LabEx DynamiTe PhD Position on Environmental Changes and Societies in the Past

Position description
Research
Proposal:
The research done over the past fifteen
years has provided better knowledge of landscape dynamics in the Caen Plain.
This plain contains remarkable sedimentary and archeological archives across
the Parisian basin; it is a “laboratory” with proven but not yet exploited
potential. Neverthe

less, fundamental questions remain as to the landscape
dynamic in response to the development of agro-pastoral societies from the
Neolithic Era to the historical period. The objective is therefore to build
a history of agrarian landscapes from the Neolithic Era to the Medieval period
by identifying the pace and modalities of their construction and the
interactions between environmental changes and the development of agrarian
practices by societies.

The project relies first on new
investigations into identified sedimentary archives outside of
archaeological sites (alluvial flats, coastal flats, peat bogs, large wetland
sites). They are known but have not all been investigated yet, or have been
investigated but with insufficient scientific means to answer the questions
asked. These archives will be exploited using core samples, the sediment in
which shall be dated using radiocarbon dating (AMS) and the most promising will
be chosen to develop the envisaged high resolution time series analyses. As the
survey covers exploitation of the plant resources produced by populations since
the Neolithic Era, the main analytic method shall be the analysis of pollen
and non-pollen micro-remains
. Additional analyses shall also be used: fire
signal (quantitative analysis of carbon particles present in the sediment),
which is a very good indicator of fire use; organic matter chemistry to
determine the degree to which organic sediment has evolved and therefore obtain
information on soil development and groundwater fluctuations; and the search
for molecular markers characteristic of grain production could be tested. The
data acquired off-site will be completed by a comparison with other
paleo-ecologic data produced on-site (archaeobotany and archaeozoology). The
doctoral student shall interpret all of this data in close collaboration with
archeologists to produce a true landscape archeology.
The expected results are therefore
threefold:
(1) Produce a history of agrarian
clearing
. The challenge is important because the Caen Plain has been
located on a pioneer front since the ancient Neolithic period (c. 5200 BCE) and
the density of archaeological sites for the Neolithic period is strongest on
the regional scale whereas the construction of large burial monuments suggests
the magnitude of cleared spaces necessary for their visibility and affirmation
in the landscape. However, the pollen studies conducted to date indicate low
levels of clearing…
(2) Elaborate a landscape archeology
by showing the weight and timeline of anthropic impacts before historical
archives are truly utilizable to build an agrarian history. The envisaged
off-site analyses using sedimentary archives in wetlands as supporting
materials should make it possible to characterize agrosystems combining the
pasturing of cattle herds and grain growing, and clarify their limits and
operation since the Neolithic Era. This is expected to reveal the consequences
of agricultural intensification and the spread of agrarian land since the
Middle Bronze Age. It will above all be a matter of attempting to show the
influence of the construction of farm plots seen in the region since the Middle
Bronze Age on landscape transformation.
(3) Finally, it will be a matter of re-constructing
paleo-environmental evolutions
based on the sedimentary and paleoecological
data collected. Paleoclimatic fluctuations and in particular the transition
during the Middle Holocene period (6-4 ka cal. BP) and the rapid climate
changes seen on the global scale will be looked for in particular. Indeed,
knowledge of them remain embryonic in western France where the information used
is based mainly on research done elsewhere. The aim will be to analyze their
consequences on environmental transformations and envisage their impact on
agrarian societies since the Neolithic Era.
Planned
collaborations
The collaborations planned in the
framework of this doctoral contract mobilize several laboratories both inside
and outside LabEx and the Ministry of Culture (DRAC Normandy). In order to
finance the analytic portion of the project (laboratory study and radiocarbon
dating), the project could rely on several research programs that also ensure
the interdisciplinary context necessary to achieve the doctoral project.
  1. Supporting
    Laboratories for the Doctoral Research
Laboratoire
de Géographie Physique
(LGP) – UMR 8591 CNRS, Paris 1
Panthéon-Sorbonne University and UPEC
Most of the equipment necessary for the
field investigations and doctoral laboratory work is available at the LGP:
corer (LGP and LabEx funding), pollen analysis and analysis of non-pollen
micro-remains, fire signal analysis, and organic matter analysis.
  • Laurent
    LESPEZ, Professor of Geography at the University of Paris-Est-Créteil,
    Geoarchaeologist (co-director for the proposed doctoral position);
  • Agnès
    GAUTHIER, Study Engineer at the UMR LGP: Palynologist, specialized in the
    reconstruction of paleo-environments of the Pleistocene and Holocene
    periods (Devès, Anatolie, Parisian Basin);
  • Yann
    LE DREZEN, Lecturer at the Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University,
    specialist in fire signals;
  • Fatima
    MOKADEM, (IE), Geochemist.
Trajectoires UMR 8215 CNRS, Paris
1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University
  • François
