Closing date: 16th May 2025
The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research invites applications for a fixed-term Research Assistant / Associate in Archaeological Glass. This is a fixed term appointment for 24 months. The post holder will work as part of the ERC awarded UKRI funded Frontiers Research Starting Grant ENTANGLED: Entangled materialities and new global histories from southern Africa led by Dr Abigail Moffett (University of Cambridge).
ENTANGLED is a five year (2024-2029) interdisciplinary project combining scientific analyses of a range of archaeological materials with historical and ethnographic research to address connections between southern Africa and the Indian Ocean World during the Global Middle Ages (500-1500 CE) (https://entangledproject.com/). The core team (the PI, two post-doctoral researchers, one doctoral student and the project coordinator) are based at the University of Cambridge. The core team works closely with several collaborators based in at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research as well as collaborators at the University of Eduardo Mondlane (Mozambique) and several other institutions. The project has a strong base in Mozambique, where much of the research is carried out.
We seek a rigorous, creative and collaborative researcher to join our team. The post holder will lead on the analyses of the itineraries of glass beads and glass objects from the southern African region. Drawing on a range of methodologies the research associate will examine the provenance, manufacture and uses of glass beads and objects from the region. This multi-model study will form the basis for addressing the materiality of global entanglements in southern Africa during the Global Middle Ages. Research skills in material culture studies and the scientific analyses of glass, including compositional analysis using techniques such as SEM-EDS and LA-ICP-MS, an ability to thrive as part of a diverse team and a willingness to contribute collectively to broader research agendas are essential requirements. The post holder is expected to work in multiple locations, with the main base at the McDonald Institute in Cambridge but also including research and data collection trips in southern Africa. Analyses will focus on objects from museum collections and recently excavated material from the Entangled fieldwork in southern Mozambique. They will work closely with the PI, a number of collaborators and members of the University of Cambridge's Pitt-Rivers Laboratory for Archaeological Science.
Starting date: 01/10/2025, or as soon as possibly thereafter.
We particularly welcome applications from candidates from a BAME background for this vacancy as they are currently under-represented at this level in our department.
If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Dr Abigail Moffett (am3285@cam.ac.uk)
Further information and how to apply can be found here
Closing date: 30 April 2025
The University of Cambridge and its Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) are pleased to announce a fully-funded Collaborative Doctoral studentship from October 2025, under the AHRC's Collaborative Doctoral Partnership Scheme.
This interdisciplinary project explores over 3,000 pre-Columbian archaeological objects and extensive botanical specimens from the Caribbean, housed across the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (MAA) and the University Herbarium, both at Cambridge. Through participatory research with Caribbean communities, the successful candidate will investigate material culture, the shared knowledge of bush medicine and ceremonial uses of objects like the queen conch, and the broader contexts of wellbeing, identity, and ecological resilience across colonial and post-colonial Caribbean histories. Findings will support future reinterpretation and curation at MAA, contributing to more inclusive and community-driven approaches to heritage and collections.
This project will be jointly supervised by:
- Dr Jimena Lobo Guerrero Arenas (Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology)
- Dr Dacia Viejo-Rose (University of Cambridge)
- Professor Karen Brown (University of St Andrews)
- Sarah-Jane Harknett (Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology)
The student will undertake research at both the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the University of Cambridge, as well as becoming part of the wider cohort of CDP-funded students across the UK.
- Start date: 1st October 2025
- Application Deadline: 30 April
- Interviews will take place online on 19 May
- Pre-application online information session for interested applications: 16th April, 10 am BST (UTC+1) Register your interest through the link in the further information document.
For further information and how to apply, see the main University job site.
Closing date: 27 April 2025
The Department of Archaeology seeks to appoint a full-time, permanent Palaeoanthropology Research Laboratory Technician. This post is based in the Henry Wellcome Building (HWB) on Fitzwilliam Street. The HWB houses the Palaeoanthropology Laboratory and the Duckworth Laboratory, both state of the art facilities supporting international level research. Both laboratories are devoted to research into human and non-human primate evolutionary studies as well as wider archaeological research through a variety of methods.
