Perspectives on the past

Perspectives on the Past Research at the Faculty of Archaeology

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CONTENT Preface 3

Our research: Past and present connected 4

Leiden Archaeology: Inspiring and innovative 6

Digging for indigenous traditional knowledge Sada Mire 8 Economies of destruction David Fontijn 10

Bringing a forgotten society back to life Nathalie Brusgaard 12 The power of glue Paul Kozowyk 13 A different view of the Roman Empire Miguel John Versluys 14 Set in Stone, mega-construction and human resilience Ann Brysbaert 16 1492, the other story Corinne Hofman 18 Indigenous history and heritage in the classroom Eldris con Aquilar 20 Prehistoric animal fossils as a sign of the times Jiali Song 21

Research groups at the Faculty of Archaeology 22

Archaeology Master and Research Master programmes 24

Leiden, vibrant study city 26

PREFACE The Faculty of Archaeology proudly presents this research brochure, with portraits of a group of passionate, dedicated researchers introducing a dazzling scala of research topics: from present-day traditional knowledge in Africa to the power of glue in Palaeolithic Europe. In addition to these examples of the Faculty’s research projects, the importance of public outreach is also addressed.

At the Faculty of Archaeology multidisciplinary research in World Archaeology, Archaeological Sciences and Archaeological Heritage studies is brought together. Researchers are all engaged with the past, but each from the perspective of their own specific expertise. After a period in which expansion of research activities in new fields was realised (osteo-archaeology, heritage archaeology), the focus in the coming years will be to consolidate research in the fields in which the Faculty has been very successful over the last years, and aims to continue.

The Faculty has grown considerably over the last few years. At the same time, society poses new challenges and expects a growing commitment from academic research. There is an increasing emphasis on societal relevance and valorisation, issues that are already ingrained in the research of many Faculty members. The Faculty seeks to engage all the research groups in the potential societal relevance of their work, to be aware of the potential impacts of their work beyond academe – economic, social, policy, quality of life - on non-academic audiences.

The Faculty PhD researchers form a highly international, close-knit community and are fully integrated in the activities of their research groups. At present there are around 30 postdoctoral researchers attached to the Faculty. This large number is due to the successes in obtaining substantial (inter)national research grants. Postdocs are working on the cutting-edge of research and often have very different research backgrounds. As such postdocs are an important peer group in its own right, crucial to the Faculty in intellectual and strategic terms. The Faculty has started to organise postdoc-meetings, to confer with the group about their expectations and ambitions, and to establish how the Faculty can help to meet their needs and wishes. A Faculty postdoc community will help researchers to discover mutual research themes and interests, to learn from each other, to widen their professional network, and to better prepare for the next step in their career. Further development of the Faculty’s postdoc policy and community will remain a priority for the years to come. Not just the past and present matter, but also the future!

Prof. dr. Corinne Hofman, Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology Prof. dr. David Fontijn, Chair Research of the Faculty of Archaeology September 2016

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Our research: past and present connected

Knowledge of the past is an important socio-cultural asset in societies all around the world. Archaeology yields and contributes to insights in the historical and prehistorical past, and shows how we still are connected to the past in many ways.

The research scope at the Faculty of Archaeology is broad, studying the development of human societies across the globe, from the earliest hominins until the post-medieval expansion of western societies and its consequences for present-day peoples. The Faculty’s research makes innovative contributions to the study of the development of human societies and the role of the past in modern society. In the breadth of its coverage the Faculty is unique in the Netherlands.

The wide range in time and topics makes the Faculty a lively and pluriform research community. The Faculty houses a successful, international team of researchers, active over the entire globe. They are working in a strong network of national and international partners, and are collaborating with(in) the Faculty’s state-of-the-art scientific laboratories (archaeozoology, archaeobotany, human osteology, artefact studies, and ceramic studies).

Main research questions concern human origins, the archaeology and deep history of migration, globalisation, colonial encounters, heritage, material culture, and cultural identity. Regional emphasis is on Europe, the Mediterranean, Near East, Caribbean and the Americas. Leiden archaeologists use multi- and interdisciplinary methods from the Social and Natural Sciences and the Humanities, crossing the traditional boundaries of departments and disciplines, and taking a comparative and complementary approach towards past and present, drawing upon the integrated strengths of the disciplines.

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Departments The research of the Faculty structures and inspires its BA, MA and PhD teaching activities. Research and education are organised in three departments: World Archaeology, Archaeological Sciences, and Archaeological Heritage & Society. Fundamental themes are approached from a regional perspective (case-study), in a global context (World Archaeology) and by applying and developing innovative methods and techniques from the natural sciences (Archaeological Sciences). Crucial to the research is our attempt to assign the past a place in the present. Valorisation and the involvement of contemporary communities (Archaeological Heritage) is at the forefront of this research. Working in this way enables the Faculty to transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries and generate new trans-disciplinary insights.

