Description of the thesis topic

Thanks to the recent development of imaging and 3D morphometry of the endocast (brain volume of the skull), combined with the evolutionary neuroscience of domestication, this thesis aims to provide the first bioarchaeological study of the brain evolution of an emblematic domestic species, the pig, during the multimillennial history of its domestication in Europe, from the arrival of the first Neolithic domestic lineages (5500 BC) in Europe, including specimens from the Mesolithic, the period preceding the arrival of these lineages, to the development of modern breeds in the industrial era. Thanks to a multidisciplinary consortium of neuroscientists and bioarchaeologists, this work will (1) assess the contemporary neuroanatomical consequences of domestication in this species, (2) document the neuroanatomical evolution of the brain in relation to cultural and economic dynamics over eight millennia of domestication in Europe, and (3) provide a new temporal understanding of the influence of domestication on the cerebral evolution of terrestrial mammalian species.

Work Context

The PhD student's tasks will be to 1) complete the archaeozoological image collection with specimens collected from museums and other European institutions, 2) collect present-day individuals of both wild and domestic species, 3) complete the available MRI and CT-scan image banks by imaging animals and archaeozoological specimens, 4) analyze all results using morphometric and neuroanatomical methods, 5) integrate these results with the chrono-cultural and environmental contexts of the sites studied.
The PhD student will be based at MNHN's Bioarcheology Laboratory (BioArch) in Paris, but will also make regular trips to the PIXANIM platform at INRAE's UMR PRC (Nouzilly) to acquire, analyze and discuss data in the two laboratories' fields of expertise.
For the doctoral student, this innovative subject represents a promising research topic for a young researcher. Indeed, this doctoral experience between a bioarchaeology laboratory working in the field of human and environmental sciences and a physiology and neurobiology laboratory, with immersion in digital approaches (imaging, morphometrics; imaging data analysis platform present within the UMR PRC and resources also present at Bioarch) will enable him to acquire a real culture of interdisciplinarity and skills in the different disciplinary fields that he will be able to draw on for his future career.

Constraints and risks

No constraints nor risks

Additional Information

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