Mapping Ancient Africa: Climate, Vegetation & Humans
The “Mapping Ancient Africa: Climate, Vegetation & Humans” commenced in 2021 and finished in 2026. This was is a multi-year project funded by the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), supported by both PALCOM (the Palaeoclimate commission) and HABCOM (the Human & Biospheres commission). The project brought together researchers to gain a better understanding of the relationships between climate change and hominin evolution and cultural development in Africa.
Phase 1 of the project (2021-2023) was lead by William Gosling (University of Amsterdam) and Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr (University of Potsdam / Free University of Berlin), with support from regional hub coordinators: Rahab Kinyanjui (National Museum of Kenya / Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology), Lynne Quick (Nelson Mandela University), and Sarah Ivory (Penn State University). The aim of the first phase was to build a network of researchers interested in past environmental change and human activity in Africa, deliver a research skills workshop, and present findings at the INQUA Rome 2023 congress.
Phase 2 of the project (2023-2026) will be lead by Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr (Free University of Berlin) and Rahab Kinyanjui (National Museum of Kenya / Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology). The aim of the second phase is to develop scientific writing skills among the community and to deliver a special issue of Quaternary International.
The Mapping Ancient Africa (MAA) projected connected over 100 researchers and delivered a double conference session at the XXI INQUA congress in Rome (2023), three training workshops (Italy 2023, Kenya 2024, and South Africa 2026), developed digital platforms to connect researchers (Slack, YouTube, email list, and this blog), and produced a special issue of Quaternary International. Reports and information about the network and all participants can be found in these pages. It is hoped that the network will continue to function as a pathway for researchers to find each other beyond the formal end of the project, and that the collaborations built through the projects will catalize further research into past environmental change in Africa.
On behalf of the MAA project leadership team I would like to thank INQUA for their support and encouragement, and all the participants for their time and energy. I have certainly learned alot from the connections and collaborations I have made through the project, and I am sure I will stay in contact with many people for years to come. If anyone is reading this and wishes to pick up the MAA project or forge new collaborations please do not hestiate to get in contact.
For more information
To find out more about the MAA project set up watch our video introducing the project (2021):
Ecology of the past 