    GILIGNY, Professor of Archeology at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne: specialized
    in the analysis of Neolithic territories in the Parisian Basin and in
    charge of scientific steering for the PCR “Le Néolithique moyen en
    Basse-Normandie
    ” [Middle Neolithic Period in Lower Normandy]
    (co-director for the proposed doctoral position)
  1. Research
    programs: interdisciplinary working framework and financial support
PCR Ministry of Culture, DRAC Normandy:
Le Néolithique moyen en Basse-Normandie et les îles anglo-normandes
[the Middle Neolithic
in Lower Normandy and the Channel Islands]
This project began in 2015 and will
continue for a period of 4 years with four main objectives:
  • establish
    a detailed chronostratigraphic framework for the Middle Neolithic period
    in Lower Normandy (4700-3500 BCE) based on an exhaustive and detailed
    inventory of the available documentation;
  • evaluate
    the anthropic and agricultural impact during the first centuries of the
    Neolithization process;
  • understand
    how the territory was organized, between large central areas with multiple
    functions, ordinary habitats and burial sites, and how essential raw
    materials were exploited; and
  • explore
    the conquest of the maritime environment and clarify how the Channel
    Islands and British Islands underwent Neolithization starting in this
    period.
  • The
    doctoral project is fully a part of this dynamic, in particular as regards
    agrarian practices and the impact of livestock and their relation to the
    environment. It could receive material aid for analyses.
  • A
    specific funding request centered around the analysis of sedimentary
    archives off-site in the form of thematic prospecting from the Ministry
    of Culture, DRAC Normandy: “Restitution des paysages agraires depuis le
    Néolithique à partir des archives sédimentaires
    [restitution of
    agrarian landscapes since the Neolithic Era based on sedimentary
    archives].
  1. Other
    Partners
DRAC
Normandy, Ministry of Culture
  • François
    CHARRAUD, Archaeologist, head of the PCR “Le Néolithique moyen en
    Basse-Normandie et les îles anglo-normandes
    ” [the Middle Neolithic
    period in Lower Normandy and the Channel Islands]
  • Cyrille
    BILLARD, Heritage Curator: specialist in the Neolithic Era, specific
    guidance for the PCR project
Calvados Departmental Office of
Archeology, CG14
  • Cécile
    GERMAIN-VALLÉE, Archeologist and Geoarcheologist, specialist in the Caen
    Plain and its immediate surroundings
CSIC-Madrid
  • José-ANTONIO
    LOPEZ-SAEZ, Researcher, HDR, palynologist specialized in non-pollen
    micro-remains and the anthropization of plant cover
Required skills and
abilities
Disciplines
and Tools:
The candidate must have mastery of
archaeobotanical analysis procedures and preferably pollen and non-pollen
micro-remains.
He/she will need to participate in
field work (prospecting, core sampling), define sampling strategies, prepare
samples and analyze them.
He/she must also have good knowledge of
mapping tools using Geographic Information Systems.
Desired
Research Experience:
Knowledge of environmental archeology
and the geosciences (Master’s degree in geography or archeology).
Experience working in a
multidisciplinary field and experience collaborating in the framework of a
research project or research laboratory.
Additional
information
Contract start date: 01/09/2016
Length of contract: 3 years
Host laboratories: LGP – Laboratoire
de Géographie Physique – UMR 8591
(1 place Aristide Briand FR – 92195
MEUDON CEDEX) and TrajectoiresUMR 8215 (21 allée de
l’Université – 92023 NANTERRE Cedex)
Assigned University:
  • Paris
    1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University;
  • Paris
    School of Geography – Environment, Society, Development (Doctoral School
    ED 434).
Possible Thesis Supervisors: Laurent LESPEZ and
François GILIGNY
Net monthly remuneration: approximately € 1
350 (additional teaching assignments possible, depending on the host
establishment).
Contact :
Recruitment procedure and schedule
The application must be submitted
electronically by application form
(http://www.form-labex-dynamite.com/doc/en/). It
must demonstrate that the candidate fulfils the requirements indicated in the
position profile (specified tasks and skills).
The application will include:
  • a
    description of the doctoral project (2 to 5 pages maximum) indicating the
    theoretical basis of the research, the tests to be carried out on
    empirical materials, the methodology to be used, a feasibility report and
    project schedule;
  • curriculum
    vitae;
  • transcript
    of higher education record for first year of masters studies (Master 1)
    and the first semester of research masters (Master 2);
  • a
    letter of recommendation from the supervisor of the research master’s
    thesis;
  • a
    letter confirming the forthcoming defence of the candidate’s master’s
    thesis (prior to 31 August 2016).
It
is recommended (but not mandatory) for the candidate to establish contact with
the potential thesis supervisor in advance.
The
deadline for the submission of applications is 4 May 2016 (inclusive)
.
For your information: When the deadline
for applications has passed, the LabEx DynamiTe will contact the potential
director(s) of the potential host unit(s) and will add one letter of invitation
to the application.
The candidate(s) appointed following
the evaluation of the applications and interviews (which will take place during
the week of 13 June 2016) will be informed of the results of the application
process from 20 June 2016.

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