[Bonetools] European ivories research network proposal

[S O'Connor]

Dear All,

 

 

I have recently been involved in a grant application with Dr Paul Lane (
http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/arch/staff/Lane.htm ), University of York, to
set up a multi-disciplinary, ivories research cluster in the UK. Paul is
Project Coordinator of HEEAL  <http://www.heeal.eu/> http://www.heeal.eu/ .
This four year project is funded by a European Union Marie Curie Excellence
Grant which aims to study the historical ecology of east African landscapes
over the last 500 years through a combination of archaeological, historical,
ethnographic and palaeo-environmental research and includes six
sub-projects, one of which is the bio-archaeology of the ivory trade.

 

In our discussions about the ivories research cluster, we increasingly
realised the value of having a far wider geographical base for such a
research network and now propose to bid for European Science Foundation
funding under their Research Networking Programme.  

 

 

The aims of this research network are to

 

1)       Refine scholarly understanding across the natural sciences, social
sciences, arts and humanities boundaries of the nature and diversity of
different types of ivory and the range of current methods of study and
analysis;

 

2)       Stimulate future cross-disciplinary research on ivory in Europe and
establish a set of research priorities and objectives, with particular
reference to archaeological material and museum collections;

 

3)       Develop protocols for the use of destructive and non-destructive
methods of study and analysis of ivory artefacts, with guidelines that would
allow curators, conservators and researchers to make informed decisions on
the merits and drawbacks of different techniques and the type of information
that might be gleaned through their use;

 

4)       Establish a network of experts across the disciplines around
specific issues, and to bring together their various areas of expertise by
contributing to a dedicated website on 'Researching Ivories' and publishing,
electronically, an annotated bibliography on these topics;

 

5)       Contextualise historically and geographically the changing nature
and pattern of different systems of ivory acquisition, production, exchange,
consumption and representation;

 

6)       Develop collaborative research links with other experts and
research groups in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia;

 

7)       Facilitate knowledge transfer through dissemination of the work of
the research network to the broader academic and museum communities,
relevant government, international and non-governmental bodies and agencies,
and a wider public.

 

It would be useful if you could 

*	let me know what interest there would be for such a network amongst
members of the Bonetools list.  
*	suggest names for the Steering Committee of the research network 
*	supply contact details of other researchers and appropriate people
at museums with major ivory collections that we should approach about the
proposed network
*	let me know of any particular topics you think such a network could
usefully tackle.  

 

The deadline for applications for this funding is October 23rd so time is
short but we think it is worth trying.

 

All the best,

 

Sonia

 

Dr Sonia O'Connor FIIC ACR
Research Fellow in Conservation
Archaeological Sciences
Division of AGES

University of Bradford
Bradford
West Yorkshire BD7 1DP

Tel 01274 236498 (office)
Tel 01274 235210 (lab.)
Fax 01274 235190 

 

X-Radiography of Textiles, Dress and Related Materials by Sonia O'Connor and
Mary BrooksCheck it out at  <http://books.elsevier.com/?isbn=0750666323>
http://books.elsevier.com/uk//Elsevier/uk/subindex.asp?maintarget=&isbn=0750
666323

 

 

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