Offer Description
1 PhD position (100%) on tropical landscape archaeology in the Mariana Islands
€ 3,495 per month, before taxes. If you have family, you will get € 3,990 per month, before taxes
37,5 hours per week
📅 One-year contract with up to 3-years of extension after successful evaluation
🎓 MSc degree
📅 Latest starting date is February 2026
As a PhD student
- You will find yourself in a unique research environment, surrounded by scientists from a wide range of disciplines focusing on heritage aspects.
- You will receive dedicated supervision from experienced researchers, and enjoy regular exchange with international experts.
- You will build valuable academic experience by participating in the Incipit's research and social activities.
Your work
You will be part of a Marie Curie Doctoral Network project entitled History, Archaeology, and Botany of Pacific Islands: assessing the Long-Term Impacts of Early European colonialism on Peoples and Forests (short name, PacificPeopleForest). Current knowledge on the settlement of the Mariana Islands is biased towards coastal patterns with a scarce understanding of the land use and human habitation of the interior of the islands. Working within preliminary data frames provided by our team, you will be developing in-depth exploration of the inland areas of Rota (Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands) through extensive field work there. You will be responsible for developing the first chronological assessment of the integral prehistoric settlement for the Mariana Islands as well as potential agricultural practices, and demographic estimations, through the study of surface topography and findings, material culture dispersions, its thorough archaeometric analysis (especially of prehistoric pottery), and associated stratigraphic information. In short, you will be focusing on landscape archaeology and material culture, on the ground and in the lab. In addition, it will be possible to develop, together with PhD supervisors, new site-oriented approaches to Rota, i.e LiDAR processing and ground-truthing, and check the capabilities of predictive models for new archaeological sites in tropical environments.
In addition to field work in the Pacific, you will perform secondments in the MARC (Micronesian Area Research Center, Guam) and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands); you will also visit and obtain education from our European partners in the consortium, publish your findings as scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, and present results at (inter)national conferences. If successful, you will obtain your PhD degree from the University of Santiago de Compostela.
We offer
- A gross monthly starting salary of € 3,495 for a full-time contract (37,5 weekly hours).
- 22 days of paid leave per year, plus 6-7 days per year for personal issues, and 82 hours per year for other types of leave.
- Public pension scheme.
- CSIC offers many additional opportunities of education online and in person.
- Lectures and scientific meetings on many different topics. You can also take part in our regular exchanges within Incipit.
- A laptop and mobile phone allowance.
- Social events, from theater representations to a monthly get-together meal.
- A unique work environment in a state-of-the-art building.
Your team
The Incipit is composed of one unique department and research group; you will directly work with Dr. María Cruz Berrocal, Dr. César Parcero Oubiña, Dr. César González Pérez, Dr. María Martín Seijo, and Dr. Jesús García Sánchez (from Instituto de Arqueología de Mérida, CSIC), with Dr. Cruz Berrocal and Dr. García Sánchez as supervisors. You will closely work with 5 other PhD students in the PacificPeopleForest consortium, sharing training events, field work, and more. This international research team aims to uncover the history, extent and chronology of the impacts of European colonialism in the Pacific Islands (16-17th century). By integrating historical, archaeological, and ecological disciplines and perspectives through an interdisciplinary consortium including 6 PhD students, located in Incipit, Naturalis, and KU Leuven, we want to understand the interplay between human populations and forest dynamics, before and after European contact.
You will also be part of our Incipit PhD community, including +20 PhD candidates and postdocs with whom you can share experiences and participate in training sessions, workshops, and peer review meetings.
You will have to
- Have a MA, MPhil (or an equivalent qualification) in archaeology, history or an adjacent relevant discipline, in hand when the position starts.
- Be capable of developing independent thought while also proactively seeking collaboration - whether with your supervisor, fellow researchers, or external partners. You have to be confident in asking critical questions to further your research.
- Have strong proficiency in English and collaborative and organization skills.
- Complete a PhD thesis in the field area specified above.
- Attend field work, training events in house and abroad, secondments, conferences, and other presentations.
