AGES

Archaeological, Geographical & Environmental Sciences

Social Dynamics

One of our strengths lies in our ability to blend cultural archaeology with science-based approaches to obtain a distinctive perspective on the dynamics of past societies. This is achieved, for example, through large-scale field projects employing a wide range of expertise. The collective aim is to understand the long-term development of past societies, and the role of changing environments and material culture. We have a strong interest and ongoing programmes, for example, in the archaeology of the North Atlantic fringes (Human Ecology of the North Atlantic). We are also interested in exploring the development of status, power, ritual and meaning in prehistory (Economic and ideological landscapes) with specific projects dealing with aspects of the European Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Iron Age. A further suite of projects (Dynamics of Empire) examines urban and frontier components of complex state societies, notably the Roman Empire. Several 'science-led' projects are currently developing new frameworks to enhance our understandings of the environmental context of major periods in the human past (Chronology, Climate and Environment), including the environmental background to human evolutionary transitions.

Research Units:

• North Atlantic Research Unit
• Hunter-Gatherer Research Laboratory
• Lithic Microwear Research Laboratory
• Molecular Archaeology
• Archaeomagnetic Dating
• Archaeological Prospection
• Conservation

Research Projects:

• The Tale of Three Tells: the Qazvin Plain, NW Iran
• The Battle of Towton Landscape Project
• The Anuradhapura Project - Phase II (with Durham University)
• Yorkshire Dales Hunter-Gatherer Research Project
• Hunter-Gatherers of Late Glacial Italy