Ecology of the past

Scientific Workshop: Getting to the bottom of the Quaternary

July 8, 2026
WDG

The International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Deep Chew Bahir (DeepCBH) drilling workshop took place in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) between the 30 June and 3 July 2026. The workshop brought around 50 scientists to Ethiopia, with a further 30, or so, in a satellite meeting in Potsdam (Germany) and online. The workshop was lead by Asfawossen Asrat, Verena Foerster, Daniel Gebregiorgis and Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr, and included scientist from 18 different countries (including 5 African countries).

The purpose of the meeting was to, build upon the previous successful drilling of the Chew Bahir basin which raised sediments spanning the last c. 600,000 years (Foerster et al., 2026), and to discuss the opportunities, logistics and requirements to make the recovery of sediments spanning the whole of the Quaternary (last 2.6 million years) from the Chew Bahir basin possible. Obtaining such a record would provide an unprecedented insight into the environmental and climatic change that was the backdrop for the evolution of our genus, Homo.

The skill sets of those attending was as diverse as the challenges and opportunities that undertaking such an epic coring expedition would require. These included the fundamentals of what equipment would be required to recover a sediment core down to depths of 1.2 kms below the Earths surface and what to do with 1.2 kms of sediment once it was recovered; as well as the scientific motivations for doing so from perspectives of hydrology, human-environment interactions and extreme microbial ecosystems.

Over the three days, discussion of the feasibility, ambition and funding was intense, and many steps forward were made in aligning the practical and scientific considerations. It was great to meet everyone and to have a chance to chat about the potential of this exciting project. The next step is to collate the workshop outputs and submit a full proposal to the ICDP in January 2027.

To find out more about the DeepCBH project visit the ICDP web site here.

Visit to the National Museum of Ethiopia

MSc Earth Sciences: Peru field course 2026

July 6, 2026
WDG

As part of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) MSc Earth Sciences we run the course “Field Course Geoecological Systems”. In 2026 we returned to the village of Miraflores in the Lima province of Peru. Partnering with the Institiuto de Montanya (Mountain Institute) in Lima students spent four weeks engaged in participatory research with the Miraflores community. The integration of students within the community was made possible by the work of Mirella Gallardo and Rafa Schmitt.

In this year’s iteration of the course, we had groups of students working on four different topics: (i) water quality, (ii) soil carbon stocks, (iii) microbes and carbon in agricultural soils, and (iv) cultural heritage. The topics of the project were established in advance in consultation of the Mountain Institute and refined during a Town Hall meeting with the Miraflores residents during the first days of the visit.

Through the four weeks of the field work students learnt how to classify soil types, monitor water quality, and read the landscapes geology and geomorphology. Traversing the rugged Andean landscape from our base at c. 3600 meters above sea level up to peaks above 4000 meters. The students also worked with the Miraflores residents to discover their perception and knowledge of the landscape. Following the visits students conducted further analysis of water and soils back in the laboratories at the UvA. Once this work is complete all results will be compiled into a report, in English and Spanish, that will be distributed to participants.

This is the third time this field course has visited Miraflores and this year we were proud to present fliers detailing the key finds of previous years investigation to the community. We would like to thank the community of Miraflores for their continued kind welcome and partnership, and the Yauyos-Cochas National Park for their permission and support to work within this area.

Want to join us for a future expedition? Click here to check out our degree program here to enrol.

Read about past field courses in Peru:

A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the southern sector of the Ostia palaeolagoon and its implications for the reconstruction of late Holocene Sea level variations in central Tyrrhenian Italy

May 28, 2026
WDG

Open access:

Bulian, F., Aukes, T. F. N., Vittori, C., Du Plessis, J., Nascimento, M. N., Mazzini, I., Gravina, M. F., Maurer, A., Petrosino, P., Arienzo, I., Marra, F., & Sevink, J. (2026). A palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the southern sector of the Ostia palaeolagoon and its implications for the reconstruction of late Holocene Sea level variations in central Tyrrhenian Italy. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 695, 113873. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.113873

Decolonizing Biosciences

May 22, 2026
WDG

Octavio Cruces Guaderrama, currently a University of Amsterdam MSc Biological Sciences researcher, runs the “Decolonizing Biosciences” podcast. In his podcasts Octavio brings together colonialism and biology, and aims to understand how colonialism has shaped – and still shapes – biological sciences, by discussing issues such as the misuse of medicine in the colonies, parachute science, and the nature/culture dichotomy.

In his current mini-series he is covering the “History of Amazonia”, with support from the Volkert van der Willigen Fund of the University of Amsterdam. You can listen to the fist Amazonian episode by clicking the link below, and check out his podcast feed here for earlier, and future, episodes.

