Originally from Sweden I studied archaeology in Uppsala and maritime archaeology in Stockholm. I went on to do a PhD in Archaeology at Uppsala University (2009). In 2006 I worked as a commercial archaeologist in Canada. In 2010 I was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen. I am programme coordinator for the MScs in Archaeology and Archaeology of the North.
My research spans archaeological theory, Indigenous- and community archaeology, Late Iron Age Scandinavia, and the Viking diaspora. My overarching research interest concerns the archaeology of social identity – in the past and the present, and the relationship between the past and the present in heritage discourses.
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Archaeology.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
With a background in Scandinavian Viking Age archaeology, my current research mainly focuses on Arctic Archaeology, and more specifically Yup’ik in Southwestern Alaska. My field of interest ranges from theoretical approaches to Indigenous Archaeology, to Community Archaeology and Heritage, and field-based archaeology. I am working intimately with a local indigenous community on the collaborative Nunalleq project, excavating a pre-contact Yup’ik village site critically endangered by the warming climate. The Nunalleq excavation has yielded the largest collection of archaeological material ever recovered from Alaska, and has entirely changed our knowledge of pre-contact Yup’ik history. Most recently I have been focussing on a co-created educational resource based on the archaeological material and integrating scientific and local interpretations and narratives, for the local and regional schools, and am continuing this in the development of a Digital Museum for the Nunalleq collection. I have recently started to refocus my interest on Late Iron Age/Early Medieval Scandinavia.
Nunalleq: Community-based archaeology and effects of climate change in Indigenous Alaska
Hillerdal, C.
Archaeology Scotland, pp. 25-27
Contributions to Specialist Publications: Articles
Reviwew: Jes Wienberg: Heriotopia. World Heritage and Modernity. Lund/Manchester: Lund University Press/Manchester University Press (2021). 323 sidor, 8 figurer.
Hillerdal, C.
META. Historiskarkeologisk Tidskrift, vol. 2022, pp. 76-78
Contributions to Journals: Reviews of Books, Films and Articles