“The Faculty of Archaeology is the largest academic center of archaeology in the Netherlands, ranking in the top ten worldwide in academic reputation and research impact.�

High profile awards and research grants The Faculty of Archaeology is the largest academic center of archaeology in the Netherlands, ranking (March 2016) in QS World University Rankings in the top ten worldwide in academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact. The Faculty is home to more than 70 research staff members (including postdoc researchers), and has a vibrant PhD community with over 60 internal PhD students.

The quality of our research is widely recognised, as is demonstrated by the fact that Faculty members of staff are regularly awarded high-profile awards and research grants from national and international sources. In the last three years prestigious grants have been awarded by the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW), the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and the European Research Council (ERC).

Recipients included Corinne Hofman (ERC Synergy), David Fontijn (NWO Vici), Miguel John Versluys (NWO Vici), and Ann Brysbaert (ERC Consolidator), all portrayed in this brochure. In the last three years, the Faculty of Archaeology staff were also awarded three NWO Veni grants (for starting postdoc researchers) and one NWO Vidi grant (for researchers with some years of research experience).

Valorisation The Faculty of Archaeology acknowledges that archaeological research is being carried out in a world in which cultural heritage is becoming more and more politically and ideologically charged. Therefore, in our education and research, the care for heritage - its diverse values and stakeholders - plays an important role. At the Faculty, the research in issues of heritage focuses on past ĂĄnd present: the role of heritage in society, and how heritage can contribute to improving the quality of life.

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In 2015, archaeologists from the Faculty of Archaeology, ARCHOL BV and ADC Archeoprojecten recovered an extraordinary set of Bronze Age artefacts. This rich and beautiful find was presented to press and public at the Faculty of Archaeology in the framework of the National Archaeology Day 2015.

In 2014, Professor Corinne Hofman was awarded the Spinoza Prize by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). This prize is the highest scientific award in the Netherlands, and is awarded to researchers in the Netherlands who belong to the best in their field.

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A new center of Leiden Archaeological Studies was founded in Molise, Italy, in 2014.

For his heritage work in the area, Dr. Tesse Stek received a prize for cultural heritage management by the councillor of the Regione Molise in 2015.

Leiden Archaeology: inspiring and innovative

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A paper published in Nature (Dec 2014) by researchers from the Human Origins group, Naturalis and other institutions reported on the discovery of a 500,000 years old geometrically engraved shell, the earliest engraving known in the history of humankind.

The paper made it to the Scientific American’s Top 10 Science Stories of 2014.

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In 2014 Professor Wil Roebroeks was awarded ‘The Academy Professor Prize’ by the Royal Academy of Sciences (KNAW). This prize is awarded to researchers for exceptional achievement throughout the course of their careers, and is intended as a lifetime achievement award.

In 2015 Professor Peter Akkermans started fieldwork for the NWO-funded programme Landscapes of Survival: Pastoralist Societies, Rock Art and Literacy in Jordan’s Black Desert, c. 1000 BC to 500 AD. ‘Landscapes of Survival’ investigates the archaeology, rock art and epigraphy of nomadic pastoralists in the Jebel Qurma region in Northeast Jordan from Hellenistic to Early Islamic times.

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Professor Maarten Jansen received an ERC Advanced Grant (2012-2017) for research on time symbolism in Mesoamerica, understood as part of a cognitive system. What is the role of (ancient) calendars in the (present-day) construction of individual and collective identities? The research is executed in cooperation with indigenous experts.

In the summer of 2015 at Horsterwold (Northwest Netherlands) a reconstruction of a prehistoric house was made, without using any metal tools, under the supervision of Professor Annelou van Gijn. How effective are tools made of stone, flint, bone, antler and wood?

The house is open for public and educational purposes.

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Digging for indigenous traditional knowledge

An archaeologist of ideas rather than objects: this is how Sada Mire, University Lecturer in African Archaeology, regards herself. In her research she focuses on the indigenous culture and beliefs of nomadic peoples in the Horn of Africa, inspired by questions about her own cultural identity.

Until recently, local archaeology received very little attention in countries like Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. Sada Mire: “This has led to looting and destruction of archaeological sites. I wondered why this was the case, and why nobody was doing anything to stop it.” This question has been one of the inspirations for her research in these and other countries in Northeast Africa. Mire concentrates on indigenous culture, with art, practices and rituals that often originate in age-old traditions. “I am interested in the way the indigenous cultures endure across Islamic and Christian religions. How people still hold on to certain old practices, even though they are pressured by the dominant, current religions.” For example, she has examined sacred landscapes in which certain features, such as trees, springs and wells, have significance in fertility rituals. These may not be the most obvious research objects for an archaeologist, but for Mire they are important carriers of archaeological meaning.

Ritual meals Her research is multidisciplinary, with anthropology playing a major part in her approach. “I conduct interviews, work with local communities, and take part in or observe rituals such as ritual dances or the preparation of ritual meals.” At the same time, Mire is also engaged in archaeological surveys. She is the founder and former director of Somaliland’s Department of Archaeology and together with her local team she has discovered over 100 archaeological sites in the region. It is crucial, she says, not to restrict archaeology to the analysis of 8

artefacts found at sites like these, but to contextualise these objects.

