardian, The Times (paywall) and The Scotsman (paywall).

Reminder – REF Roles expressions of interest deadline fast approaching!

BU research, REF Subjects, Research assessment

We are currently recruiting to a number of roles to help support preparation for our next REF submission. The deadline for expressions of interest is the 11th October 2022.

We are also now welcoming expressions of interest for REF UOA 18 Lead for Law.

Further information is outlined below…

The roles are recruited through an open and transparent process, which gives all academic staff the opportunity to put themselves forward. Applications from underrepresented groups (e.g. minority ethnic, declared disability) are particularly welcome.

We are currently preparing submissions to thirteen units (otherwise known as UOAs). Each unit has a leadership team with at least one leader, an output and impact champion. The leadership team are supported by a panel of reviewers who assess the research from the unit. This includes research outputs (journal articles, book chapters, digital artefacts and conference proceedings) and impact case studies.

We currently have vacancies in the following roles:

UOA Leads – Review Panel Members –
4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience 3 – Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
18 – Law 11 – Computer Science and Informatics
27 – English Language and Literature 12 – Engineering
Output Champion – 14 – Geography and Environmental Studies
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 15 – Archaeology
14 – Geography and Environmental Studies 17 – Business and Management Studies
Impact Champion –  18 – Law
4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience 20 – Social Work and Social Policy
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 24 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism
12 – Engineering 27 – English Language and Literature
14 – Geography and Environmental Studies 32 – Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
24 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism 34 – Communication, Culture and Media Studies, Library and Information Management

All roles require a level of commitment which is recognised accordingly with time to review, attend meetings, and take responsibility for tasks.

Undertaking a UOA role can be enjoyable and rewarding as two of our current champions testify:

“As UOA Outputs Champion you develop a detailed knowledge of all the great work that colleagues are doing related to the subject, and the different outlets used for disseminating their work.  As an outputs committee member, you also get to know what research is going on across BU, and it’s interesting to see the differences between disciplines.  It’s a good way develop your knowledge of the bigger picture of BU’s research, and also to understand the importance of REF and how it works in practice.  You do spend quite a bit of time chasing colleagues to put their outputs on BRIAN for REF compliance but hopefully they forgive you!”

Professor Adele Ladkin – UOA 24 Output Champion

“As a UoA 17 impact champion, I work closely with the UoA 17 impact team to encourage the development of a culture of impact across BUBS. I try to pop into Department / research group meetings when I can to discuss impact, and I’ve enjoyed meeting people with a whole range of research interests. Sometimes it can be tough to engage people with impact – understandably; everyone is busy – so it’s important to be enthusiastic about the need for our BU research to reach the public. Overall, the role is about planting the seeds to get researchers thinking about the impact their work might have in the future (as well as the impact they have already had, sometimes without realising!)”

Dr Rafaelle Nicholson – UOA 17 Impact Champion

 How to apply

All those interested should put forward a short case (suggested length of one paragraph) as to why they are interested in the role and what they think they could bring to it. These should be clearly marked with the relevant role and unit and emailed to ref@bournemouth.ac.uk by 11th October 2022.

Further detail on the roles, the process of recruitment and selection criteria can be found here:

UOA Leader Output Champion Impact Champion Panel Reviewer
Role Descriptor Role Descriptor Role Descriptor Role Descriptor
Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection

For further information please contact ref@bournemouth.ac.uk, a member of current UOA Team or your Deputy Dean Research and Professional Practice with queries.

Would you like to get more involved in preparing our next REF submission?

BU research, REF Subjects, Research assessment, research opportunities

We are recruiting to a number of roles to help support preparation for our next REF submission. The roles are recruited through an open and transparent process, which gives all academic staff the opportunity to put themselves forward. Applications from underrepresented groups (e.g. minority ethnic, declared disability) are particularly welcome.

