Postdoc (f/m/x)

Your Tasks

Through material provenance and processing, HUE brings the organization of pigment production into focus to investigate trade networks and their response to economic and political change. To address this, HUE aims to establish a physical and digital pigment-specific reference database paired with a toolset for pigment analysis: least invasive sampling strategies, key pigments and geochemical tools. This includes petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical analysis and reference data mapping for different areas and periods. We will investigate Mediterranean trade networks through several well-constrained sub-projects from late Bronze Age contexts to the 1st century CE. New tracers will be tested, and a dedicated MC-ICP-MS (Neoma / Thermo) is available for this. 

The successful applicant is expected to contribute to the project goals, to focus on sample analysis by MC-ICP-MS and is encouraged to develop own research agendas. The tasks for this project include fieldwork, sample processing incl. ion chromatography, and sample analysis by mass spectrometry (ICP-MS, MC-ICP-MS) and other types of analysis (e.g., XRD, SEM-EDS, XRF). Further tasks include instrument operation, technical maintenance, and raw data interpretation (incl. quality control and record keeping) and coordinating the usage of the clean lab and mass spectrometer, ensuring correct storage of expendables following national and international standards and regulations.