“They must be related to the people who possess the knowledge linked to the objects, who know how they were used and produced.”

Sky-god Sada Mire is originally from Somalia and stresses that her research is informed by personal questions about her own identity. Take, for instance, the Wagar, a ritual Somali object whose use and origin she has studied extensively. “I inherited this specific Wagar from my grandmother. It is a carving made of local olive wood and is originally related to the Sky-god. It is used, among other things, for traditional healing. My work on the Wagar has enlightened me more than an analysis of Chinese pottery found at Somali sites would have done.

I want to know: who were these people who were trading with the Chinese?”

Sada Mire

Nomadic life Her work has led to what she calls a ‘knowledge-centred approach’.

“These are nomadic people, who can’t take a lot of objects with them when they move around.” Even today, many modern Somalis have been forced to adopt the nomadic life after becoming refugees from internal conflict. “It is not the objects that are important to the people, but the knowledge about the production of medicine, utensils, clothes, huts, pots – this they carry in their head, wherever they go.” This knowledge is the archaeological find that Mire is digging for. It is also the key to a better understanding within the local communities of their own heritage. “The people don’t feel connected to objects or to archaeological sites, which is one of the reasons why looting and destruction take place. They do care about the knowledge of these objects, though, so this aspect can play a crucial role in stimulating local ownership of the past.”

“I am interested in the way the indigenous cultures endure across Islamic and Christian religions.”

The Shrine of Saint Aw-Barkhadle, near Hargeysa, Somaliland

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Economies of destruction The aim of David Fontijn, Professor of the Archaeology of Early Europe, is to understand the people of the Bronze Age. And especially one bizarre aspect of their life and society: why did they dispose of valuable bronze objects in marshes, rivers and other places in the landscape?

About 4,000 years ago, at the beginning of the Bronze Age, an enormous change took place, says David Fontijn. “For the first time, people started to use bronze, something that offered many more possibilities than stone or wood. At the same time, a trade in this metal developed across all of North-Western Europe. The required raw materials, copper and tin, weren’t available in large parts of that area, so the bronze came from far away. This led to the formation of an efficient and incredibly well-organised economy.”

But it was also an economy with a strange – or even bizarre – aspect. Everywhere in this vast area, extending from Western Europe to the Caucasus, people disposed of their bronze objects at specific places in the landscape. “We find swords, axes, jewellery and implements in marshes and rivers, for instance. Sometimes the objects have first been deliberately bent or hacked to pieces, sometimes they’re completely intact. There are sites where hundreds of objects have been found, while in other places there are just a few. In any case, it’s clear that they have been deliberately left at these specific places.”

Accumulation of power No-one knows what the reason was, and this is precisely the question that so fascinates Fontijn. “Why? It’s crazy that these people destroyed their valuable objects in this way. They could have melted them down and re-used the bronze.” And another thing: the possession of bronze equalled power, so you would expect that people would prefer to collect more bronze, rather than to throw it away. “This meant that there was no accumulation of value, and hence no accumulation of power, in Europe during the Bronze Age. The region never became a state, but remained a collection of loosely organised small agricultural communities”

A bronze sword, deliberately bent in prehistoric times (Werkhoven, NL) Copyright: National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden 10

“It’s crazy that these people destroyed their valuable objects in this way.”

David Fontijn

Irrational aspects In 2015, Fontijn was awarded a Vici grant to investigate this question. In the major research project ‘Economies of Destruction’ he is working with colleagues from all parts of North-Western Europe, including economic anthropologists. “This seems so contradictory to our current concept of what an economy is. These people break something that’s important and dispose of it, permanently. When you see what beautiful objects they threw away, it just seems incomprehensible.” After all, everything in the modern economy is aimed at promoting the accumulation of value. Yet there may be some similarities, because our economy also has its irrational aspects: “Take the question of why we’re still focusing on oil, even though there are excellent energy alternatives.”

Immaterial value Fontijn continues: “It seems as if the destruction of objects yielded a different kind of value for the Bronze Age people, an immaterial value.” The initial observations emerging from the Vici project are remarkable. “It appears that the place where things were left is important. For instance, we mainly find swords in large rivers, and usually at a place where two streams converge.” There are also indications that the shape and decoration of objects played a major role. In any case, the researchers need to `think outside the box’, emphasises Fontijn. “These people are very different from us, which means that a very different way of looking is required.”

The Vici project runs until 2020. By then, Fontijn hopes to know more about the inhabitants of the Bronze Age and their destruction rituals. “And perhaps we’ll be able to learn something from that about the ‘irrational’ aspects of our own age and economy.”

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Bringing a forgotten society back to life

Nathalie Brusgaard completed a Leiden research master’s degree in Prehistory of North-Western Europe.

For her PhD she concentrates on a completely different topic: ancient rock art at a unique archaeological site in a Middle Eastern basalt rock desert.

