Maikel Kuijpers
Assistant Professor
- Name
- Dr. M.H.G. Kuijpers
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 2386
- m.h.g.kuijpers@arch.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-9923-0441
Maikel Kuijpers is Assistant Professor in European Prehistory at the Faculty of Archaeology. Though trained as an archaeologist, his work blurs the boundaries between the history of knowledge, anthropology, sociology, and archaeology.
More information about Maikel Kuijpers
News
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Archaeologist Maikel Kuijpers signs international book contract with Penguin Press -
Archaeologist Everest Gromoll wins LUF Thesis Prize with groundbreaking research on human responses to climatic shifts -
Registration open new minor Violence Studies -
Talk and debate: how do we prevent science from harming the environment? -
New courses on 'Violence'
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Archaeologists receive funding for science communication: ‘We want to change the public image of archaeology’ -
Leiden students offer ideas on restoring an antique ship -
Leiden archaeologists in international media on early form of money in the Bronze Age -
Leiden archaeologists discover an early form of money from Prehistoric Central Europe
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Archaeologist Maikel Kuijpers reflects on academic feud over Nebra sky disc -
Maikel Kuijpers takes an archaeological perspective on the materials that shape our world -
'Small brewers show how craft principles could reshape the economy – but they’re under threat' -
New documentary “The Future is Handmade” reflects on value of craft -
Archaeologist helps develop board game on European prehistory -
Ancient populations pioneered the idea of recycling waste -
Archaeologist argues for circular economy during Carnegie Peacebuilding Conversations
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Archaeologists in action: stories from the field -
Archaeologist involved in developing boardgame -
Boest: Bronze Age at its best
See also
Research
Maikel Kuijpers is Assistant Professor in European Prehistory at the Faculty of Archaeology. Though trained as an archaeologist, his work blurs the boundaries between the history of knowledge, anthropology, sociology, and archaeology.
His archaeological specialisation is the Bronze Age, specifically metalworking. From this, over the course of 10 years of academic work, he developed a broad interest in craftsmanship, skill, and cognition. What is knowledge, how is it produced, and why is it valuable?
Curriculum Vitae
Maikel graduated at Leiden University in 2008 following the Research Master track together with a minor at the Art Academy in Den Hague. His RMa thesis Bronze Age metalworking in the Netherlands was awarded with the W.A. van Es Prize for Dutch Archaeology. In 2009 Maikel secured a PhD position at the University of Cambridge as part of a Marie Curie Innovative Training Network: Forging Identities: the mobility of culture in the Bronze Age. The results of his PhD were published with Routledge: An Archaeology of Skill. In 2012 he became an affiliated researched in the CinBa project (Creativity and Craft in the Middle and Late Bronze Age). Maikel successfully defended his dissertation in 2014, after which he returned to Leiden.
He is currently also research co-ordinator for the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre for Global Heritage and a post-doc researcher in the Economies of Destruction project. Here, his main concerns are the (mass)production and deposition of rings, ribs, and axes in the Early Bronze Age, which are potential early forms of money.
Archaeology is a way of thinking
Additionally, Maikel takes great interest in the relevance of archaeology for today’s challenges. Arguing that “archaeology is a way of thinking” he uses the past as a resource to understand fundamental processes that shape our societies. He has published for the Conversation and his work has featured as part of Tegenlicht documentary. He has helped to develop the board-game EPOCH: Early Inventors, based on his lectures on prehistoric innovations.
His background at the Art academy gave him the expertise to take on the role of director and producer of documentaries and animations. Among other things, he has worked on film for the National Museum of Antiquities and the animation for the Faculty of Archaeology. His most recent documentary – the Future is Handmade – is featured on The Craftsmanship Initiative and questions the relevance of skill in today’s economy.
Assistant Professor
- Faculteit Archeologie
- World Archaeology
- Europese Prehistorie
Guest
- Science
- Centrum voor Milieuwetenschappen Leiden
- CML/Industriele Ecologie
- Kuijpers M.H.G. & Popa C. (2021), The origins of money: calculation of similarity indexes demonstrates the earliest development of commodity money in prehistoric Central Europe, PLoS ONE 16(1): e0240462.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (9 November 2021), Zonder glas geen kastomaten, wolkenkrabbers of leesbrillen. Maar heeft het een duurzame toekomst?. De Correspondent.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (9 November 2021), Ons materiaalgebruik is de crux van het klimaatprobleem. De Correspondent.
- Bourgeois Q., Fontijn D., Louwen A.J., Jansen R., Kuijpers M., Amkreutz L. & Soressi M. (29 June 2020), Prehistorie was niet zo wit als in de canon. De Volkskrant, Opinie en Debat: 24.
