SFB 1070 focuses on exploring the social and cultural dynamics related to the use of resources. The innovative perspective on resources surpasses the traditional economic definitions by far. A considerable number of academic disciplines contribute their expertise to the centre: Archaeology, History, Geography, Classical Philology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Economic History and Empirical Cultural Studies.
Overview of the research regions of the SFB 1070 from 2013–2025.
The centre comprises three project divisions – A. Developments, B. Movements and C. Valuations – with subjects spanning a geographical frame from Scandinavia to Central and South Asia. From the age of the Neanderthals to the cultures of Mesopotamia, Phoenician and Roman colonisations and the age of Vikings to present times, SFB 1070 applies a comprehensive perspective to the use and development of resources in a variety of contexts.
The sector divisions are meant to stimulate a cross-interlocking between the project divisions, enhancing multidisciplinarity and addressing recent scientific issues. In contrast to the project divisions the sector divisions will be newly designed for each phase of funding, in order to link always different projects. The results of the first and second phase highlighted three issues as especially innovative and suited for interdisciplinary research in the third funding phase : materiality, knowledge and power.