Research | School of Geosciences | The University of Aberdeen

Research

Core Research Themes

Archaeological research at Aberdeen spans the arts and humanities, physical, social and biological sciences, reflecting the inter-disciplinary nature of the Archaeology and the collaborative ethos at University of Aberdeen. Our research culture is outward looking and international, exploring big questions in innovative ways. We have developed a collaborative approach to contemporary debates including migration and mobility, climate change, human-environment interactions, culture-contact/change, and the role of the past in the present.

Our research currently operates under three principal and overlapping major themes within which we support a range of topics and projects.

Archaeology of the North

At a time when the contemporary world is beginning to cast its eyes northward in search of ever diminishing natural resources, Aberdeen is at the forefront of pushing the boundaries of our understanding of northern cultural diversity both in the past and present.

Human Paleoecology & Bioarchaeology

Human Palaeoecology at Aberdeen engages with advancing methodological and empirical palaeoecological research related to the origin, nature and rate of long-term environmental and climatic changes and its general or specific links to human responses, adaptive behaviour and activity.

Community and Indigenous Archaeologies

Community and indigenous archaeology at Aberdeen approaches this key theme from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Community based projects run in descendant communities in such diverse locations as Alaska, Palau and in the local communities of Aberdeenshire and Scotland.

Research Specialisms

Isotope Bioarchaeology

Specialists in the reconstruction of past diets, movements, and environments through the chemical analysis of human and animal remains.

PleistoHERD

Arctic Archaeology

The challenges of northern environment unite communities in the Arctic - past and present. Today arctic archaeology is facing new challenges from climate emergency; erosion, melting permafrost and ecologies in flux.

Nunalleq: Excavation and Conservation

Mortuary Archaeology

Death is universal, our response to it is not. From skeletal remains to grave goods different lines of evidence are brought together in order to explore diverse and changing attitudes to the inevitable.

MORTL Lab

Landscapes

Landscapes are an interdisciplinary subject. They may be quantitative or qualitative; they can be explored with scientific instruments, using our bodies or through our imaginations.

Landscape Archaeology

Early Medieval Archaeology

A major centre of research on the post-Roman societies of northern Britain, Vikings and the forging of early medieval kingdoms.

Comparative Kingship

Eurasia

Research in Eurasia ranges from the exploration of everyday life among ancient nomads to the structure of empire on the steppe.

Dornod Mongol Survey

Historical and Contemporary Archaeology

We explore the more recent past through a range of themes, from diet and disease among early-modern populations in Scotland to the creation of settler communities in 19th- and 20th-century Canada.

Bennachie Landscapes

Heritage

Heritage is at once an idea and a thing - something near and dear to people's hearts that can represent who we are, as well as official narratives and heritage sites. More than who we are, heritage is about who we want to be as communities and nations. It infuses the past with present purposes. This makes heritage an important field of study for understanding societies across time.

Elisabeth Niklasson

Archaeology of Identities

How do people relate to themselves, others and their worlds? How can we approach material culture to try to understand their ancient selves and minds?

Charlotta Hillerdal

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