We are currently preparing submissions to thirteen units (otherwise known as UOAs). Each unit has a leadership team with at least one leader, an output and impact champion. The leadership team are supported by a panel of reviewers who assess the research from the unit. This includes research outputs (journal articles, book chapters, digital artefacts and conference proceedings) and impact case studies.

We currently have vacancies in the following roles:

UOA Leads – Review Panel Members –
4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience 3 – Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience
27 – English Language and Literature 11 – Computer Science and Informatics
Output Champion – 12 – Engineering
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 14 – Geography and Environmental Studies
14 – Geography and Environmental Studies 15 – Archaeology
Impact Champion – 17 – Business and Management Studies
4 – Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience 18 – Law
11 – Computer Science and Informatics 20 – Social Work and Social Policy
12 – Engineering 24 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism
14 – Geography and Environmental Studies 27 – English Language and Literature
18 – Law 32 – Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
24 – Sport and Exercise Sciences, Leisure and Tourism 34 – Communication, Culture and Media Studies, Library and Information Management

All roles require a level of commitment which is recognised accordingly with time to review, attend meetings, and take responsibility for tasks.

Undertaking a UOA role can be enjoyable and rewarding as two of our current champions testify:

“As UOA Outputs Champion you develop a detailed knowledge of all the great work that colleagues are doing related to the subject, and the different outlets used for disseminating their work.  As an outputs committee member, you also get to know what research is going on across BU, and it’s interesting to see the differences between disciplines.  It’s a good way develop your knowledge of the bigger picture of BU’s research, and also to understand the importance of REF and how it works in practice.  You do spend quite a bit of time chasing colleagues to put their outputs on BRIAN for REF compliance but hopefully they forgive you!”

Professor Adele Ladkin – UOA 24 Output Champion

“As a UoA 17 impact champion, I work closely with the UoA 17 impact team to encourage the development of a culture of impact across BUBS. I try to pop into Department / research group meetings when I can to discuss impact, and I’ve enjoyed meeting people with a whole range of research interests. Sometimes it can be tough to engage people with impact – understandably; everyone is busy – so it’s important to be enthusiastic about the need for our BU research to reach the public. Overall, the role is about planting the seeds to get researchers thinking about the impact their work might have in the future (as well as the impact they have already had, sometimes without realising!)”

Dr Rafaelle Nicholson – UOA 17 Impact Champion

 How to apply

All those interested should put forward a short case (suggested length of one paragraph) as to why they are interested in the role and what they think they could bring to it. These should be clearly marked with the relevant role and unit and emailed to ref@bournemouth.ac.uk by 11th October 2022.

Further detail on the roles, the process of recruitment and selection criteria can be found here:

UOA Leader Output Champion Impact Champion Panel Reviewer
Role Descriptor Role Descriptor Role Descriptor Role Descriptor
Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection Process and criteria for selection

For further information please contact ref@bournemouth.ac.uk, a member of current UOA Team or your Deputy Dean Research and Professional Practice with queries.

IMSET publishes position paper on long-term sustainability

BU2025, humanities, international, open access, Research communication, Research news

Fabio Silva of the Institute for the Modelling of Socio-Environmental Transitions, together with a group of co-authors from 32 other institutions, has led the publication of a landmark position paper in the journal Sustainability entitled Developing Transdisciplinary Approaches to Sustainability Challenges: The Need to Model Socio-Environmental Systems in the Longue Durée.

Stemming from a transdisciplinary workshop held online during 2020, the paper argues that current crises – in land use, biodiversity, novel pathogens, water management – can only be fully understood by doing research over timescales that greatly exceed the lifespan of any individual human. This so-called longue durée is the key to fully understanding the full extent of socio-environmental processes and their implications.

 

The spatial and temporal scales of key social and environmental processes of interest

 

As well as identifying key processes and challenges, IMSET and colleagues set out how key issues may be addressed by fully integrating humans into environmental modelling and planning. By including ancient human activity and future outcomes in our mission statement, we aim to provide a manifesto for developing an integrated approach towards socio-ecological systems in the long term.

