INSTITUTIONS

The Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) is a transdisciplinary institution that promotes advanced research, education and knowledge transfer, and social engagement with science. Therefore, IPHES cross and combine different fields of science, humanities and social sciences, but also geosciences and biosciences to apply them to the study of human and social evolution. Its aim is to promote knowledge both about ancient human species of the past and about human beings today.

At the crossroads between Earth, Life and Human sciences, the Museum focuses on nature and its relationship with the human race on a daily basis, and has done so for almost 400 years. The Museum is fully committed to these issues and occupies a position of reference thanks to its varied missions, which include basic and applied research, conservation and the expansion of its collections, education, expertise and the dissemination of knowledge. The Museum is a research centre and draws on laboratory work and worldwide expeditions, a wide range of disciplines, outstanding collections and recognised expertise. Its mission is also to share knowledge, which it does through education and dissemination activities. With a clear objective - to make knowledge about the natural world accessible to everyone and to make as many people as possible aware of the importance of protecting our planet.

The Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory is responsible for collections that cover a vast expanse of time, from the earliest human tools in Africa and Asia two million years ago to the art and archaeology of Europe from the earliest times to the present day, including the history of Britain under Roman occupation. Curators in the department are experts on a wide variety of subjects, from areas such as Palaeolithic Archaeology (Old Stone Age) in Europe and around the world, Neolithic (New Stone Age), Bronze Age and Iron Age Archaeology in Europe and Roman Britain. Specialists cover many aspects of Medieval, Renaissance and Modern European culture, including twentieth-century design from North America. The department currently has eleven galleries displaying highlights from its collections. As well as exhibitions, we are involved in a wide range of research, excavations and publications and also actively communicate with the public through radio and television programmes and new media.

The CENIEH is a research centre belonging to the national network of Unique Scientific & Technical Infrastructures (ICTS). It is open to scientific and technological use by the international scientific and technological community. Its research activities are mainly on human evolution during the Late Neogene and Quaternary, and include collaborative projects at excavations and deposits of these periods worldwide. Special attention is given to reaching society by awareness raising and knowledge transfer.

The Institute for Pre- and Protohistory at the University of Tübingen with its three divisions is the continuation of the prehistoric research institute founded by R.R. Schmidt in 1921. The Division for Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology conducts field research in the field of prehistoric archaeology in different parts of the world. The training of the students in field work is part of their university education. The division possesses extensive collections: especially the ivory figurines from the Vogelherd, which are among the oldest evidence of prehistoric art, are invaluable.