Research divisions

Research division No. 1: Resilience

The aim is to find out the laws, on the basis of which certain societies – manifesting themselves through the remains of their settlements and economic and social activities – are resistant to negative phenomena that come from the outside or have been caused or accelerated by the societies themselves. The focus is on defunct as well as existing human settlements in the landscape and the research into their continuity/discontinuity from the point of view of internal and external factors (overpopulation, soil erosion and degradation, climatic impact) that influenced the resilience of human settlement and its formation (emergence and disappearance of individual settlements, nucleation of settlements, urbanization, etc.).

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This research division focuses on formulating models of social resilience in relation to technological progress, innovations, and economic strategies (e.g. source management or recycling) that affect social relations and the quality of human life. The focus of this research division is on movable artefacts, materials and remains of living organisms that entered the production process at a specific stage of their life cycle or were directly affected by it. By combining the research on carefully selected materials, it is possible to effectively investigate the impact of technology on human society.

Not a single research objective can be implemented without dates obtained by the radiocarbon dating method. This is the only way to connect the knowledge of the humanities and natural sciences into a functional whole. The work of the Centre is divided into a) support of research carried out within other research divisions of the project, b) own research in the field of absolute and relative dating in archaeology and palaeoecology, and c) the issue of radiocarbon dating and the related methodological problems (new procedures and possibilities of absolute dating).

The aim of this part of the project is to study, especially with a focus on the 20th century, the relationship between science, society and politics. Furthermore, to analyse the tension between the humanities and the life sciences, which during the 20th century became the key to “sorting” the scientific world. The Research division No. 5 wants to understand the current dynamics interlinking science and society in the Czech Republic, Europe and at the global level. This division will also publish the magazine “Re:vize. Pohledy na minulost a současnost” (Re:vision. Views of the Past and the Present) intended for the general public.