—

Silva, Fabio, Fiona Coward, Kimberley Davies, Sarah Elliott, Emma Jenkins, Adrian C. Newton, Philip Riris, Marc Vander Linden, Jennifer Bates, Elena Cantarello, Daniel A. Contreras, Stefani A. Crabtree, Enrico R. Crema, Mary Edwards, Tatiana Filatova, Ben Fitzhugh, Hannah Fluck, Jacob Freeman, Kees Klein Goldewijk, Marta Krzyzanska, Daniel Lawrence, Helen Mackay, Marco Madella, Shira Yoshi Maezumi, Rob Marchant, Sophie Monsarrat, Kathleen D. Morrison, Ryan Rabett, Patrick Roberts, Mehdi Saqalli, Rick Stafford, Jens-Christian Svenning, Nicki J. Whithouse, and Alice Williams. 2022. “Developing Transdisciplinary Approaches to Sustainability Challenges: The Need to Model Socio-Environmental Systems in the Longue Durée“ Sustainability 14: 10234. DOI: 10.3390/su14161023

 

 

New paper on Amazonian Dark Earths involving IMSET researchers

BU2025, Publishing, Research Centres

Today, Nature Communications published a long-expected Matters Arising in response to a 2021 paper in the same journal: “A new hypothesis for the origin of Amazonian Dark Earths“. The new paper, involving more than 50 leading scholars involved in research on prehistoric Amazonia, affirms a human origin for the dark earths found throughout the central and eastern Amazon basin.

Amazonian Dark Earths (ADEs) are distinguished by their exceptional fertility and richness of archaeological remains. Evidently produced by various kinds of human activity, including but not limited to manuring, rubbish deposition, and biomass burning, they are a distinctive feature of later indigenous settlement of the Amazon river basin.

The paper synthesises diverse archaeological, palaeoenvironmental, and historic data to demonstrate the human origin of ADEs. Source: Lombardo et al. 2022

For more information see: Lombardo, U., Arroyo-Kalin, M., Schmidt, M. et al. Evidence confirms an anthropic origin of Amazonian Dark Earths. Nat Commun 13, 3444 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31064-2

BU research published in Science – footprint study changes our understanding of human migration

BU research

How and when humans first colonised North America is a question that has long puzzled researchers. A groundbreaking new study by BU academics has shed new light on patterns of migration and reveals that humans may have reached the Americas 7,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The study, written by Professor Matthew Bennett and Dr Sally Reynolds and published in Science today, reveals that human footprints discovered in New Mexico date from 23,000 and 21,000 years old. The discovery has the potential to radically change our understanding of when the continent was settled and suggests that there is much still to be discovered about migrations and earlier populations in this part of the world.

 

The footprints were left in soft mud on the shores of what was once a shallow lake which now forms part of Alkali Flat – a large playa (a dried desert lake) at White Sands, New Mexico with the tracks seeming to be left mainly by teenagers and younger children. Seeds found in layers of sediment above and below the footprints were radiocarbon dated by the US Geological Survey, providing the research team with very precise dates for the footprints themselves.

Professor Bennett said: “The footprints left at White Sands give a picture of what was taking place, teenagers interacting with younger children and adults. We can think of our ancestors as quite functional, hunting and surviving, but what we see here is also activity of play, and of different ages coming together.  A true insight into these early people.”

The pioneering research has been featured heavily in the media this morning with front page links on BBC News, The Times, The Guardian and many other media channels.

Science is viewed as one of the most prestigious academic journals with competition to be published so intense that less than 7% of submissions are accepted. Professor Bennett and Dr Reynold’s groundbreaking article highlights their decades of hard work and expertise in paleontology, human evolution and environmental & geographical sciences.

