Promotor: M.T.M. Koper, Co-promotor: J.B.F. Juurlink

The Human Origins group at Leiden University studies the archaeology of hunter-gatherers, from the earliest stone tools in East Africa, more than three million years old, to the origin of sedentary societies towards the end of the last ice age.

The application of compliance archaeology techniques such as mechanical large scale excavations where large quantities of data are gathered in relatively little time (and relatively inexpensively) and a firm post-excavation research phase yielded a whole new body of archaeological evidence.

Bronze Age settlement sites in the Dutch river area (c. 2000-800 BC)

Supervisor: Natalia Ortiz Zacarías

Past, Present and Future of Nubian Communities in Sudan

The discovery of new medicines is a tedious and lengthy process. On average, over 10,000 molecules need to be studied for one to become a drug and reach the patient. Part of that process are the very costly clinical trials in humans, and candidate drugs often fail due to side effects or lack of efficacy.…

Assessing the effects of landscape and land-use changes on the visibility of archaeological landscapes in Central-Southern Italy.

Papers written on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Institute of Prehistory, Volume I.

The research aims to understand how did Cuban and Dominican landscape encapsulate historical conceptual transformations about human –nature spiritual interaction after the Spanish conquest? More specifically, what are the present day cultural associations with Cuban and Dominican natural landscape?…

There is little evidence of the routes connecting Amerindian communities in the Caribbean prior to and just after 1492. Uncovering possible canoe routes between these communities can help to explain the structure, capabilities, and limitations of the physical links in their social and material networks.…

Doctoral Thesis

Essays in Honour of Olivier P. Nieuwenhuyse

Balikh Valley Archaeological Project Monograph 1 - BAR International Series 468

Isotopic and zooarchaeological investigations in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica

A functional study of chert artefacts from preceramic sites in Colombia (2002)

The aim of this research area is to be able to predict human drug response on the basis of mathematical models that are developed using preclinical experiments and prior knowledge.

A Study of Middle Palaeolithic Riverside Settlements at Maastricht-Belvédère (The Netherlands).

A modeling approach with applications to the Bau de l'Aubesier (Southeastern France)

The primary goal of this research is to deepen our understanding of substrate-enzyme interactions in Glycoside hydrolases. For this purpose, Bacillus circulans xylanase (BcX) has been selected as a well-established model to examine the Michaelis complex and glycosyl-enzyme adduct.

The neolithization of the southern Netherlands in an antropological and geographical perspective

The meaning of the Swifterbant Culture for the process of neolithisation in the western part of the North European Plain (4900-3400 BC)

At LUC we are very excited for your arrival this August and are eagerly preparing everything for your move-in day and a fantastic introduction week. This site will give you all the information you need about the introduction week, as well as the practical information you need before moving to The Hague…

Whereas when we started the first Project the chief aim was pure research, to find out more about the past in a region, now we see that the countries of Europe are faced with the great problem that there are far too many archaeological sites for them to deal with by excavation, but yet some kind of…

Non-urban settlement organization and Roman expansion in the Roman Republic (4th-1st centuries BC)

The Ra’s al-jinz project tackles economic diversification and social complexity in non-urban societies, from the perspective of Eastern Arabia, by exploring the Early Bronze Age settlement of Ra’s al-jinz RJ-3.

In the heart of The Hague stands the Peace Palace, home to one of the most important courts in the world: the International Court of Justice. PhD candidate Joris van de Riet spoke to 'Het Klokhuis' about the role of the Court.

Understanding DNA repair mechanisms is essential for advancing plant biotechnology and crop improvement. This study investigates how double-strand breaks (DSBs), induced by CRISPR/Cas systems, are repaired in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, and how these processes influence Agrobacterium tumefaciens…

Investigating the emergence of complex societies in Chalcolithic Cyprus.

How do the starchy botanical foodways reflect upon previous archaeological understandings in the northern and circum-Caribbean?

Evolution acts via mutations in amino acid sequences. Substitution of essential amino acids leads to a nonfunctional protein. l.

Annetje Ottow, president of the Executive Board of Leiden University, has been the new chair of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus (LDE) strategic alliance for just two months. What does she want to achieve during her two-year chairmanship?

Political scientist Simon Otjes (Leiden University) receives a grant from The Dutch Research Council (NWO). The grant is part of the SGW Open Competition XS, which aims to stimulate innovative scientific research within the Social Sciences and Humanities domain. Otjes receives the grant for his research…

Law firms play a dubious role in important land disputes in Indonesia. They act as fixers and settle conflicts to the advantage of large companies. PhD candidate Santy Kouwagam studied their modus operandi. PhD defence on 23 June.

The sustainable production of hydrogen could potentially be made more efficient by adding a cleverly chosen salt to the process. Researchers at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC), in collaboration with physicists at the University of Twente, have discovered that the type of salt present in the…

This project uses archaeological, literary and epigraphic evidence to investigate urban development in Roman-period North Africa, compiling this in a GIS-linked database in order to analyse the development of urban settlement spatially over time.

Basketry, cordage and textiles made of plant fibers or bark are rarely preserved in the archaeological record. By means of experimental archaeology and microwear analysis, we obtain indirect evidence about this important craft.

The genetic material of currently living Europeans is partly of Neandertal origin. Were our ancestors successful because they were hybridising and interacting with the local populations they encountered when migrating into new places? Reconstructing our evolutionary trajectory is key for rethinking…

How does contemporary art and culture represent nuclear contamination in post-nuclear landscapes?

This project investigates ancient water management of streams, springs and runoffs on the archaeological site of Monte Albán, Mexico, as a means to contribute with different stakeholders in the development of sustainable solutions to water problems today such as floods and scarcity.