The duties of the role holder include technical support for research and teaching in osteology and palaeoanthropology. The role holder will work in both the Palaeoanthropology Laboratory and the Duckworth Laboratory. The work will be primarily, but not exclusively, on osteological material, using morphometric and photogrammetric techniques, microscopy, 3D scanning and printing, mCT scanning, and destructive biological and chemical sampling procedures.
Interviews will be held on Wednesday 7th May 2025.
For more information and how to apply: https://www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50388/
Closing date: 2nd May 2025
The McDonald Institute invites applications for the fourth annual Fellowship in archaeology (broadly defined) aimed at candidates of Black Identity or Heritage. The McDonald Institute aims to nurture excellence in the discipline of archaeology regardless of background and in pursuit of diverse knowledges, approaches and practices. We recognise that persistent structural inequalities disadvantage people from Black backgrounds and communities, including within higher education and academic research. As such, we are keen to enable underrepresented early career researchers of Black Identity or Heritage to develop their portfolio of research experience and to thrive in academia.
This one-year postdoctoral Fellowship is designed to attract research excellence and we will provide the Fellows with training, mentorship and support to drive their careers forward and to generate a more diverse pipeline of future talent. In addition to salary, the Fellow will be entitled to up to £2,500 relocation costs and £5,000 training and research costs to be spent within the year of the Fellowship. The Fellow will also have the opportunity to apply through open competition for up to £5,000 p.a. from the D.M. McDonald Grants and Awards Fund for each of three years subsequent to the Fellowship and will be eligible for up to £2,500 expenses for one subsequent return visit to Cambridge. The successful candidate will also be eligible to take up a College Post-Doctoral Associate Position (CPD) at Jesus College for the year of their appointment.
The successful applicant will take up their Fellowship on 1st October 2025 or as soon as possible thereafter. Applicants must normally have defended their PhD a maximum of 7 years prior to the closing date shown above. Applications are encouraged from all branches and fields of archaeology broadly construed, including also human evolution, heritage and museums studies, with no restrictions on methodological approach, period or geographic focus. Applicants should propose a well-focussed research project to be developed across the period of the Fellowship.
Applications will close at midnight on Friday 2nd May 2025
Further information and how to apply can be found here
Closing date: 30 April 2025
The British Museum and the University of Cambridge are pleased to announce the availability of a fully funded Collaborative doctoral studentship from October 2025 under the AHRC's Collaborative Doctoral Partnership consortium.
This project aims to explore wider stories and connections within the British Museum collection by conducting the first detailed technological study of some of Egypt's earliest metal objects found in funerary contexts. Using advanced non-invasive analytical techniques, the research will evaluate manufacturing methods, technological choices, and material selection behind metal vessels and (model) tools, as well as their role in funerary practices. Representing some of early Egypt's most significant material culture, these assemblages remain poorly exploited from a museological perspective. Their holistic examination and interpretation through the lens of 'object itineraries' affords tremendous potential to understand their makers and owners, thus developing engaging narratives beyond their artistic appeal. Furthermore, this opens novel possibilities for museum-based research to examine interactions between early civilisations in the region through technological exchange. As a pilot study, metal objects from the mid-third millennium BCE Royal Cemetery of Ur, Mesopotamia, will be compared. This will support future museum exhibitions and collaborations telling new stories about these under-researched objects in the British Museum collection.
This project will be jointly supervised by Frederik Rademakers and Aurélia Masson-Berghoff (British Museum), Marcos Martinón-Torres and Kate Spence (University of Cambridge), and the student will be expected to spend time at both the British Museum and the University of Cambridge, as well as becoming part of the wider cohort of CDP funded students across the UK.
Informal enquiries about the project should be directed to Prof Marcos Martinon-Torres (m.martinon-torres@arch.cam.ac.uk)
Start date: 1st October 2025 Application Deadline: 30 April, 4pm GMT Interviews will take place online on 15 May
Further information and how to apply can be found here