DEADLINE EXTENSION – 19th EUROGRAPHICS Workshop on Graphics and Cultural Heritage (EG GCH 2021)

BU research, conferences, Events

***Please find below updated information regarding the call for papers***

Bournemouth University will host the 19th EUROGRAPHICS Workshop on Graphics and Cultural Heritage (EG GCH 2021) from 4-6 November 2021. The workshop will engage practitioners and researchers across the world working at the interface of novel 3D digital technologies and cultural heritage. This year, circumstances depending, EG GCH will be run in a hybrid format, organised by the University of Bournemouth, UK. This will allow those who are able to attend the conference in person to do so, while those that can’t, especially if the pandemic is still raging at the time of the conference, will also not miss out on this exciting event.

The event seeks different types of contributions including:

  1. Research papers: original and innovative research (maximum 10 pages)
  2. Short papers: update of ongoing research activities or projects (maximum 4 pages)
  3. Posters: overview of activities or national/international interdisciplinary projects (500 words abstract)
  4. Panel sessions for multidisciplinary/industry-oriented projects
  5. Special sessions on Interactive Digital Narratives

Note down these important dates:

  • Full papers submission deadline: 19 July 2021 2 August 2021
  • Short papers submission deadline: 2 August 2021 9 August 2021
  • Posters submission deadline: 30 August 2021

All accepted research and short papers will be published by the Eurographics Association and archived in the EG Digital Library.
The authors of up to five selected best papers will be invited to submit an extended version to the ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH).

The full call for papers and key dates can be found on the workshop website. The fantastic keynotes will be announced soon.

Please consider submitting and attending the workshop.

The EG GCH 2021 organisation committee

Mothering, studying and isolating: A mature student’s experience of studying during the Covid-19 pandemic

BU research, COVID-19, student research, Uncategorized, Women's Academic Network

Archaeology and mothering, image by Marion Fayolle

A guest post by outgoing BSc Anthropology student Natalie Campbell.

While mature students may make up a minority of the student cohort our numbers are not insignificant. There can be advantages to returning to academia later in life. We may bring significant life and work experiences with us and often the driving forces behind our pursuit of education make for dedicated students. However, while we may not be leaving home for the first time and learning to stand on our own feet, we often have to contend with a weight of responsibility not experienced by your average school leaver. Many mature students have careers, homes and families to support requiring a constant juggling act of time and priorities. To me, this juggling act has never been more apparent than throughout the Covid-19 global pandemic.

I myself am a 3rd year undergraduate student studying BSc Anthropology. I am in my 30’s and have three children. As with many undergraduate degrees my final year has been dominated by my dissertation where I explored mothering in prehistory.

The following excerpt is the evaluative supplement of this dissertation where I reflect on the parallels between my research and my experience as a student and mother during lockdown.

I cannot reflect on this paper without first acknowledging the extraordinary circumstances in which it was written. The global pandemic has deeply impacted each and every one of us and encroached into every aspect of our lives for the past year. I cannot fail to see the irony of attempting to complete a dissertation exploring motherhood experiences while I myself, like millions of mothers around the world, was attempting to navigate a new motherhood experience of juggling childcare and home-schooling while working in lockdown. I am not ashamed to admit that during this time I experienced levels of stress I have never known before. However, the experience has taught me valuable lessons both academically and as a mother in patience, prioritising, flexibility, organisation and time management.

Throughout the entire process from researching to writing I was compelled to make considerations and accommodations for my children and other responsibilities. Whether that meant being mother by day and student by night or reading articles with a 4-year-old perched on my knee while watching more TV than is considered healthy. Reflecting on this has given me a deeper insight into how women’s lives are impacted by motherhood and how much of the mothering experience is about evaluating the situations put before us and putting considerations for our children at the heart of our response.

It is my hope that this insight was carried through into my research project, and that I was able to successfully demonstrate that mothering cannot be reduced to those large events such as childbirth and weaning, that are often the subject of anthropological and archaeological research. Much of mothering is in the small moments of care and consideration that take place every day, which may seem on the surface as invisible not only today but also in the archaeological record. However, by taking a more holistic approach we may be able to scratch the surface and see small traces of mothering in unexpected places such as the diet of a sick child or the positioning of bodies in graves.

