Missions

Based on available archaeozoological data that he/she will have gathered from a selection of coastal archaeological sites around the Mediterranean—covering different time periods (prehistoric and historical periods) and various biogeographical contexts—the recruited person will be tasked with (1) assessing the presence of different identified animal species, and (2) evaluating the contribution of terrestrial and marine fauna to the paleo-economy of different Mediterranean communities.

Activités

The recruited person will first be responsible for selecting and preparing the necessary data for processing archaeozoological metadata (published data on terrestrial fauna, and data from the MERMAID project database for marine fauna). Based on the compiled dataset, he/she will propose relevant archaeozoological and ecological methods in order to carry out biogeographical and paleo-economic comparisons and to develop interpretations according to geographical, ecological, and chrono-cultural contexts. These results will be published in articles, in collaboration with other members of the MERMAID program, and presented at conferences. During the contract, the recruited person will also participate in organizing a workshop on archaeozoological quantification, to be held in Nice.

Compétences

The following criteria are sought:

Hold a PhD in archaeozoology and have extensive experience with terrestrial fauna, and preferably Mediterranean marine fauna.
Have a strong command of the concepts, methodological tools, and analysis techniques required in the field of archaeozoology (quantification, osteometric/biometric methods, seasonality, taphonomic biases).
Have a good understanding of ecological principles (richness indices, diversity, etc.), paleogeography, as well as the use of paleo-environmental databases.
A solid understanding of Mediterranean archaeology and Mediterranean environmental archaeology is preferred.
Ability to search for/documentary resources and compile bibliographies; knowledge of Zotero (bibliographic management) is appreciated.
Proficiency in statistical tools commonly used in archaeozoology, particularly multivariate analyses; proficiency in R software is desirable.
At least basic skills in entering and formatting structured data (Excel). Knowledge of SQL, creating PostGreSQL databases (development), and expertise with Q-SIG software (web-mapping) would be appreciated.
Required languages for writing reports/articles and presenting communications: English, French. Knowledge of other languages (basic understanding) from the Mediterranean region is welcome.
Be motivated, dynamic, independent, and able to communicate and collaborate effectively.

Contexte de travail

This job offer is part of the H2020 ERC-Consolidator Grant MERMAID – Marine Ecosystems, Animal Resources, and Human Strategies in Ancient Mediterranean: Integrated Studies on Natural and Societal Resilience (2021-2026, PI T. Theodoropoulou, CEPAM-CNRS, Grant Agreement no. 101002721). The postdoc will be particularly involved in WP 4.3 “The Contribution of Marine Resources to Mediterranean Diets.”

The selected candidate will be based at the CEPAM laboratory in Nice (UMR7264, CNRS-Université Côte d'Azur). He/she will be supervised by Lionel Gourichon (Researcher, CNRS), an archaeozoologist specializing in terrestrial fauna, and will work closely with the Principal Investigator (PI) of the program, T. Theodoropoulou (Researcher, CNRS), an archaeozoologist specializing in marine fauna, as well as the researchers and engineers involved in collecting archaeozoological data within the MERMAID project. Occasional travel to verify faunal data or for exchanges with archaeologists/specialists at the selected sites may be required.