How an initially valueless object becomes worth hundreds of millions. And vice versa.

De menselijke geschiedenis strekt zich ver uit vóór de tijd waarin de mensen opschreven wat er zoal gebeurde.

The research contained in this dissertation explores the origins of fire making in prehistory, focusing primarily on the fire use practices and fire production capacities of Neandertals.

Karmaşık Avcı-Toplayıcılardan Erken Kentsel Toplumlara

The Faculty of Humanities

On May 2nd, Petr Kocharov succesfully defended his doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Petr on this great result.

The department of World Archaeology combines research and education about regions all over the world, from Human Origins to the Middle Ages, and from Europe, to Asia, Africa and the America’s. That broad range in time and space makes the department a dynamic pluriform community with many different approaches,…

The topic of Historical Linguistics and Philology at LUCL is language change in its broadest sense.

On the 13th of April, Federico Dragoni successfully defended a doctoral thesis. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Federico on this achievement!

Kralen spreken tot de verbeelding. Ze zijn aantrekkelijk en persoonlijk vanwege hun kleuren, materialen, patronen en associaties. Je draagt ze op je lichaam, waar je ze voelt en anderen ze zien. Kralen zijn waardevol en verplaatsbaar, tegelijkertijd reizigers en souvenirs.

The Faculty of Humanities in Leiden is unique in its research, education, valorisation and breadth of languages, cultures, arts and societies of the world, in their historic context, from prehistory to the present. Humanities’ research and education at Leiden are among the top 30 in the world (THE).

This dissertation provides a detailed description of the interaction between verb semantics and the two grammatical voice categories in the Vedic Sanskrit of the Rigveda.

On the 2nd of July, Axel Palmér successfully defended a doctoral thesis. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Axel on this achievement!

Almost all languages of Europe and of a large part of western Asia belong to a single language family, which is called Indo-European, and which includes modern languages like English, Dutch, Russian, Farsi, but also ancient ones like Ancient Greek, Latin, Hittite and Sanskrit.

We are currently gathering information about how safe Leiden’s residents feel. To do this, we are using online surveys that give us an idea of perceptions of safety in Leiden.

A project aimed at understanding the complicated process of religious transformation in one of the centres of the early Muslim world.

Nowadays, most Europeans speak a language belonging to the Indo-European language family. However, very different languages were spoken on our continent before the arrival of the Indo-Europeans. The EUROLITHIC project tries to find answers to the question which languages these were and where they came…

The Ager Venusinus Project studies the relatively small number of recognized colonial dwellings dated securely to the period of colonization (i.e. the 3rd century BC). With a special interest in the Black Gloss ceramic typochronology

The study of language in change.

Two Decades of Research in Nicaragua and Costa Rica

Report on the Excavations of the National Museum of Antiquities Leiden in the Balikh Valley, Syria.

The Golden Horde Project was initiated by Dr. Marie Favereau and Dr. Gabrielle van den Berg. The initiative is funded by Asian Modernities and Traditions (AMT) and Leiden Global Interactions (LGI) research profile areas.

The EEE lectures are a monthly cross-disciplinary lecture series where globally renowned and inspiring thinkers and scientists are invited.

The tree-year bachelor's programme in Archaeology is a many-sided programme in which you study societies, cultures, and human behaviour from the past, aiming to reconstruct and revive them. Dive into the development of human societies all over the world, from the Americas to the Middle East, from the…

The emergence of metalwork deposition during the Bronze Age in Northwest Europe, c. 2300-1500 BC

The ability to create objects and structures with our hands has been essential to human development. This ability is something modern society is at risk of losing. Leiden archaeologists gather knowledge about ancient processes of ‘making and creating’ over the centuries, knowledge that helps our current…

A linguistic reconstruction of the migration of the Tocharians from Europe to China

In the first year, the Linguistics programme will provide you with a sound basis for specialisation, while training your academic competences. In the second year, you will choose one of our four specialisations. While focusing on this track in your second and third year, you may also choose electives…

In Applied Archaeology, you follow your personal interests, and choose a matching career profile and regional focus. What kind of archaeologist will you become? In the Applied Archaeology programme you get to plot your own course!

They were called 'annoying brats', the group of campaigning scientists who in 1978 founded what is now an internationally acclaimed ecological research institute. Their stories and those of the current staff of the Institute of Environmental Sciences are described in the book 'Forty years of Leiden…

The mission of Software and AI in Business (SA&B)connects the domains of science, business, and policy. Scientific research we focus on at Leiden in areas such as artificial intelligence promises to reshape our societies for the better. Translating science into positive societal impact however requires…

In developing cooperation with Indonesia, Leiden University focuses on projects that benefit culture, nature, society and economy, in Indonesia as well as in the Netherlands.

Metabolomics group, LCQUI, Universidade UENF, Campos dos Goytacazes/Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

Abrupt Climate Change and Cultural Transformation

The Leids Astronomisch Dispuut F. Kaiser is an association dedicated to the students who study astronomy in Leiden. In addition, they are also very involved in the public activities in the Old Observatory and help with the development and implementation of other projects in the building.

Leiden University regularly welcomes members of the Royal Family to attend opening ceremonies, lectures, presentations and unveilings of works of art.

Cultural identity at the Late Prehistoric settlement of Aguas Buenas, Nicaragua, AD 500-1522

The Supplementa series of BABESCH is designed as a platform for thematic publications, in juxtaposition to the annual and varied mix of contributions offered by the journal itself. The thematic publications will include proceedings of colloquia, collections of particular studies by one or more authors,…

We live in a world of things and people in the past must have been as closely entangled with their material surroundings as we are now. In the Laboratory for Artefact Studies Van Gijn takes a close look at the biographies of objects: what kind of raw material an object is made off and what is its provenience,…

D. Fontijn, Quentin Bourgeois & Arjan Louwen (eds) (2012). This publication describes the history of “barrow landscape” near Echoput in Apeldoorn. Two burial mounds were examined and it became clear that our prehistoric predecessors carefully managed and maintained the open area for a long time, before…

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.

This dissertation attempts to describe the linguistic history of Hittite on the basis of a systematic etymological treatment of its entire inherited lexicon, precisely analyzing the phonological and morphological developments.