Funder: Archaeological Institute of America
Due Dates (Anticipated): September 2027 (Nomination deadline)
Funding Amounts: €1,500 book voucher (approximately $1,700 USD) and an annual journal subscription
Summary: Recognizes doctoral scholarship using material evidence to understand ancient music and dance in ritual and everyday life.
Key Information: Candidates must have defended their Ph.D. thesis no more than two calendar years before the nomination deadline.
Description
The Archaeological Institute of America’s «Telestes» Award recognizes scholars whose doctoral research places material evidence within its archaeological context at the center of understanding ancient music and dance. It encourages work that moves beyond textual sources to explore the cultural and social meanings of performance in ritual activities and everyday life, reconstructing the varied ways and contexts in which music and dance were experienced.
The award seeks to connect archaeomusicology and music archaeology with perspectives from archaeology, art history, archaeology of performance, soundscape archaeology, sensory studies, auditory archaeology, aural architecture, and digital heritage. Cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches are particularly valued. Research may address the broadly defined Mediterranean region or other areas of the world.
