PhD position in Prehistory and Statistics (M/F)

Job Description

Thesis Subject

Statistical Network Analysis for the Techno-Stylistic Study of Paleolithic Portable Art
During the Magdalenian period (21–14,000 BP), human communities exhibited a high degree of social organization. They engaged in extensive exchange and mutual influence across vast territories. Networks for the diffusion of various raw materials emerged, connecting regions that were often far apart. These networks help delineate cultural areas where social, economic, and technical relationships were shared. Such exchange networks are now well-documented in the crafting of hard mineral and, to a lesser extent, animal materials. This also applies to the realm of symbolic behaviors. Certain “conventional” figures—whose composition is constrained by significant graphic norms—are found in large numbers across numerous archaeological sites.
Drawing on the conceptual framework of memetics and transmission chains (i.e., the transfer of information and cultural practices within social networks, both ancient and modern), it is possible to reconstruct the privileged links that connected Magdalenian groups by analyzing the similarities in their artistic productions. In the current context of technological disruption driven by Artificial Intelligence, we propose to analyze the data and quantify these similarities by exploring various applications of machine learning methods. With the advancement of AI and signal processing, machine learning is now a global field supported by major international conferences such as AISTATS, NeurIPS, ICML, and MVML. Applying these methods to the study of Paleolithic art is an innovative and emerging field that must develop within an international dynamic, and we aim to contribute to one of these prestigious conferences.
These methodological developments will be conducted in close collaboration with the Institut de Mathématiques de Bourgogne. To this end, a large corpus of Magdalenian portable art (lithic supports and hard animal materials) will be mobilized, focusing on conventional-style figurative representations. This corpus, based on updated inventories, will include approximately 200 “macrocephalic” horse engravings on cervid antler, about 140 cut-out animal head contours, around 100 schematic frontal animal representations on bone or antler, and potentially several hundred segmented human figures. Other conventional-style themes may further enrich this innovative techno-stylistic approach.
The project expects to reveal the mechanisms of diffusion of these images within their cultural territories. New tools for the study of prehistoric art will be developed, contributing to research in the field of artificial learning. The data generated by this doctoral work will be deposited on open archaeological databases (Nakala, Huma-Num, POP, etc.), and the algorithmic code will be made available on GitHub.

Your Work Environment

The Histoire Naturelle des Humanités Préhistoriques (HNHP, UMR 7194) laboratory is a joint research unit under the supervision of the CNRS, the MNHN, and the UPVD. Its mission is to study the biological and behavioral evolution of hominins over the long term, situating them within their chronological, environmental, and climatic contexts across different geographical areas. You will be based at the Musée de l'Homme (Paris) within the ComE team, which aims to understand and reveal the cultural and behavioral diversity of human groups through subsistence, technical, and symbolic behaviors. Your work will primarily focus on the team's third research axis, which centers on representations and symbolic behaviors in the Paleolithic. You will also collaborate closely with Patrick Tardivel, a mathematician at the Institut de Mathématiques de Bourgogne (Dijon), to develop and apply mathematical results to better understand the diversity of your corpus and interpret this diversity in terms of networks, thereby shedding light on the circulation of ideas and behaviors in the Upper Paleolithic.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

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