“The Black Desert in northeast Jordan is a dry inhospitable area consisting of black basalt rock. It is surprising that very little archaeological research has been conducted there. For me this is an extra challenge, this means that as an archaeologist you are working on a new interpretation of a society. I am currently a PhD candidate on Professor Peter Akkermans’ and Dr Ahmad Al-Jallad’s research project ‘Landscapes of Survival’. My research focuses on images that have been carved into the basalt rocks. This rock art was made by nomadic peoples who roamed the desert with camels and other animals and it probably dates from about two thousand years ago.

Nathalie BRUSGAARD

I am making an inventory of the images in the Jebel Qurma area.

Until now around 5,000 have been found – not just by me but by my colleagues too. In total, I will be going four times to the Black Desert, each time for a month’s fieldwork. That is a unique experience. You live under basic conditions with a team of archaeologists in a camp a long way away from the inhabited world. It is hot during the day and cold at night.

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By intensively studying the rock art, I get close to the people who made it. Alongside human figures, there are wild animals like the lion and the oryx, which are now extinct in this area. There also are dogs, and camels in particular. These camels are often depicted in a very detailed fashion with special decorations. This could mean that they were very important to these people. I am also studying how the images were made. For a long time, it was thought that the rock art was a kind of graffiti and that it was made out of boredom, for instance. I have discovered that a whole process went into producing it. First a sketch was made with a sharp object and only then was the image carved into the rock. This indicates that the rock art really did matter to these people and that it may have meant more than we would now assume. There are still many questions to answer, but with this reasearch we can bring a long-forgotten society back to life.”

“By studying the rock art, I get close to the people who made them.”

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The power of glue

Paul Kozowyk has expertise on the chemical properties of ancient glue and modern industrial performance tests and is also an archaeologist. He applies this multidisciplinary expertise to his PhD research on Neanderthal adhesives.

“The study of glue helps archaeologists to gain

insight into cognitive abilities and the evolution of technology.”

“Prehistoric recipes for glue – yes, I admit this is not the most obvious research topic. But that is actually one of the reasons I chose to study the very first glues that were ever made. The oldest glue sample dates from 200,000 years ago in the Middle-Palaeolithic in Europe, but the record of finds as old as this one are very rare.

For my MSc thesis I worked with Delft University of Technology to carry out modern industrial performance tests on ancient, re-created glues that were used for hafting tools. In my PhD research I expand on this topic. Most of the Palaeolithic adhesives that have been found so far consist of birch bark tar. To produce this tar, a complex procedure is required: the birch bark is heated, but not burned; the heating has to be carried out in an oxygen-reduced environment. The people from the Palaeolithic didn’t have air-tight containers to aid this process.

We still don’t know how they did it, but the brainpower needed to make these first glues must have been significant. Another remarkable feature is the mental leap that is required to make glue from birch bark, because it is not naturally sticky and as such does not seem like a logical choice. This is one of the reasons why the study of glue is so interesting: it helps archaeologists to gain insight into cognitive abilities and the evolution of technology.

Paul Kozowyk

Natural glues can be made from other materials as well, including animal bones, tree resins and gums, but we haven’t found those associated with Neanderthals, which might be due to the fact that these glues didn’t preserve well. In my research, I hope to find samples of other adhesives, or to discover whether there is a bias because the preservative qualities of birch bark tar are better than those of other glues. As a next step, I will participate in the excavation at Les Cottés in France, screening finds for traces of glue.”

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A different view of the Roman Empire

“A successful culture is an open culture.” Professor of Classical and Mediterranean Archaeology Miguel John Versluys is studying how the Roman Empire integrated influences from other cultures into its own society. This study is now more relevant than ever.

Cultural interaction is a central concept in Versluys’s academic career.

“When I first went to university, I was already fascinated by the broader links between the Roman Empire and other cultures, such as the Egyptian culture.” This fascination has brought him far: after a Vidi grant in 2010, he was awarded a Vici grant in 2016 for research that follows this line of enquiry.

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Cradle of our civilisation The Roman world remains the focus of his latest research.

Traditionally, only Greek culture is considered to have exerted a significant influence on Rome. “We even regard the Graeco-Roman culture as the cradle of our civilisation.” The role of other cultures with which Rome as a global power came into contact has long been ignored, which is why Versluys chose to focus on Egypt in his Vidi research. “While in Roman literature, authors ranted against Egypt, just as people are now doing against refugee centres, in reality something different was going on. The Egyptian goddess Isis had become the goddess of protection to the Roman emperors. Domitian had himself depicted as pharaoh, and Augustus brought two enormous Egyptian obelisks to Rome. Of course, the latter was to signal Rome’s victory over Egypt, but it was also to show that Rome had a place in the timeline of world history and stood on the shoulders of the Egyptian civilisation.” This is what is known as appropriation, incorporating elements of another culture, in this case the Egyptian culture, into one’s own culture. It is this exchange between two cultures that results in innovation, something that happens in every resilient culture. “A successful culture is an open culture.”

