Vacancy number
15660
Job type
Hours (in fte)
1,0
External/ internal
External
Location
Leiden
Placed on
6 May 2025
Closing date
6 June 2025 31 more days to apply

POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCHER AND PROJECT MANAGER: AGENT-BASED MODELING OF THE FIRST HOMININ MIGRATIONS INTO WESTERN EURASIA

The Department of Archaeological Sciences, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, is looking for a post-doctoral researcher and project manager to perform research on the drivers of the first hominin migrations into western Eurasia using agent based modeling, and to assist in data management, permitting, and public engagement. The project is part of the NWO-VICI awarded to Prof. dr. A.G. Henry, titled: “Hominin FoodWays: Changing diet and food processing across climate frontiers,” which explores the drivers behind the first hominin migration out of Africa. Homo erectus was the first of our ancestors to leave a narrow range of African habitats and expand into Eurasia, but the behavioural changes that allowed this migration remain debated. This project uses an interdisciplinary combination of new and established methods to understand how changes in diet and food processing contributed to this species’ expansion into new regions.

WHAT YOU BRING

In this team, we are looking for someone who can work independently but collaboratively. Every job is different, so in the beginning we will devote attention to your onboarding. This position is a good fit for you if you recognise yourself in the following:

• PhD degree completed by the time of the appointment in Archaeology, Anthropology, or related field, including experience with agent-based modeling, with strong preference for a background in Paleoanthropology or Human Evolution;
• Demonstrable ability and enthusiasm for innovative and inter-disciplinary research in one or more of the above fields;
• Demonstrable excellence in leadership, time-management, organizational, and communication skills, experience with permitting and ethical approvals strongly preferred;
• Experience with and commitment to Open Science principles, including public engagement;
• Excellent command of English (command of Dutch is not required, but knowledge of one or more European languages is preferred);
• Availability to travel and conduct fieldwork both within and outside the Netherlands, including having a drivers license, is preferred;
• Ability to start in December 2025 or January 2026.

• Establish protocols for data management for project data within the framework of Open Science, work with project members to ensure correct permits for collection of plants and ethical approval for work with volunteers, and assist in planning and executing public engagement, from building a project website to hosting community events;
• Build detailed landscape models, including food costs and benefits, habitat reconstructions, and plant tolerance models, in collaboration with project members;
• Build and test hypotheses about the effect of various drivers (e.g., the ability to use fire, the ratio of meat to plants, etc.) on the use of these landscapes using agent-based modeling;
• Contribute to other FoodWays project goals, including documenting potential foods available to early hominins, and designing and performing experiments on food processing;
• Publish several articles in peer-reviewed academic journals on the results of the above projects and their implications for human evolution;
• Engage with the Faculty community through discussion meetings, journal clubs, and other events.