The Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens is an active research department dedicated to archaeological science in Greece. The Lab provides state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, extensive comparative collections, and funding for independent scientific research while simultaneously helping members of the academic community of the School better understand how scientific methods can provide new context to their own philological, classical and historical research.
The Lab will offer 4 courses during Summer 2024. The application deadline for all courses is January 15, 2024.
Ancient DNA Course: Introduction to Methods and Applications in Ancient DNA, May 20–24, 2024
The Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens is offering an intensive week-long course to introduce participants to methods and applications in ancient DNA (aDNA) research. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA) and the Institute for Archaeological Science, Archaeo– and Paleogenetics of the University of Tübingen in Germany will lead the course: Dr Maria A. Spyrou, Postdoctoral Researcher (Univ. Tübingen, MPI-EVA), Dr. Eirini Skourtanioti, Postdoctoral Researcher (MPI-EVA) and Anthi Tiliakou, PhD candidate (MPI-EVA). In addition, the course will include lectures from invited speakers. For the 2024 program, invited speakers are: Dr. Viviane Slon (Tel Aviv University, Israel), Dr. Thomas Booth (Crick Institute, UK), Dr. Thiseas Lamnidis (MPI-EVA), and Dr. Christina Margariti and Panagiotis Christodoulou (Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Greece).
Ancient DNA has gained traction as an innovative tool in the disciplines of evolutionary biology and archaeology, as it can provide complementary, often previously unknown, insights into the human past. With a spectrum of research directions ranging from interactions between archaic human groups and the role of human mobility in cultural evolution, to the reconstruction of past disease epidemics and human biological adaptations through time, this field has been undergoing rapid methodological and conceptual advancements over the last decade.
The main objectives of this course are to offer a theoretical and basic technical training in the analysis and interpretation of aDNA data through lectures, seminars and interactive hands-on practical sessions. By the end of the course, participants will be familiar with most aspects of aDNA research and the different insights aDNA can offer into the past.
A maximum of 16 participants will be accepted into the course. Priority will be given to graduate students, post-docs and researchers in biology, genetics, microbiology, archaeology, bioarchaeology, or related disciplines, who are not currently working with aDNA, but who wish to get exposed to state-of-the-art methods and tools in the field for future research.
The course fee is 500 euros. Accommodation is not provided. Travel costs to and within Athens are not included.
Wiener Lab Field School, June 1–8, 2024
The Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science in collaboration with the ASCSA Excavations at the Athenian Agora offers a full week-long Field School on Site Formation, Stratigraphy, and Geoarchaeology in the Athenian Agora. Dr. Panagiotis (Takis) Karkanas, Director of the Wiener Laboratory, and Dr. Paul Goldberg, Senior Visiting Professor, Institut für Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie (INA), University of Tübingen, will supervise the intensive field school.
Registered students will be involved in interdisciplinary field research in the Athenian Agora primarily focused on archaeological context, geoarchaeology, and material sciences. Through field observations, laboratory analysis, and lectures, students will receive instruction in the study and analysis of archaeological sediments and deposits, as well as gain experience in the recording of stratigraphy and the understanding of site formation processes.
A maximum of 12 students will be accepted for the course. Preference is given to advanced students and post-docs with a background in archaeology, and preferably some exposure to the natural sciences.
Training fee is 450 euros for the entire week. Accommodation is not provided. Travel costs to and within Athens are not included.
Bioarchaeology Course, June 10–14, 2024
The Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens is offering an intensive week-long course in bioarchaeology to introduce participants to the analysis of human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts. Dr. Ioanna Moutafi, of the Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichtliche Archäologie und Provinzialrömische Archäologie, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and expert in bioarchaeology and Aegean prehistory, will lead the course with assistance from Dr. Dimitris Michailidis, an anthropologist/paleontologist and Coordinator of the Wiener Laboratory. Human bones are a unique strand of archaeological evidence, as they provide a vast array of both biological and cultural information about life and death in the past. This course will offer both the theoretical and basic technical skills for the analysis and interpretation of human remains, through lectures, seminars and interactive hands-on practical sessions. The objective is to familiarize participants with all aspects of the human skeleton and the different insights they can offer us into the past.
A maximum of 12 participants will be accepted for the course. Preference is given to graduate and advanced undergraduate students with an interest in archaeological science, bioarchaeology, and funerary archaeology. The course is also ideal for professional archaeologists or museum curators who may occasionally need to work with human remains. This course is not geared toward people with significant experience in human osteology or bioarchaeology. No prior experience in human osteology is required.
The course fee is 500 euros. Accommodation is not provided. Travel costs to and within Athens are not included.
Micromorphology Course, June 17–21, 2024
An intensive week-long course in Archaeological Micromorphology is offered by the Malcolm H. Wiener Laboratory for Archaeological Science. Dr. Panagiotis (Takis) Karkanas, Director of the Wiener Laboratory, and Dr. Paul Goldberg, Senior Visiting Professor, Institut für Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie (INA), University of Tübingen, will lead the course. The program will primarily focus on deciphering site formation processes and micro-stratigraphy. Students will receive instruction in optical mineralogy, description, and interpretation of micromorphological thin sections based on analysis of soil fabrics and sedimentary microstructures.
A maximum of 9 students will be accepted for the course. Preference is given to advanced students with a background in geoarchaeology, and preferably some exposure to optical mineralogy as well.
Training fee is 450 euros for the entire week. Accommodation is not provided. Travel costs to and within Athens are not included.