- Actively disseminate your work, within and outside Incipit, for the scientific community and the general public.
- Have experience with tropical field work and archaeological materials, as well as GIS skills. Statistical knowledge, experience with prehistoric pottery processing, and interest for prehistoric agricultural systems are advantages.
- Be regularly present at Incipit.
- MEET THE MOBILITY REQUIREMENT: all MSCA actions allow only hiring students who have been in the respective country for no longer than 12 months in the past 3 years.
Your application
- Send your CV, copies of degree certificates, and motivation letter (2-3 pages), including the contact details of two referees, in one pdf document no later than November 23rd 2025 to maria.cruz-berrocal
- Interviews (online) will (probably) be held the first week of December.
- For more information about the application procedure, you can send an email to our colleagues at
,
Where to apply E-mail
maria.cruz-berrocal@incipit.csic.es
Requirements
Research Field History » Archaeology Education Level Master Degree or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications
You will have to
- Have a MA, MPhil (or an equivalent qualification) in archaeology, history or an adjacent relevant discipline, in hand when the position starts.
- Be capable of developing independent thought while also proactively seeking collaboration - whether with your supervisor, fellow researchers, or external partners. You have to be confident in asking critical questions to further your research.
- Have strong proficiency in English and collaborative and organization skills.
- Complete a PhD thesis in the field area specified above.
- Attend field work, training events in house and abroad, secondments, conferences, and other presentations.
- Actively disseminate your work, within and outside Incipit, for the scientific community and the general public.
- Have experience with tropical field work and archaeological materials, as well as GIS skills. Statistical knowledge, experience with prehistoric pottery processing, and interest for prehistoric agricultural systems are advantages.
- Be regularly present at Incipit.
- MEET THE MOBILITY REQUIREMENT: all MSCA actions allow only hiring students who have been in the respective country for no longer than 12 months in the past 3 years.
Specific Requirements
You will be part of a Marie Curie Doctoral Network project entitled History, Archaeology, and Botany of Pacific Islands: assessing the Long-Term Impacts of Early European colonialism on Peoples and Forests (short name, PacificPeopleForest). Current knowledge on the settlement of the Mariana Islands is biased towards coastal patterns with a scarce understanding of the land use and human habitation of the interior of the islands. Working within preliminary data frames provided by our team, you will be developing in-depth exploration of the inland areas of Rota (Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands) through extensive field work there. You will be responsible for developing the first chronological assessment of the integral prehistoric settlement for the Mariana Islands as well as potential agricultural practices, and demographic estimations, through the study of surface topography and findings, material culture dispersions, its thorough archaeometric analysis (especially of prehistoric pottery), and associated stratigraphic information. In short, you will be focusing on landscape archaeology and material culture, on the ground and in the lab. In addition, it will be possible to develop, together with PhD supervisors, new site-oriented approaches to Rota, i.e LiDAR processing and ground-truthing, and check the capabilities of predictive models for new archaeological sites in tropical environments.
In addition to field work in the Pacific, you will perform secondments in the MARC (Micronesian Area Research Center, Guam) and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands); you will also visit and obtain education from our European partners in the consortium, publish your findings as scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, and present results at (inter)national conferences. If successful, you will obtain your PhD degree from the University of Santiago de Compostela.
Remember, all MSCA actions require mobility!!!!
Languages ENGLISH Level Excellent
Research Field History » Archaeology Years of Research Experience 1 - 4
Additional Information
Work Location(s)
Number of offers available 1 Company/Institute Instituto de Ciencias del Patrimonio - Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) Country Spain State/Province A Coruña City Santiago de Compostela Postal Code 15707 Street Cidade da Cultura, Monte Gaiás sn
Contact State/Province
A Coruña City
Santiago de Compostela Website
Street
Cidade da Cultura, Monte Gaiás sn Postal Code
15707 E-Mail
maria.cruz-berrocal@incipit.csic.es
jesus.garcia@eehar.csic.es
teresa.neo@incipit.csic.es
STATUS: EXPIRED
Share this page