About ROOTS

ROOTS is a Cluster of Excellence funded by the German Research Foundation as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments.

In this interdisciplinary research network, more than 150 scientists from the humanities, natural sciences, life sciences, engineering and computer science investigate the origins of social, ecological and cultural phenomena and processes that have significantly shaped human development in the past.

The basic assumption of research is that humans and the environment have profoundly shaped each other. The socio-ecological ‘connectivities’ that have emerged in the process continue to this day.

A better understanding of these intertwined dynamics of the past should shed light on the roots of current challenges and crises under different economic, ecological and social conditions.

Within the Cluster of Excellence, six subclusters are dedicated to the six key topics of ROOTS on the basis of specific research questions and selected case studies:

• ROOTS of Socio-Environmental Hazards
• Dietary ROOTS: Domestication, Diet, and Diseases
• Knowledge ROOTS: Innovation, Cognition, and Technology
• Urban ROOTS: Urban Agency and Perception
• ROOTS of Inequalities: Social, Economic, and Environmental Developments
• ROOTS of Conflicts: Competition and Conciliation

The “Reflective Turn Forum” integrates the diverse approaches of the individual disciplines in order to achieve an overarching research dialog.

Within the broad interdisciplinary framework, the “Young Academy” promotes the academic career and personal development of doctoral students and postdocs.

In addition, three platforms support ROOTS research with bundled expertise and infrastructure.

The ROOTS Cluster of Excellence is based at Kiel University. Here alone, 18 different institutes and facilities are involved. The Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Kiel, the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA), the Museum of Archaeology Schloss Gottorf and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology Plön are also involved in ROOTS.

ROOTS is part of an international scientific network and co-operates with numerous institutions in Africa, America, Asia and Europe.

For further information, please visit the ROOTS Website
www.uni-kiel.de/en/cluster-roots