New Tutorial: dealing with missing data in archaeological networks

Archaeology is plagued by a phenomenon us experts call ‘shit data’. We can rarely be certain that the collection of materials available to us is a representative sample. This has enormous implications when creating archaeological networks from these datasets. Can we trust the network results we calculate? How much would the centrality of nodes change if we assume 10,20, or 90% of our data is unreliable?

Matt Peeples prepared a fantastic tutorial that introduces statistical and network science techniques for performing such sensitivity analyses. You can access it on the resources tab of this blog or on Matt’s website.

Like Romans? Love networks? Check out my video!

Is network science useful for Roman studies? What’s so great about it, and what’s not? In January I gave a keynote talk on the topic at ‘Finding the limits of the Limes’. The talk was caught on film, so you can judge my arguments for yourself. It starts a bit negative but ends on a hopeful note (spoiler alert: I LOVE networks). Talk abstract below the video.

Video

Two lectureships and PhD positions in Aarhus

The centre for urban network evolutions at Aarhus in Denmark is recruiting two assistant professors and a number of PhDs. They very much welcome applications from people with network science experience or interests. Urbnet is a big and multi-disciplinary team with some very impressive excavations and research projects. They are very keen on scholars who wish to collaborate with others in the context of their centre. I can definitely recommend applying for one of the posts!

Deadlines in March and April.

More details on their website or below: http://urbnet.au.dk/calls/

UrbNet is recruiting a number of employees over the coming years for a variety of positions. Whenever we have open calls, they will be displayed here.

PhD scholarship: The comparative archaeology and history of early urban networks

PhD project focusing on the economic and social development of urban networks in Antiquity and the Middle Ages in a comparative perspective. The work should involve “High Definition” comparative analyses of materials, assemblages and/or textual sources, aiming to characterise the evolution and dynamics of urban sites and networks.

Read more and apply: http://talent.au.dk/phd/arts/open-calls/phd-call-4/

Deadline: 15 March 2017

PhD scholarship: The flow of archaeological materials

PhD project focusing on the flow of archaeological materials, and how these may contribute to chart the evolution and dynamics of urban networks in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Materials may include glass, metals, ceramics or organic materials.

Read more and apply: http://talent.au.dk/phd/arts/open-calls/phd-call-5/

Deadline: 15 March 2017

PhD scholarship: Contextual analysis of urban archaeological contexts

PhD project focusing on contextual analysis of archaeological contexts from relevant urban sites of Antiquity and/or the Middle Ages and how these may contribute to map out the evolution, dynamics and connectivity of urban sites and networks. The work should involve “High Definition” analyses of assemblages in contexts such as workshops, housing, markets, streets etc., aiming to characterise the nature and scale of activities and the pace of events and processes. Themes could include: the impact of catastrophic events, slow changing urban environments (including the impact of climatic change), changing urban structure over time.

Read more and apply: http://talent.au.dk/phd/arts/open-calls/phd-call-6/

Deadline: 15 March 2017

Studentermedhjælpere til forskningsprojekt Keramik i Kontekst 893388

Institut for Kultur og Samfund, Klassisk Arkæologi søger tre studentermedhjælpere med tiltrædelse hurtigst muligt.

Studentermedhjælperne skal hjælpe Professor Rubina Raja i de kollektive forskningsprojekter Keramik i Kontekst med:

– Indsamling af litteratur
– Let redigering af manuskripter
– Hjælp til udgravningsmaterialer, herunder tegning
– Ad hoc administrative opgaver
– Praktisk hjælp af forskellig art.

Læs mere og ansøg:

http://www.au.dk/om/stillinger/teknisk-administrative-stillinger/stillinger/Vacancy/show/893388/6588/

Deadline: 17.03.2017

Studentermedhjælpere til forskningsprojekt Palmyra Portræt 893393

Institut for Kultur og Samfund, Klassisk Arkæologi søger to studentermedhjælpere med tiltrædelse hurtigst muligt.

Studentermedhjælperne skal hjælpe Professor Rubina Raja i de kollektive forskningsprojekter Palmyra Portræt Projektet med:

– Indsamling af litteratur
– Let redigering af manuskripter
– Organisering af workshops og konferencer samt udgravningsrelaterede aktiviteter
– Arbejde med Palmyra Portræt Projektets database
– Ad hoc administrative opgaver
– Praktisk hjælp af forskellig art.

Kvalifikationer
– Praktisk sans 
– Evnen til at arbejde selvstændigt, struktureret og effektivt
– Pålidelighed i forhold til arbejdstider og dage

Læs mere og ansøg:

http://www.au.dk/om/stillinger/teknisk-administrative-stillinger/stillinger/Vacancy/show/893393/6588/

Deadline: 17.03.2017

Assistant Professorships in the Archaeology of Urban Networks and Exchange 889217

The Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet), School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, invites applications for one or two assistant professorships, focusing on core themes within the centre’s agenda for research on urban societies in the past.

The call is for full-time, three-year positions, starting on 1 June 2017 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Place of employment: Moesgaard, Moesgaard Allé 20, 8270 Højbjerg, Denmark.

The positions
The positions represent an opportunity for eminent young researchers to set the agenda for research into the historical archaeology and/or archaeoscience of urban societies and networks from the Hellenistic Period to the Middle Ages, and to participate in one of Europe’s most groundbreaking archaeological research initiatives of this decade.

We are looking to include researchers and their projects in the centre’s work, which integrates questions and problems relating to the humanities and concerning urban development and networks.

The Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet) explores the archaeology and history of urban societies and their networks from the Ancient Mediterranean to medieval Northern Europe and to the Indian Ocean World. We are an interdisciplinary research initiative which integrates new methods from the natural sciences with context-cultural studies rooted in the humanities. Approaching urbanism as a network dynamic, we aim to develop a high-definition archaeology to determine how urban networks catalysed societal and environmental expansions and crises in the past.

The centre’s work ranges from Northern Europe over the Levant to the East Coast of Africa. It involves empirical material from a number of existing excavation projects as well as material which has already been excavated, and concerns both theoretical and methodological issues. UrbNet strives to embrace and connect the archaeological research clusters at Aarhus University with new and advanced analytical techniques in geoscience and physics for dating and characterising archaeological sites; and creates a research environment for cross-fertilising approaches from the humanities and sciences. The centre is based at Aarhus University, School of Culture and Society, and is funded as a Centre of Excellence by the Danish National Research Foundation.

Please consult the following link: http://urbnet.au.dk/.

Read more and apply (deadline: 18 April 2017)