Missions

Lithic and bone use-wear analyses of archaeological and experimental material related to the coastal Mesolithic of north-western France

Activités

- Establishment of an analytical experimental protocol
- Monitoring of the shipbuilding experiments
- Use-wear analyses on experimental tools
- Use-wear analyses on archaeological material
- Interpretation of functional data
- Question the different tools and stages involved in shipbuilding
- Publication
- Oral communication

Compétences

- PhD in archaeology
- Solid skills in the technological study and use-wear analysis of archaeological tools (macroscopic and microscopic approach).
- Knowledge of the state of art in the study of technical coastal systems of the Atlantic façade during the early Holocene period (mastery of the archaeological tools in the sites of the final Mesolithic, ethnographic references of coastal techniques, international bibliographical references).
- Skills in the design and implementation of experimental protocols in prehistoric archeology (argued choice of experimental parameters, dependent and independent experimental variables, analysis of experimental data in the field, analysis of experimental tools, interpretation of data functional).
- Autonomy, organizational skills, and ability to work in a team as part of an interdisciplinary project.
- Ability register to synthesise and analyse
- Willingness to work in a team
- Mobility required

Contexte de travail

The candidate will be part of the CReAAH laboratory (UMR 6566) in the Rennes University. He/she will work under the supervision of Catherine Dupont as a member of ANR-funded GEOPRAS (GEOarchaeology and Prehistoryof Atlantic Societies). This ANR project, which involves 7 partners (CReAAH, LETG, Ausonius, Ecobio, LIENSs. INRAP, LEMAR), aims to better document maritime prehistory from the last hunter-gatherers of the Mesolithic to the first farmers of the Neolithic through an interdisciplinary approach. One of the major challenges of the project is the issue of navigation, which is crucial in the maritime context because it enabled the discovery of new territories, exchanges and the spread of people, goods and ideas, for example. This theme is addressed within the project through the study of the technical systems put in place by coastal human groups to navigate (WP 4.1) While the human occupation of the islands contexts requires the mastery of sailing techniques, the absence of boats in the archaeological record implies a major problem. In order to overcome this lack of knowledge, it seems necessary to question the function of the archaeological tools, combined with the experimental construction of boats. While the absence of sharped macro-tools (such as hand-axes) in the lithic assemblages is total, it is proposed to explore other materials, such as hard materials animal, which could have been involved in several technical sequences. As part of this project, the recruited person will be in charge of the use-wear study of several lithic and bone collections attributed to the coastal Late Mesolithic of southern Brittany (such as the sites of Téviec, Port-Neuf, Beg-er -Vil or other Mesolithic shell middens). In particular, it will be necessary to wonder about the implementation of knapped and bone tools in the procedure of manufacturing skin boats and assembled sheaves of plants. These different hypotheses will be tested by the experimental method (WP 4.2). The candidate will take part in the experimental protocol of producing replica boats. He/she will work in collaboration with the other people involved in making these replicas. The analytical protocol and all the technical sequences that may be involved in the production phases must be detailed and justified. The use-wear study of the archaeological collections, as well as the experimental work, constitute a major part of the GEOPRAS program and form part of WP4 of the project. This work will be published during the contract.

Contraintes et risques

Short trips in France and abroad are to be expected.

Informations complémentaires

ANR GEOPRAS project