Aarhus University Seal

News

PhD project receives international research award

The international research association UISPP has elected Heide W. Nørgaard’s archaeological PhD project as one of the top five within prehistoric and protohistoric research.

[Translate to English:] Fællesbillede af alle prismodtagere på verdenskonferencen. Heide W. Nørgaard er nr. 10 fra højre (klik for større billede).

As a mark of distinction, Heide W. Nørgaard has received a medal for having written one of the five best PhD projects in the past four years within prehistoric and protohistoric research.

The award was presented at the USIPP (the International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences) world conference in June, which was held at Sorbonne University in Paris.

In her PhD project “Craftsmanship and Metalwork in the Nordic Bronze Age: Craft Organisation, Craftspeople and their Areas of Contact”, Heide W. Nørgaard has studied various centres for the production and distribution of metalwork in the Nordic Bronze Age, and the role that the centres have played in creating social identities. Her new methodological approach to studying prehistoric craftsmanship has provided new knowledge about the craft organisation in Northern Europe in the Bronze Age.

The award committee rewarded the project for its originality and its novel approach to research, which, among other things, has shown that it is possible to identify individual craftspeople based on the archaeological material.

“I’m very excited about receiving the award and the international recognition that comes with it. It will give me access to new research networks and allow me to study different objects which can provide new insights into Bronze Age craftsmanship,” says Heide W. Nørgaard.


FACTS

Heide W. Nørgaard defended her PhD project “Craftsmanship and Metalwork in the Nordic Bronze Age: Craft Organisation, Craftspeople and their Areas of Contact” on 24 November 2014. Helle Vandkilde (Aarhus University) and Svend Hansen (Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Berlin) acted as supervisors in connection with the project.

The International Union of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences (Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques – UISPP) was founded in Bern, Switzerland in 1931. The organisation brings together all branches of science related to prehistoric and protohistoric research (the transitional period between prehistory and history): archaeology, anthropology, palaeontology, geology, zoology, botany, environmental studies, physics, chemistry, geography, history etc. Research into the adjustment mechanisms and dynamics of human societies is one of the UISPP’s focus areas.