Join the SAPIENCE team! We are hiring. Explore the research opportunities available from October 2025

1 PhD position in Cognitive Science
We are hiring as part of the SAPIENCE (Symbols, Preliteracy and Code Evolution) project, funded by the Fondo Italiano per la Scienza (2 million euros, for 3 years, 2025-2028) a PhD student in cognitive science. The specific focus of this PhD post is to investigate the cognitive mechanisms related to the creation and evolution of prehistoric graphic codes using experimental laboratory techniques, modeling and computational tools. Emphasis will be given to the analysis of the interactions between visual perception, cognitive affordances and perceptual constraints towards the complex configurations that have contributed to the anchoring and harnessing of signs in the invention of first scripts. The position is fully funded.

1 PhD position in Computer Science
We are hiring as part of the SAPIENCE (Symbols, Preliteracy and Code Evolution) project, funded by the Fondo Italiano per la Scienza (2 million euros, for 3 years, 2025-2028) a PhD student who will be working on prehistoric graphic codes from a computational perspective for each context and in comparison. The focus is on the application of deep learning techniques and object recognition software to analyze the development trajectories of graphic codes. Methods such as automatic shape recognition, edge detection, structural comparison (matching) and identification of general configurations (overall shape recognition), will be applied to reveal systematic patterns and paths of graphic evolution in all contexts where codes are harnessed into writing systems (Western Asia, Mesoamerica, and Egypt/Northern Africa). The position is fully funded.

1 PhD position in Aegean Script Formation
We are hiring as part of the SAPIENCE (Symbols, Preliteracy and Code Evolution) project, funded by the Fondo Italiano per la Scienza (2 million euros, for 3 years, 2025-2028) a PhD student who will focus on the prehistory of the Aegean scripts from 4000 years ago. The focus will be on the trajectory to the creation of writing, the iconographic trends and symbols in prehistoric times on Crete and mainland Greece, within a broader framework that will comprise the Eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia and Egypt. The expertise required is both archaeological and epigraphic. The position is fully funded.