While formulating a methodology for my project I struggled to compile a scientific framework that could present these intangible aspects of mothering in context, without losing the personal human experience aspect of mothering. When I was introduced to the concept of a fictive osteobiographical narrative I recognised its potential to represent scientific data in an accessible way. This was important to me as I was keen not to weigh motherhood down with academia to the extent that the human experience is lost. This is a fine line to tread while researching and writing for academic purposes. While some may consider a fictive narrative beyond the scope of academia, I believe it serves as a necessary reminder that behind the data, hypothesise and science are the real people who lived conscious, messy, complicated lives.

At the very beginning of this project, I was advised to choose an area I was truly interested in, otherwise I would be thoroughly tired of the subject by the end. When I first read the case study of the multiple burial at Monkton-Up-Wimborne I was instantly struck with a sense of empathy, not for any specific suffering or hardships they might have faced in life but as one mother to another recognising the extra mental load that comes when factoring children into every aspect of our lives. I remember remarking that I could barely get my children to school without some level of stress yet alone repeatedly escort them to the Mendips and back on foot! In contemporary Britain such an undertaking would require immense planning and consideration and I felt compelled to know if the same were true of Neolithic Britain.

I was to learn through my research that this line of thinking has the potential to create a bias in how we perceive the movement of women in past sedentary societies, where outdated assumptions that women only moved for marriage have prevailed. More research into the motivations behind female mobility is clearly necessary.

Further areas identified throughout this study for future research involve the visually identifiable impact of mothering on skeletal remains, including physical markers of carrying children and whether the higher levels of stress identified in Neolithic women was purely due to pregnancies or if the exertions of mothering had an impact too.

Finally, while this undertaking has been one of the hardest challenges I have faced, I can honestly say it was worth every moment of stress experienced. I entered this degree with the intention of improving my potential in order to support my family, but along the way I have discovered a passion for research which moving forward I would love to foster and develop.

19th EUROGRAPHICS Workshop on Graphics and Cultural Heritage (EG GCH 2021) – Call for papers

BU research, conferences, Events

Bournemouth University will host the 19th EUROGRAPHICS Workshop on Graphics and Cultural Heritage (EG GCH 2021) from 4-6 November 2021. The workshop will engage practitioners and researchers across the world working at the interface of novel 3D digital technologies and cultural heritage. This year, circumstances depending, EG GCH will be run in a hybrid format, organised by the University of Bournemouth, UK. This will allow those who are able to attend the conference in person to do so, while those that can’t, especially if the pandemic is still raging at the time of the conference, will also not miss out on this exciting event.

The event seeks different types of contributions including:

  1. Research papers: original and innovative research (maximum 10 pages)
  2. Short papers: update of ongoing research activities or projects (maximum 4 pages)
  3. Posters: overview of activities or national/international interdisciplinary projects (500 words abstract)
  4. Panel sessions for multidisciplinary/industry-oriented projects
  5. Special sessions on Interactive Digital Narratives

Note down these important dates:

  • Full papers submission deadline: 19 July 2021
  • Short papers submission deadline: 2 August 2021
  • Posters submission deadline: 30 August 2021

All accepted research and short papers will be published by the Eurographics Association and archived in the EG Digital Library.
The authors of up to five selected best papers will be invited to submit an extended version to the ACM Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage (JOCCH).

The full call for papers and key dates can be found on the workshop website. The fantastic keynotes will be announced soon.

Please consider submitting and attending the workshop.