Miguel John Versluys

Lively exchange Versluys’s Vici research takes an even broader perspective. “I aim to use globalisation theory to give a different explanation of the emergence of the Roman Empire. My research involves two archaeological sites on the border between the Mediterranean world and Central Asia: Samosata and Alexandria. I am studying the period from around 200 BCE onwards. This is an important period, because it is then that we see an enormous increase in connectivity – the mutual contacts between cultures in the then known world, which we call Eurasia. There was a lively exchange of people and goods.”

The goods play a key role in Versluys’s research. “In Antiquity-related research we often focus on people, but what I want to research are the objects. Objects are the real globetrotters. There were no Chinese people in the Roman world but there certainly were Chinese objects.”

“Rome used other cultures to broaden its own horizons and to innovate.”

Wave of connectivity All these goods from outside the (emerging) Empire obviously had an impact on Rome, one of the major global powers at the time.

“The aim is to gain a better understanding of the rise of the Roman Empire. I want to revise the traditional image of Rome as a military success that conquered more and more countries, thus gaining in power. My theory is that Rome benefitted from a new wave of connectivity and made use of other cultures to broaden its own horizons and to innovate.” The research is topical in a time in which refugees are flooding into Europe and calls have been made to close the borders. “A culture cannot exist in isolation. Cultures are permanently changing due to contact with others. I would like to say to politicians: take the long-term aspect into serious consideration. Archaeology is able to provide the long-term perspective, and the resulting insights can teach us about today’s world. In that respect, I really do see it as a duty of academics to be the intellectual conscience of society.”

Picture of a ceremony in a temple for Egyptian gods in or close to Rome, first century AD Copyright Museo Nazionale, Palazzo Massimo, Rome.

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Set in Stone: mega-construction and human resilience Many people know Mycenae from Greek mythology, but it is also an important archaeological site. Ann Brysbaert, Associate Professor of Material Culture Studies and Archaeology, is researching the gigantic constructions that were built in that region and still dominate the landscape there.

“I want to know why and how those enormous constructions in Mycenae and the surrounding area were built, and what impact they had on the society at that time. Some of them are built from stones weighing from six to fifty tonnes each, and these walls were up to ten metres in height. And this was at a time when the builders only had human and animal power at their disposal.” Ann Brysbaert, who has been doing research in the Argive Plain in the Peloponnese for many years, is fascinated by the citadels, tombs, water works and roads that were constructed there in the Late Bronze Age. Her present research study SETinSTONE, an ERC Consolidator Grant project (2015-2020), concentrates on the people who built these constructions and who lived in the region. “We know that agriculture was important in this plain. If the farmers spent much of their time on helping to build these constructions, what did this entail for the work on the land?”

An important research question therefore focuses on the resources that were needed to create these ‘Cyclopean’ buildings. “How did people deal with this, especially in the period 1300-1200 BCE, when a vast amount of construction was taking place at the same time. What impact did this work have on the socio-economic structures?” For instance, if the constant building activities had an adverse effect on the harvest, this must have had an impact on the rest of the society. Yet it is equally possible that other people migrated to the region, also to satisfy the agricultural needs.

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3D measurements SETinSTONE is a prime example of interdisciplinary research, with econometrics as an important component, explains Brysbaert. She is referring to the work of Prof. Jan Tinbergen, the founder of econometrics, who was based in Leiden. Brysbaert and her team make 3D measurements of all the building stones and the earth that was used. These can then form the basis to calculate how many people were needed to handle them. “It’s a lot of work, but the data are accurate to the nearest millimetre.” Geology, statistics, botany, geomorphology and knowledge about climate changes are other disciplines that are involved, and the research team draws together existing information about such topics as land use, settlement patterns, mortality rates and nutrition in order to gain an interconnected overview of the society in the Argive Plain in that era.

Time of crisis In this way, a clear demographic picture will gradually emerge of a civilisation that became severely weakened around 1200 BCE. “We still don’t know exactly why that happened, but it was a

Ann Brysbaert

phenomenon that occurred throughout the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, not only in the Argive Plain. I’m investigating whether the exhaustion of resources – human and agricultural – in this specific region, as a result of large-scale building activities, was a contributing factor, and how the population subsequently dealt with this. There’s no doubt that other factors also played a part. At that time there were earthquakes, trading networks disintegrated, and there may have been climate fluctuations.” So it was a time of crisis, just as we today also live in a time of crisis.

Brysbaert almost automatically incorporates today’s circumstances in her research: “As a human being, you’re always influenced by your own era. What’s going on here and now helps me to keep my eyes open to what was going on in those days.” At the same time, it also works the other way round, she says. “We can also learn from how the people of the Argive Plain reacted to hard times. I think that this research will provide insights about human resilience, about the human capacity to adapt.”

“Some constructions are built from stones weighing from six to no less than fifty tonnes each.”

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1492: the other story 1492 is the year when the New World and the Old World met, with far-reaching consequences for both. Until now, very little attention has been given to the story from the New World, the story of the original inhabitants of the Caribbean islands. Corinne Hofman, Professor of Caribbean Archaeology and Dean of the Faculty, aims to change this.

