TYDGADT Lola

Biographie

Career

Lola Tydgadt obtained a Master¿s degree in History of Art and Archaeology (Archaeometry), with Highest Honours, from the University of Liège in 2019. As a student, she was involved in several excavations, post-excavation and prospection campaigns, both in Belgium and abroad (France, United Kingdom, Italy). From 2017 to 2019, she was appointed as a student-instructor in Prehistory while working on her master¿s dissertation, ¿Leave no stone unturned. Étude fonctionnelle des assemblages lithiques protohistoriques de Wanze et Harmignies¿, under the supervision of Dr. Veerle Rots. In 2019, she was appointed as an academic assistant for the Service de Préhistoire (Dr. Pierre Noiret), the Service TraceoLab (Dr. Veerle Rots) and Service d¿Histoire de l¿Art et Archéologie de l¿Antiquité gréco-romaine (Dr. Thomas Morard) of the University of Liège. In addition to teaching activities, she is working on her PhD research under the supervision of Dr. Veerle Rots.

Research

In Palaeolithic studies, projectiles have been under the spotlight for the last two decades, for their significant position as lithic productions, cultural markers, but also as proxies to evaluate cognition and hunting tactics.  Methods to identify projectile points and their propulsion technique (bow and arrow, spear thrower and javelin, throwing and thrusting) have been investigated but mostly targeted apically hafted points. Lola Tydgadt¿s research focusses on creating a method to identify laterally hafted projectiles (barbs) in archaeological samples, and also to distinguish them from apical points and other laterally hafted tools (i.e. knives). By combining technological and functional approaches, she aims to identify the diagnostic wear associated to this material, their propulsion modes and hafting arrangements on an extensive experimental collection. Protoaurignacian bladelets from European contexts are to be used as a case study and application of this identification and characterization method.