Departing from Hull

May 11, 2026
WDG

Hull was a departure point for many people across the sea, and also a departure point for me in my life and academic career!

Last weekend I returned to Hull to catch up with friends from my undergraduate days for the first time in more than 20 years! We were all based at the University of Hull “Ferens Hall” hall of residence for our first year (1995-1996), following this we shared houses in the streets around the university main campus. Over the last twenty years later we have all headed off along different an meandering paths in life, but catching up with everyone felt very normal. A testement to the solid friendships developed during those three years at Hull. The reunion was helped along by some Manchester Bitter and Yorkshire stout (not avaliable on tap in the Netherlands) and some fine locations in the redeveloped Hull marina area.

Whilst at Hull, as well as making friends, I studies for a BSc (Hons) in Physical Geography. During my degree I got my foundations and inspiration for exploring past environmental change from a range of great lecturers, memorably including:

Steve Ellis (soil science; and author of the then recently published Ellis & Mellor [1995] text book),
Barbara Rumbsy (past river systems; who – if I remember the rumour correctly – left academia to run a tea shop in the Lake District – was this true?),
Martyn Pedley (sedimentology; double carbonate sedimentology on a Friday afternoon was typically punctuated by a swift trip to the Student Union bar [but we always went back]),
James Brasington (hydrology; who I remember running after down a crowded corridor for some reason long forgotten), and
Jane Bunting (palaeoecology; who really set me on my academic path!).

As an undergraduate arriving in Hull in 1995 I could never have imagined that I would be in Amsterdam 30+ years later working as an academic. I hope that, as an academic today, I manage to convey the same energy and enthusiams for my subject as the lecturers I had at Hull did for me. Who knows where my students, staff, or I, will all be 30+ more years time, but I am sure things will change (and wierdly stay the same) just as much as they have (have not) over the last 30 years. I hope that the path is varied and interesting, and that more friendships and progress are made along the way. So on with the adventure…

Mapping Ancient Africa: New publications by members

May 8, 2026
WDG

Although the Mapping Ancient Africa project is officially drawing to a close, researchers within the network are still actively collaborating and publishing. Periodically I will aim to collate and comment on member outputs that I come across. If you have a paper that should be highlighted here please get in contact and I will be happy to include it.

I have recently come across four papers these cover the role of disease in human evolution (Colucci et al., 2026), the identification and interpretation of charcoal fragments in sedimentary records from western Africa (Cornet et al., 2026), and archaeological evidence for past human activity in Nigeria (Omigbule et al. 2026; Orijemie et al., 2026).

Colucci, M., Leonardi, M., Blinkhorn, J., Irish, S. R., Padilla-Iglesias, C., Kaboth-Bar, S., Gosling, W. D., Snow, R. W., Manica, A., & Scerri, E. M. L. (2026). Malaria shaped human spatial organization for the past 74 thousand years. Science Advances, 12(17), eaea2316. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea2316
Cornet, F., Montade, V., Bodin, S. C., Descloitre, J., Réjou‐Méchain, M., Viennois, G., Aleman, J. C., Assi‐Kaudjhis, C., Kenney, W. F., Oslisly, R., Tossou, M. G., Bremond, L., & Favier, C. (2026). From shape to source: Sedimentary charcoal morphology as a proxy for tropical burned biomass composition. Journal of Quaternary Science, 41(3), 490–506. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70053
Omigbule, A. O., Akogun, M. O., Orijemie, E. A., & Ogunfolakan, A. B. (2026). Aspects of garden-based agroforestry at Igbó-Orítàá, Ìwó, southwest Nigeria (c.14th-17th centuries CE). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 72, 105768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.105768
Orijemie, E. A., Opadeji, O. A., & Alabi, R. A. (2026). Archaeological and palynological evidence of iron smelting and its ecological consequences in the Ijebu Forest, Nigeria. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 61(1), 110–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2025.2594901

Fieldwork in South Africa

April 27, 2026
WDG

By Bouwe Groeneveld (MSc Biological Sciences, track Ecology & Evolution, University of Amsterdam)

From data to reality

Last year, between April and June, I worked on my bachelor project on the fire history of a site in South Africa called Giant’s Castle. From the Netherlands, I analysed sediment cores by counting charcoal fragments and looking at their shape to determine whether they likely came from grass or wood. The results were largely what you would expect in a mountain grassland. Most of the charcoal came from grasses. At the same time, there were clear changes in the composition of the fuel reflected in the charcoal record. I linked the increase in fire activity to the presence of people, and also observed shifts in the types of fuel being burned over time. It felt like slowly unravelling a story from the past. But it also remained abstract. I was working with numbers, figures, and photos of a place I had never actually been to. I had a sense of it, but it did not fully feel real. A year later, I was standing there myself.