In 1492, Columbus set foot on land in San Salvador, and thus gave Europe access to a new continent. Corinne Hofman: “This moment and the following decades constitute a crucial period, not only for the West, but especially for the socio-cultural development of the Caribbean and the Americas in general. This indigenous side of the story is greatly underrepresented. Our perceptions are based on the early European accounts, and we know very little about the experiences of the Amerindian inhabitants themselves.” This is all connected with the fact that they left no written sources. “An example: not many people know that indigenous slave trading took place on a large scale. The Spanish brought the inhabitants of Aruba and Curaçao, for instance, to the Dominican Republic to work in the gold mines.”

Multidisciplinary expertise Hofman is leading the ERC-Synergy project ‘NEXUS1492: New World Encounters in a Globalising World’. The project has an impressive scope, with around forty archaeologists, heritage specialists, geochemists, archaeometric experts, network scientists, and other scientists working together in five teams. This multidisciplinary expertise is of great value: “For instance, one of our PhDs, Kirsten Ziesemer, is examining ancient DNA. She works to discover what diseases existed in the region before and after 1492, on the basis of bacteria in dental plaque.”

Corinne Hofman and colleages at work in the NEXUS1492 project.

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Reading the ground One of the places where Hofman and her team are currently working is the Dominican Republic. They are conducting excavations along the ‘Ruta de Colón’, the route that Columbus took in 1494 from the coast to the interior. “So even though there’s no written history to rely on, we open up the ground and then read it like a book.” It is generally thought that the indigenous cultures were destroyed by the Spanish colonists within a few decades. “However, this research

“Archaeology has a big impact on society.

Respect for one another’s heritage is essential for social cohesion.”

CORINNE HOFMAN

shows clearly that Amerindian cultural traditions persisted, and that many elements still survive in the current multicultural Caribbean society.” After the colonisation, an intercultural dynamic arose, which combined Amerindian, African and European elements.

Indigenous cultural continuity can be seen in the architectural styles of some houses, in cultural and religious traditions and in the way the inhabitants deal with things such as natural disasters.

Hofman also mentions the remarkable example of indigenous communities on the Lesser Antilles who escaped from slavery and resisted colonisation until the early 18th century.

Caribbean heritage There is very little awareness of this indigenous history among the present-day inhabitants of the Caribbean, says Hofman. “For many people, their history begins in 1492, because that’s what they learnt at school.” NEXUS 1492 aims to contribute to a different perception of that history. “This lack of historical awareness means that Caribbean heritage is vulnerable to looting, thoughtless economic development such as hotel construction, and also damage caused by climate change. It’s important that people learn more about their own heritage, so that it can also be better protected.” The NEXUS1492 team is working in conjunction with researchers from the area itself and with local communities. The project also gives attention to education, for instance by producing teaching materials for schools. “Archaeology has a big impact on society, and NEXUS1492 makes this very clear. Respect for one another’s heritage is essential for social cohesion, for the success of an inclusive multicultural society. Our work makes a contribution to this.”

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Indigenous history and heritage in the classroom

Eldris con Aguilar studies archaeology from an educational perspective. For her PhD research she is focusing on the role of Caribbean teachers in teaching indigenous history and heritage.

“I am not an archaeologist; I have a background in education. As such, I am interested in conducting research on education, and here in the Faculty of Archaeology I can do this with the added benefit of studying culture and heritage. Within the context of the NEXUS1492 research programme, I am looking into the question of how national educational policies can help to raise awareness of heritage and history in the Caribbean. I realised early on in my research that teachers play a crucial role. They are the intermediaries between schools and institutions such as the Ministry of Education.

Eldris Con Aguilar

Fieldwork is important for my project, so I have travelled quite a few times to the three regions that are the focus of my research: the Dominican Republic, Dominica and Saint Kitts. Here, I interviewed teachers about their experiences in the classroom, whilst also building connections with local museums, libraries and other institutions.

I have found that the teachers are very much aware of the indigenous history of their communities and include this in their classes. From my own educational experience I know that it is difficult for students to appreciate the value of history when they are taught mostly from books, and lack the opportunity to study artefacts, for example.

Archaeology and heritage offer exactly that opportunity, and some teachers in my focus areas already make use of this. However, they also indicate that they would like to have better access to ‘resource persons’, including museum staff, historians and indigenous people, to talk to the students. I analyse how these informal educational institutions can provide the schools with resources. Moreover, within the NEXUS1492 programme, as a team we develop educational material for teachers, for instance on how to ‘read’ artefacts.

The interest among teachers is clear, and I am researching how to further develop their educational possibilities. Education is important to indigenous history and heritage; it teaches students where they come from.”

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“Here I can conduct research on education, with the added benefit of studying culture and heritage.”

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Prehistoric animal fossils as a sign of the times

Jiali Song specialises in fossils from small mammals such as mice, lemmings and vole. In the laboratory, she analyses finds from Palaeolithic sites.

“Much of my research is carried out in the

zooarchaeology laboratory. Here I identify the fossils.”

