Postdoctoral Research Associate (Organic Residue Analysis)

Department

The Department of Archaeology at the University of York is ranked 25th in the world and 5th in the UK in the QS rankings. Our vibrant, diverse and international community consists of over 100 staff and about 600 students. We carry out international, impact-oriented and interdisciplinary teaching and research of the highest quality through our strong network of partnerships. The student experience is of paramount importance to the Department and we maintain a high level of student satisfaction. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values and we promote a collegial environment in which staff and students feel supported and empowered to achieve their full potential. We are proud of our Athena Swan Silver Award and strive to provide a working environment which facilitates wellbeing and allows all staff and students to contribute fully, flourish, and excel. We aim for a sustainable future.

Role

We’re looking for a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) to conduct lipid residue analysis of pottery vessels, with the framework of a new project entitled From Refuse to Resource: ceramic and bone wastescapes in the early Neolithic of Europe (ReNEW). Funded by the AHRC-DFG, ReNEW is an exciting new collaboration between the University of York and the Freie Universität, Berlin, led by co-PIs Prof. Penny Bickle (York) and Prof. Henny Piezonka (Berlin), and focuses on the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Europe. ReNEW considers the impact of the transition to Neolithic lifestyles on the production and management of waste. The PDRA will focus on determining the uses of pottery vessels and assist in novel cutting-edge research aimed at reconstructing their biographies from use to discard.

The successful applicant will be an archaeological chemist and will specialise in organic residue analysis of pottery. By joining our team, you will have access to state-of-the-art facilities and be part of the internationally recognised BioArCh centre, collaborating with leading scientists and archaeologists in the UK, Germany, Austria, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. In York, we have a vibrant inter-disciplinary archaeological research community investigating prehistory and archaeological science.

Pottery vessels are a key piece of material culture that develops from the Holocene and creates new waste management strategies on Mesolithic and early Neolithic settlement sites. The successful applicant will participate in the analysis of a selection of vessels working closely with our collaborators, then apply well established methods to the samples, including high-throughput lipid residue analysis, involving GCMS and GC-c-IRMS. They will work on the interpretation of the data and integration with other sources of evidence provided by the rest of the project team.

Skills, Experience & Qualifications Needed

• PhD in chemistry, archaeological science, biochemistry, earth sciences, or a related topic or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge of organic chemistry applied to an archaeological context.
• Competent with GC, GCMS or LCMS and proficient with MS data and interpretation.
• Knowledge of lipid residue analysis applied to archaeological artefacts and European prehistory is desirable but not essential.

Interview Date: 18 June 2026.

For informal enquiries: please contact Penny Bickle on penny.bickle@york.ac.uk.

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