From analysis to experience

For my MSc research, I returned to the same system, but this time physically. In the meantime, I had already expanded my earlier work by looking at dung fungal spores, as an indicator for grazing animals, and pollen to reconstruct vegetation dynamics. But to describe vegetation properly, you really have to see it. After a five-day workshop, which I described in a previous blogpost, I spent a weekend at the home of Prof. Trevor Hill and Prof. Jemma Finch. That weekend turned into something like a crash course in South African life. It even included watching their son play a cricket match. What stood out most to me was how much more outdoor-oriented life felt compared to what I am used to in the Netherlands. After that, I was introduced to the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg, where I spent three weeks working in the lab. Interesting work, but I had really come for something else. The field.

First fieldwork: Cathedral Peak

Malaria shaped human spatial organization for the past 74 thousand years

April 23, 2026
WDG

We got the cover photo!
Credit: Martin & Ondrej Pelanek, www.phototrip.cz

Open access:

Colucci, M., Leonardi, M., Blinkhorn, J., Irish, S. R., Padilla-Iglesias, C., Kaboth-Bar, S., Gosling, W. D., Snow, R. W., Manica, A., & Scerri, E. M. L. (2026). Malaria shaped human spatial organization for the past 74 thousand years. Science Advances, 12(17), eaea2316. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea2316

Shared Pasts and Shared Futures in New Orleans!

April 21, 2026
cmcmicha

I just attended a symposium at Tulane University organized by Kris Lane and Jason Nesbitt of the Center for Latin American Studies. “Andes + Amazon, Shared Pasts and Shared Futures” was an amazing interdisciplinary experience, with talks from scholars in disciplines ranging from law and history to paleoecology and paleogenetics. But we all had a common goal, which is understanding how human-environment interactions have shaped, and will continue to shape, the immense biological and cultural diversity of Andean and Amazonian ecosystems.

I enjoyed seeing colleagues, meeting new colleagues, and speaking with PhD students who are eager to work in tropical ecosystems. One of my highlights was meeting Bill Baleé, whose work I’ve read since I was a PhD student. He is a historical ecologist who studies how Indigenous people modify Amazonian forests. His knowledge is immense, and he is also an incredibly warm and welcoming person. I am really looking forward to our future collaborations. I think there is strong momentum coming from this symposium, and we plan to put out a volume of articles that show the importance of a multidisciplinary lens for understanding the future of Andean and Amazonian ecosystems. Stay tuned!

Mapping Ancient Africa: Climate, vegetation & humans

April 14, 2026
WDG

The Mapping Ancient Africa (MAA) special issue in Quaternary International (QI) is now complete. Many thanks to all who contributed to the issue, and special thanks to my co-guest editors Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr and Rahab Kinyanjui, and QI editor Evdokia Tema, for their efforts in putting this together.

To wrap up the MAA special issue the guest editors have written an editorial covering the work of this multi-year project. In this we draw out key themes that have emerged from the work (vegetation dynamics, fire, and human behavior), review the project activities (including workshop photos), and highlight other publications by MAA members (lots of other exciting work going on). You can read all about it in:

Kaboth-Bahr, S., Gosling, W. D., & Kinyanjui, R. N. (2026). Mapping ancient Africa: Climate, vegetation & humans. Quaternary International, 768, 110263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2026.110263 (click here for free open access until 03 June 2026)

The MAA multi-year project supported by INQUA is now in its final stages. We have delivered our final workshop (South Africa), our special issue, and created a body of online resources via this blog and the YouTube channel (>50 MAA videos!) that will hopefully inform and inspire researchers interested in past environmental change in Africa. Most importantly I hope that we have build a network of people (>140 members on our email list at the time of writing) who are passionate and engaged with understanding how climate, vegetation and humans have helped shape the African continent. I hope that these connections will keep building over the coming years and new projects, papers and insights will emerge.

The Ecology of the Past blog will continue, however, it will – of course – miss the regular input from the MAA project. Therefore, if anyone has suitable academic content that they wish to communicate through the blog please do not hesitate to get in contact.

A final thanks to INQUA Palaeoclimate commission (PALCOM) and Humans and Biosphere commission (HABCOM) for their support for MAA since its inception in 2021. Without this funding none of the work would have been possible.

For full list of MAA articles click here.