“When people ask me, I usually tell them that I am an archaeologist and that I do research on small mammal fossils, but that is only part of the story. As a PhD student I work on zooarchaeology as part of professor Van Kolfschoten’s research project in Schöningen, in the north of Germany. This is the location of several Palaeolithic sites and it is famous for the wooden spears that were found there, dating from the Middle Pleistocene period.

For this research project we need more information on the exact dating of the site, and one way to determine this is by analysing the small mammals found at Schöningen. Within the project, several teams work on animal remains – some of my colleagues research larger mammals such as deer and horses, while my job is to analyse small remains of mammals such as mice, lemmings, shrews and voles.

This last animal is one of my focus areas. A vole is a small mouse-like rodent that lives near rivers and can still be found today. We know that there has been a clear evolutionary change in this species, and I hope to find evidence of this in the Schöningen fossils, so that an evolutionary tree can be drawn up. This would be a good tool to support the dating of finds.

I have done some work at the Schöningen site itself, but much of my research is carried out in the zooarchaeology laboratory. Here I identify the fossils. I measure the remains, take pictures and compare them with modern samples of animals’ remains. You have to be very careful when examining this kind of material, as the finds are often very small.

Voles’ molar teeth, for instance, are maybe a few millimetres long.

JIALI SONG

It would be exciting to find a new stage in the evolutionary change of a species, but it is also exciting to work here in Leiden. I did my MA in China, for which I concentrated on large mammals. For this PhD position I was given the opportunity to explore a new discipline in an international setting, which is both academically and personally very rewarding.”

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Research groups

The Faculty has structured its research groups in the departments: World Archaeology, Archaeological Sciences, and Archaeological Heritage & Society:

World Archaeology

1 The Human Origins group studies the archaeology of Pleistocene hunter-gatherers, from the earliest stone tools in East Africa, more than three million years old, to the origin of sedentary societies towards the end of the last ice age. The research has an emphasis on the archaeology of Neanderthals as well as on the record of fire use by early hominins.

2 European Prehistory research deals with the deep history of Europe and Eurasia, from the inception of farming up until the beginning of the Roman Period. It involves cultural, social, economic and ritual aspects of the Late Neolithic, Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, focusing on the lived in landscape with its settlements, burial grounds, hoards, and cosmologies.

3 The research of Roman Provinces, Middle Ages and Modern Period is focused on ‘frontier societies’ and their dynamic development in Roman times (0-400), Post-Roman Europe (400-1000) and late Medieval and Modern Europe (1000-1800), addressing economies, water management, connectivity, identities, migration, social differentiation, and urbanisation.

4 Archaeology of the Americas research areas are (1) the development of Amerindian societies and the impacts of colonial encounters in the Caribbean, and (2) the development of Amerindian societies in the American Isthmus of southern Central America, a continental passageway connecting Central and South America.

5 Archaeology of the Near East research involves: (1) Empire and hegemonic practices (Late Bronze Age Syria), (2) Marginal landscapes (Jordan and Oman), (3) Prehistoric village settlement and social transformations (Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, and Cyprus) and (4) Byzantine and Ottoman settlement and material culture (Greece, Albania, Turkey, Jordan, Oman).

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6 Classical & Mediterranean Archaeology research concentrates on new synergies developing due to processes of connectivity (ca 500 BC – AD 500). These processes are studied on local, regional, and global scales, through space syntax, survey and excavation, and material culture studies.

Case studies include urbanisation (Ostia), Early Roman Colonisation (Central and South Italy), and Cultural interaction in the Ancient Mediterranean, Egypt and the Near East.

Archaeological Sciences

7 Bioarchaeology research covers the study of all biological remains from archaeological sites.

• The Archaeozoological group carries out research on mammals as well as fishes and birds from an archaeological context with an age going back in time up to 2.6 million years.

• The Archaeobotany group’s research concerns analysis of seeds and fruits, pollen and spores, and wood, covering the Quaternary period (2.6 million years ago to the present).

• The Human Osteoarchaeology group analyses human skeletal remains, focusing on Health and disease, Dietary practices, Forensic practices, and Reconstruction of diet and environment by using stable isotopes.

8 Material Culture Studies revolves around the analysis of material objects (flint, pottery, houses and monumental structures), by combining chemical, technological and microwear studies with experimental archaeology. Case studies are: (1) Monumental building activities in Late Bronze Age Greece and (2) Mass production and innovation in antiquity regarding practices of pyro-technology.

• In the Laboratory for Artefact Studies object biographies are studied, from provenience, wear trace and residue analysis, raw material selection, to manufacture, use and abandonment.

• In the Laboratory for Ceramic Studies the macro- and micro-aspects of traditional pottery are analysed, with an emphasis on the experimental reconstruction of ceramic objects.

9 Digital Archaeology focuses on (big) data management, as well as spatial analysis, remote sensing, 3D modeling, simulation, image analysis and other new avenues for archaeological enquiry, significantly broadening our understanding of the human past.

Heritage and Society

10 Archaeological Heritage Management is concerned with the identification, protection, management and preservation of the material remains from the past, and the interaction that this involves with stakeholders. Research topics vary from the management of resources (collections, sites), to the challenges of commercial archaeology and the endeavor to find efficient methods of public engagement.