- M.H.G.Kuijpers (1 September 2020), Deze vier materialen vormen de moderne wereld, maar maken haar ook kapot. Wat zijn de alternatieven?. De Correspondent.
- M.H.G.Kuijpers (8 September 2020), Voor écht duurzaam beton moeten we bij de Romeinen zijn. De Correspondent.
- M.H.G.Kuijpers (21 September 2020), Staal is onmisbaar én supervervuilend. Hoe ziet een duurzame ijzertijd eruit?. De Correspondent.
- M.H.G.Kuijpers (7 October 2020), De belangrijkste uitvinding van de 20ste eeuw houdt ons in leven én is een ramp voor het milieu. De oplossing? Minder vlees eten. De Correspondent.
- M.H.G.Kuijpers (17 November 2020), Plastic is briljant. Het verdient meer dan de prullenbak. De Correspondent.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2020) Ethno-deterministic perspectiveson making and knowing. Review of: Sillitoe Paul (2017), Built in Niugini: constructions in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Made in Niugini: technology in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Canon Pyon: Sean Kingston Publishing. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 26: 652-654.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2019), Materials and skills in the history of knowledge: an archaeological perspective from the 'Non-Asian' field, Technology and Culture 60(2): 604-615.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2019) Trevor H.J. Marchand (ed.). Craftwork as problem solving: ethnographic studies of design and making. xviii, 267 pp., table, illus., bibliogrs. London: Routledge, 2018. £115.00 (cloth). Review of: Trevor H.J. Marchand (ed.) (2018), Craftwork as problem solving: ethnographic studies of design and making. London: Routledge. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 25: 616-617.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2019), Material is the mother of innovation. In: Mignosa A. & Kotipalli P. (Eds.), A cultural economic analysis of craft. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. 257-270.
- Kuijpers M.H.G., Popa C. & Kroezen J. (20 March 2019), Small brewers show how craft principles could reshape the economy: but they're under threat (The Conversation). [web article].
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (Producer) (2019), The future is handmade documentary. [film].
- Kuijpers M.H.G. & Martyn F. (2018), EPOCH: Early Inventors - board game. [other].
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2017), An Archaeology of Skill. Metalworking Skill and Material Specialization in Early Bronze Age Central Europe: Routledge.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2017), A Sensory Update to the Chaîne Opératoire in Order to Study Skill: Perceptive Categories for Copper-Compositions in Archaeometallurgy, Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 25(3): 863-891.
- Mödlinger M., Kuijpers M.H.G., Braekmans D.J.G. & Berger D. (2017), Quantitative comparisons of the color of CuAs, CuSn, CuNi, and CuSb alloys, Journal of Archaeological Science 88: 14-23.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2017), The Bronze Age, a World of Specialists? Metalworking from the Perspective of Skill and Material Specialization, European Journal of Archaeology 21(4): 550-571.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2015), Some thoughts on quality and skill in Early Bronze Age axes. In: Ball E.A.G. & Arnoldussen S. (Eds.), Metaaltijden 2. Bijdragen in de studie van de metaaltijden.. Leiden: Sidestone Press. 19-28.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2015), Contradicting Context: Understanding Early Bronze Age Axes from the Perspective of Production. In: Suchowska-Ducke P., Reiter S.S. & Vandkilde H. (Eds.), Forging Identities. The Mobility of Culture in Bronze Age Europe: Volume I. Bar International Series no. S2771. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports. 203-212.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2014), Review of: Hamilakis Y. (2014), Archaeology and the Senses: Human Experience, Memory, and Affect.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Norwegian Archaeological Review 47(2).
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2014), Europese smaak als wapen. [film].
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2014), Archaeology in Transition film. [film].
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2013), The sound of fire, taste of copper, feel of bronze, and colours of the cast: sensory aspects of metalworking technology. In: Sørensen M.L.S. & Rebay-Salisbury K. (Eds.), Embodied Knowledge: Historical Perspectives on Belief and Technology. Oxford: Oxbow books. 137-150.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2012), Towards a Deeper Understanding of Metalworking Technology. In: Kienlin T.L. & Zimmerman A. (Eds.), Beyond Elites. Alternatives to Hierarchical Systems in Modelling Social Formations. International Conference at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany, October 22-24, 2009.. Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie no. 215. Bonn: R. Habelt. 413-422.
- Fokkens H. & Achterkamp Y. (2008), Bracers or bracelets? About the functionality and meaning of Bell beaker wrist-guards, proceedings of the prehistoric society 74: 109-140.
- Kuijpers M.H.G. (2008), Bronze Age metalworking in the Netherlands (C. 2000-800BC). A research into the preservation of metallurgy related artefacts and the social position of the smith. Leiden: Sidestone Press.
- Journalistiek