Our Team

Helena Knutsson

PhD in archaeology. Has worked as teacher at Uppsla University, researcher and leader of scientific projects, editor of a number of books and consultant, field archaeologist At different pointsof time I worked as teacher of archaeology, as lecturer primarily in Uppsala University, but also in teaching school children about archaeology through experiments and play. An experimental station outside of Uppsala served both as research field, experimental playground for primary schools and tutorial place in university courses.

As archaeologist I have been working with materials from all chronological periods coming from the earth of Scandinavia, in excavations with conservation and storage and organisation of finds. Reports and book production (all stages) were parts of my occupation as well as organisation of conferences and subsequent follow-up through proceedings.

My specialty is analysis of stone artefacts, through analyses of production techniques, traces of use and deposition contexts. I work with high power micro-wear (HPA)

Kjel Knutsson

I have worked as a field archaeologist in different parts of Europe and Sweden for some years. In 1978 I was accepted to the PhD programme at the institute of archaeology in Uppsala, and after 4 years half time employment as an amanuensis, got a scholarship to finish a doctoral dissertation, which was defended in 1988. From 1990 I became a full time employee at Uppsala University, and from 2007 full professor.

During his time as a teacher and researcher at the institute, K. have been the supervisor for 14 PhD students, 11 of which has finalized their dissertations,

My scientific writing is characterized by a general interest in how culture works and thus the relationship between material culture and agency with a methodological focus on lithic analysis. Collaboration with researchers from other fields such as statistics, image analysis and material science, is typical and relates to the complex character of the archaeological subject. Experimental archaeology was an early interest and from 1989 onwards. I have arranged a series of international conferences on this subject. During this time he have also functioned as a referee for scientific journals from different parts of the world.

As part of my interest in experimental archaeology I. have periodically worked with popularizing archaeology, mainly by the means of practical demonstrations at visitor's centres and museums. Three larger projects have so far been launched going over several years.

Together with colleagues at the Department in Uppsala I have over a period of 25 years been financed from different scientific funds for smaller and larger research projects, two of which is still in the process of finalization. My most recent project, which is a collaboration with scientists from 5 universities in the Nordic countries, concerns the early settlement of northern Europe in the Late Glacial with a focus on hunter-gatherer networks.

Together with my colleague (former professor at Umeå university) Noel Broadbent, I introduced lithic use wear analysis in Scandinavia in 1975. Ilater adjusted and developed the method developed by Lawrence Keeley for flint to quartz. Over the years I have worked with the development of the use-wear analysis in collaboration with geographers and statisticians. I have thus published a number of papers on this subject in national and international journals and conference publications. My scientific network is thus well developed within this field of research. He and colleagues at Uppsala University arranged international conferences on the subject in 1989, 1996, 2003, 2004 and 2009.

Besides my work on use wear analysis and tool use I. have also, within the field of experimental archaeology, studied the production of stone tools. Not least my PhD dissertation from 1988 is an example of that type of work. Contacts with flintknappers from different parts of the world, both in joint projects and at workshops, have helped form my view of lithic analysis.

I am at the moment I. has finished a joint Scandinavian project, on the topic of how culture works over deep history. A main theme is historicity; how material culture and memory interacts in the cultural process. This is coupled to the study of ancient DNA together with colleques and students investigating how genetics and archaeology can work together.