11 The Heritage of Indigenous Peoples unit focuses on the importance of cultural continuity from pre-colonial times to the present for (1) interpreting the archaeological, artistic and literary heritage (indigenous manuscripts from Mexico), (2) deconstructing colonial representations and modern euro-centric interpretations, and (3) reinforcing cultural memory and identity.

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Archaeology Master and Research Master programmes The Faculty of Archaeology provides education and training in the recovery, analysis, and interpretation of the material remains of the human past, including the application of scientific techniques, as well as the study of archaeological heritage.

As a discipline, archaeology prepares the students for a wide range of future careers: within the world of archaeology, in museums, heritage management, and beyond.

Master Programme By earning a degree in our Master programme, you acquire the knowledge and skills needed to work in the exciting and inquisitive field of archaeology. The Master programme trains students for careers in archaeological and archaeology-related fields. The acquired academic (research) skills, analytical methods and techniques, and general ways of thinking are all highly transferable.

The Faculty offers the following specialisations: Specialisations • Archaeobotany and Archaeozoology • Archaeology and Anthropology of the Americas • Archaeology of the Near East • Archaeology of the Roman Provinces, Middle Ages and Modern Period • Classical and Mediterranean Archaeology • Digital Archaeology • Heritage Management in a World Context • Heritage of Indigenous Peoples • Human Osteoarchaeology • Material Culture Studies • Museum Studies • Palaeolithic Archaeology • Prehistory of North-Western Europe For more information: en.mastersinleiden.nl/programmes/archaeology/en/introduction 24

Master of Arts or Master of Science Students in Human Osteoarchaeology, Material Culture Studies or Bioarchaeology specialisations, receive a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Archaeology. For the other specialisations, students receive a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Archaeology.

Research Master Programme Top-quality research The Research Master programme in Archaeology focuses on the excellent research which has earned the Archaeology Faculty its international reputation. This advanced two-year programme is aimed towards students interested in top-quality interdisciplinary research projects covering a wide cultural and regional range. As a student, you will gain solid research skills. At the same time, you will have the chance to study methodological, theoretical and scientific-philosophical aspects of your specialisation of choice.

The Leiden University Research Master’s in Archaeology is the most diverse in the Netherlands. The programme offers seven regional and thematic specialisations. Courses are aimed at intensification and broadening of the students’ knowledge base, and the development of research skills on a professional academic level. As a research master’s student, you will be encouraged and facilitated to visit international conferences, to contribute to international workshops, and to take courses at other (international) institutions.

Specialisations • Archaeological Heritage in a Globalising World • Bioarchaeology • Human Origins • Prehistoric Farming Communities in Europe • Religion and Society in Native American Cultures • The Transformation of the Roman World • Town and Country in the Mediterranean Region and the Near East

Cohesive community We offer students a splendid opportunity to work closely with staff in fieldwork, laboratories, and in the classroom, developing professional expertise. The Master programmes provide an unmatched environment for dialogue and discussion on practical, methodological, and theoretical matters in archaeology. While Leiden University is an large institution with vast resources, the Faculty of Archaeology is a compact entity, housed in one building, in which students and Faculty members of staff interact, formally and informally, on a daily basis.

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Leiden: vibrant student city

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Students at Leiden University live and work in a unique setting.

The very first university in the Netherlands was founded in Leiden in 1575. Many of the present university buildings are located in or near the picturesque city centre, with its canals and narrow streets.

The Van Steenis Building, home of the Faculty of Archaeology, is also just a few minutes by bicycle from the city centre. Archaeology students can therefore combine the best of two worlds: the state-of-the-art facilities in the Van Steenis and the charming atmosphere of the old city.

Leiden has student clubs, sports clubs, festivals, countless restaurants and cafes, and of course an abundance of music and theatre. And there are also world-class museums, such as the National Museum of Antiquities, the National Museum of Ethnology and the Naturalis Biodiversity Center.

The city has all it takes to ensure that the students – of 105 nationalities and therefore representing very nearly the entire world – have a truly inspiring time here.

Leiden is only 15 minutes by train from the city centre of Amsterdam and Amsterdam airport Schiphol.

COLOPHON Perspectives on the Past Research at the Faculty of Archaeology Editors Roswitha Manning Annette Zeelenberg Interviews Annette Zeelenberg, ZeelenbergCommunicatie Translation Academic Language Centre, Faculty of Humanities Portrait photography Marc de Haan Photography Beeldbank Archaeology Design Geodesigns, Joanne Porck Graphic production UFB September 2016

Faculty of Archaeology Van Steenis Building Einsteinweg 2 2333 CC Leiden PO Box 9514 2300 RA Leiden The Netherlands

For more information about the Faculty, its programmes and research: www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/archaeology FAQ for international (PhD) students with information on visa, housing, grants:Â students-faq.leiden.edu/ Information for BA, MA (prospective) students: www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/archaeology/education Information for PhD (prospective) students: www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/research/studying-for-a-phdÂ

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