The EG GCH 2021 organisation committee

IMSET Seminar: Modelling land use in the ancient Near East

BU research, Featured academics, Knowledge Exchange, Postgraduate Research, Research communication

Thursday 22 April at 4pm 

Modelling land use in the ancient Near East: methodological problems and interpretive potential with Dr. Dan Lawrence, Durham University 

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes have important biophysical and biogeochemical effects on climate via a variety of mechanisms. The PAGES working group LandCover6k aims to produce global reconstructions of land use and land cover based on archaeological data to provide climate modellers with datasets for sensitivity testing. The Ancient Near East has a long history of agricultural and pastoral exploitation, and as such represents a key area for the understanding of human induced landcover change. This paper will discuss the methods through which land use has been reconstructed by the Middle East group of the Landcover6K project. It will also show how these methods can also be used by archaeologists to investigate socio-ecological systems through time, building on datasets collected through the ERC funded Climate, Landscape, Settlement and Society (CLaSS) Project. This project aims to collect all archaeological settlement, zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical data available for the Fertile Crescent over the Holocene. Combining land use modelling with archaeologically derived evidence for past population and subsistence practices has significant interpretive potential. We illustrate this by presenting new results on the impact of the 4.2kya event, a period of drought associated by some with the collapse of the Akkadian empire and widespread population decline. We will also discuss preliminary work on long term trends in social complexity, productivity and resilience. 

Find out more and book your place.  

 

BU Book up for National Award

BU research, Impact, NHS

Professor Tim Darvill, Kerry Barrass, Yvette Staelens from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology (BU) together with Dr Vanessa Heaslip from the Department of Nursing  Science (BU) worked with Laura Drysdale of the Restoration Trust to edit a book exploring how historic landscapes could support mental health well-being.

 

Our book titled ‘Historic Landscapes and Mental Health Well-being’ has been nominated as a contender in the 2021 Current Archaeology Book of the Year competition. This is fantastic news and really shows the benefits of cross disciplinary research and working.

Voting is open now at www.archaeology.co.uk/vote so do please cast your votes for the book, and encourage anyone else you can think of to do the same. Please also feel free to share this excellent news in your social media sites as it would be really excellent to win this award. The results will be announced at the Archaeology in Britain conference in February.

Please keep your fingers crossed for us and thank you for your votes

Cross-disciplinary approaches to prehistoric demography | Themed issue edited by BU staff

BU research, Publishing, Research Centres, Research news, research staff

We are pleased to announce the release of Cross-Disciplinary Approaches to Prehistoric Demography, a themed issue of The Royal Society Philosophical Transactions B series, compiled and edited by Philip Riris and Fabio Silva from the Department of Archaeology & Anthropology at BU, in collaboration with colleagues Jennifer C. French (University of Liverpool), Javier Fernandéz-López de Pablo (University of Alicante, Spain) and Sergi Lozano (University of Barcelona, Spain).

Demography impacts a wide range of aspects of human culture past and present: from our capacity to transmit genes and knowledge across generations, to the reach of our social networks and long-term impacts on the environment. Recent cross-disciplinary advances in the reconstruction and interpretation of prehistoric population histories (palaeodemography) have been transforming our understanding of past societies. This theme issue integrates the efforts of researchers working across archaeology, anthropology, genomics, palaeoecology, and evolutionary demography, combining original research alongside critical reviews, to provide a benchmark for the state-of-the-art in prehistoric demography and a statement of the future of this rapidly growing cross-disciplinary endeavour.

The themed issue, which includes an open-access manifesto for palaeodemography in the 21st century and several other open-access articles, can be found here.

A view across Caral, one of the earliest urban centres in the world and a key study site for research on prehistoric population history, such as reported in this theme issue. This site, 200km north of Lima in Peru, was inhabited roughly between the 29th and 19th centuries BC by the Norte Chico civilization. The mound seen in the centre is the “Edificio Piramidal la Cantera” (the Quarry Pyramidal Building) and the building in the left background is the “Edificio del Altar Circular” or Building of the Circular Altar. Image credit: Daniel Sandweiss.

A view across Caral, one of the earliest urban centres in the world and a key study site for research on prehistoric population history, such as reported in this theme issue. This site, 200km north of Lima in Peru, was inhabited roughly between the 29th and 19th centuries BC by the Norte Chico civilization. The mound seen in the centre is the “Edificio Piramidal la Cantera” (the Quarry Pyramidal Building) and the building in the left background is the “Edificio del Altar Circular” or Building of the Circular Altar. Image credit: Daniel Sandweiss.