Material Culture Studies revolves around the analysis of the cultural biographies of all sorts of material objects from flint axes, to pottery, to houses and monumental structures.

Annelou van Gijn and Diederik Pomstra took part in the Shire Project in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, to contribute to an exciting mix of lithic and use-wear analysis, as well as ethno-archaeological and experimental studies.

How an initially valueless object becomes worth hundreds of millions. And vice versa.

This subproject, carried out by post-doctoral researcher Dr. O. Nieuwenhuyse, investigates changes and continuities in the functional, social and symbolic uses of the material culture, c. 6800-5800 BC. A contextually oriented approach is adopted, which pays attention to the local socio-economic and…

An experimental approach to organic palaeolithic technology

This project looks at material culture to better understand the character and organization of Roman colonial society in the Republican period, with a focus on the colony of Aesernia (founded 263 BC) in Samnium (modern-day Molise, Italy). What impact did the foundation of the colony have on precolonial…

Leiden University 2016 thesis awards were awarded to Kaspar Pucek (History), Mariska Meijer (Bio Medical Sciences) and Paul Kozowyk (Archaeology).

Research on the global field of museums, heritage, commemoration, consumption and material culture

New Approaches to Understanding the Eastern Mediterranean during Byzantine and Ottoman Times

Perception of material culture, design and digital knowledge applications

A new type of tripodal squaramide-based supramolecular hydrogels is developed and studied.

Essays in Honour of Olivier P. Nieuwenhuyse

All our courses require you to do (background) reading. This may include books, readers and/or materials uploaded to the online learning environment Blackboard. You can find an overview of the literature you need to study in the course description in the online prospectus, under the heading ‘Reading…

All of our courses require you to do (background) reading. This may include books, readers and/or materials uploaded to the online learning environment Blackboard. An overview of the literature you need to study can be found in the course description in the online prospectus, under the heading ‘Reading…

This research network aims to create a shared platform for debate and dialogue on the broader theme of cultural production and exchange across different area specializations and historical periods.

Archiving Medieval and Post-Medieval Archaeological Fieldwork Data from the Eastern Mediterranean (600-2000)

Ongoing microwear analysis of the flint artefacts from the Funnelbeaker period suggests that flint had a pivotal role in the representation and structuration of the cosmological order of Funnelbeaker society.

CERA (CErtification of RAw Materials) is a four-year project that will develop a standardized certification scheme ensuring environmental, social and economic sustainability in extraction, processing, trading and manufacturing of all mineral raw materials. It will guarantee traceability of certified…

The project “Digital Materials” is about the conception, exploration and analysis of possibilities to make digital processes directly operative and tangible in physical materials and examines how the fiction of these “Digital Materials” could affect on figures of interaction between human subjects and…

On Friday 10 November 2017 the annual Janneke Fruin-Helb Scholarship was awarded to alumna Matilda Sebire. She graduated in the master's specialisation in Material Culture Studies.

The 10th Experimental Archaeology Conference of EXARC took place in Leiden, Netherlands, over three days; 20th to the 22nd April 2017, in Leiden University’s Faculty of Archaeology. A conference report was published on the website of EXARC.

Where and how are critical materials currently used and how can this information be used to develop scenarios about their future demand.

Researchers within the cluster are committed to the close and expert analysis of the materiality and content of the arts, literature and media they study. Different types of media bring various aspects of this core interest to the fore.

Embracing the Provinces is a collection of essays focused on people and their daily lives living in the Roman provinces, c. 27 BC-AD 476. It offers an overview of current research on Roman provinces and frontiers, deconstructing some long-held preconceptions and providing refreshing insights into unexplored…

We have recently discovered that there are biological proteins that phase separate out of solution much the way oil will de-mix from water (see movie). These form dense, liquid-like phases called protein condensates.

In the course 'From Ceramics to Plastics: The Mediterranean in 12 objects' students were taught to work with 3D scanning technologies. One of the underlying reasons to introduce students to this technology was to teach them to reproduce objects. ‘More and more archaeological information is stored in…

The goal is to develop educational materials for Dâw, Hupd’äh, and Nadëb Indigenous peoples (Naduhup family; Middle and Upper Rio Negro; Brazilian Amazon). In order to achieve this, first of all, the fieldwork data collected during a collaborative project among anthropologists and linguists (2017-2020)…

The research group of Silke Henkes at Leiden University. Part of the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION). The group studies the physics opf active materials.

What does the excavated material tell us about the continuation and/or change of urban life during the transitional phrases from Antiquity to the Middle Ages on Crete and in the eastern Mediterranean more generally?

It is not man’s ingenuity, but rather materials that are the source of innovation and progress. This is what archaeologist Maikel Kuijpers concludes based on his research into craftsmanship and material processing in the Early Bronze Age.

What are the mechanics of soft materials (e.g. foam, sand)?

This year, an NWO PhD in the Humanities grant went to Mink van IJzendoorn, enabling him to investigate the disappearance of amphorae. ‘We take means of packaging and shipment for granted, but they are deeply ingrained in our daily lives; they are crucial.’

The emergence of metalwork deposition during the Bronze Age in Northwest Europe, c. 2300-1500 BC

Please find below links to articles / events that might be of interest.