We are delighted to confirm that another two of our postgraduate students are on the road to a PhD following successful funding applications from the Scottish Graduate School for Arts & Humanities (SGSAH).
Kariane Bourgault’s research will continue to focus on Iron Age faunal remains, the topic of her MRes.
In Living and Dying Together: animal-human relationships during the Iron Age in Scotland, Kariane will using Iron Age Scotland (c.800BC-800AD) as lens through which to explore human relationships with farm animals. Her PhD will look at the paradox at the heart of farming – that animals which are cared for will ultimately be slaughtered.
It will apply an innovative approach that integrates theoretical perspectives from Human-Animal studies (HAS) with zooarchaeological methods for identifying ancient animal husbandry to give new insights into the nature of animal-human relationships in Scottish farming communities past and present.
Undertaken in collaboration with Orkney Museums, it will highlight the research and outreach potential of faunal collections held by Scottish museums.
Kariane’s supervisors are Proferssors Ingrid Mainland and Jane Downes (UHI Archaeology Institute), Professor Erica Fudge (Strathclyde University) and Dr Siobhan Cooke-Miller (Orkney Museum).
Cultivation in Crisis? An archaeobotanical and isotopic study of Bronze Age agriculture in Scotland and Ireland is the title of Julia Brunner’s thesis, which will look at Bronze Age farming practices.
The later Bronze Age was a period of rapid change across Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, with multiple studies linking major climate deteriorations with social transformations. Julia will investigate the impact of the wetter climate on farming across north-western Europe using macrobotanical assemblages from archaeological sites in Scotland and Ireland.
Her project will produce the first archaeobotanic and isotopic investigation of Bronze Age farming, exploring whether climate changes affected cultivation and identifying any mitigation strategies that were implemented. The focus on ancient/heritage cereals will be of interest to Atlantic farming communities on their resilience and suitability for cultivation in climatically sensitive areas.
Julia’s supervisors are Associate Professor Scott Timpany and Professor Jane Downes (UHI Archaeology Institute)
We’d be delighted to hear from anyone considering a self-funded MRes or PhD. Our research themes and topics are outlined here and if any of those are of interest, contact Professor Jane Downes for more information.
