From correlations to explanations: towards a new European prehistory

In the project “From correlations to explanations: towards a new European prehistory (COREX)”, which began in 2021 and will run until 2028, geneticists and archaeologists from University College London (led by Mark Thomas and Stephen Shennan) have joined forces with archaeologists from Gothenburg University (led by Kristian Kristiansen and Karl-Göran Sjögren), geneticists and archaeologists from the University of Copenhagen (led by Kurt Kjær, Eske Willerslev and Fernando Racimo) and the Danish National Museum, together with pollen analysts from the University of Plymouth. The project is combining prehistoric human genomic, archaeological, environmental, stable isotope and climate data to better understand the processes that shaped our biological and cultural past from the time of the first farmers to the Iron Age (6000 to 500 BC) (see https://www.corex-erc.com).

This PhD project is designed to complement other aspects of COREX and the appointee will work especially closely with Research Fellow Adrian Timpson, based in the UCL Dept of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, who is in overall charge of the COREX BIAD database (see links below).

The successful candidate will combine prehistoric human genomic, archaeological, environmental, stable isotope, pollen and climate data in a computational modelling framework to better understand the processes that shaped our biological and cultural past from the time of the first farmers to the Iron Age (between 6000 to 500 BCE). They will take advantage of the ‘Big Interdisciplinary Archaeological Database’ (BIAD) – created as part of the COREX project – to explore patterns of co-variation in archaeological, environmental and genetic data using a range of statistical methods. They will also take a ‘bottom up’ approach through agent-based and related modelling approaches to better understand how large-scale processes such as mass migration emerge from small-scale / more local processes and interactions, and the extent to which we would expect patterns of genetic and cultural variation to be linked in space and through time.

Qualifications and experience

• A Batchelors or Masters (or equivalent) degree in archaeology, geography or a biological science, and relevant experience in computational modelling, model-based statistical inference and the use of relational databases, or a Batchelors or Masters (or equivalent) degree in computational science or mathematics, and an interest in prehistory, ancient DNA and archaeology.
• Experience of collecting and analysing quantitative data.
• Relevant IT skills, including database management.
• Meet UCL’s English requirement if your first language is not English (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/english-language-requirements)

Start date:

October 2024 (beginning of the 2024-25 academic year), with some flexibility.

How to apply

Submit one PDF document containing the following:

• A covering letter including a statement concerning eligibility for this studentship
• Your Curriculum Vitae
• A research statement of 500 words. This should identify how your current academic interests relate to the doctoral project, and explain your reasons for wishing to undertake this research.
• Names of two referees.

Submission of application

• Only complete applications received with both references by the deadline will be considered.
• Once the successful candidate has been selected, they will be required to complete and submit a UCL Admissions application to enrol as a PhD student at UCL. This will need to be undertaken in advance of confirmation of the studentship.

Application deadline: 5pm Wednesday, July 31, 2024.

Interviews will take place in late August 2024