Studying object biographies, telling stories of the past. Case studies from the Dutch Mesolithic and Neolithic | November 24, 2025

18 11 2025

Studying object biographies, telling stories of the past. Case studies from the Dutch Mesolithic and Neolithic

Prof. Annelou van Gijn (Leiden University)

Microwear analysis allows us to uncover some of the hidden stories about the past. Often, it is the only way to reveal (albeit indirectly) the significance of organic materials in ancient technological systems. Objects made of hide or plants, for example, rarely survive, but flint tools with traces of these activities do. Analysis of objects from funerary contexts or specific deposits reveals some of the ritual activities performed in the past that would otherwise remain invisible. This seminar will present several ‘hidden stories’ from the late Mesolithic period in the Netherlands. It will also present the preliminary results of an ongoing project aimed at investigating everyday life in the Neolithic period in the Rhine and Meuse delta through experiments and detailed material analyses.

We cordially invite all doctoral students of the Doctoral School of Humanities and students of other degrees interested in the topic to a meeting with Prof. Annelou van Gijn, a recognised international authority in the field of traseological research. The meeting will be held as part of the doctoral seminars conducted at the SDNH entitled Boundless. The limits of cognition in archaeology.

The meeting will take place on Monday, 24 November 2025, in room 211 of the Faculty of Archaeology (Main Building).

prof. Małgorzata Kot              prof. Tomasz Waliszewski                 prof. Katarzyna Pyżewicz