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:

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.

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From Writing to Rock Art: A Week at the Mapping Ancient Africa Workshop

March 21, 2026
bouwegroeneveld

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

From 2 to 6 March, I joined the Mapping Ancient Africa Research and Writing Workshop at Fountainhill Estate near Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The week brought together focused writing, interdisciplinary exchange, and time in the landscape.

We began with a speed dating session that set an open and collaborative tone. Participants introduced their research backgrounds, ranging from botany and ecology to geography. The group was highly international, with participants from Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and the Netherlands. This diversity quickly proved valuable, as different perspectives naturally complemented one another throughout discussions.

The second day centred on the challenges of academic writing and publishing. Through group conversations and smaller sessions, we reflected on common difficulties such as structuring arguments and navigating the publication process. Later that afternoon, we walked across the estate to the Holley Shelter archaeological site. During the walk, I noticed how the surrounding landscape offered a sense of calm that contrasted with the intensity of writing. Along the way, we encountered a giraffe standing only a few metres from us, quietly feeding on acacia leaves.

The shelter itself was striking. A clear waterfall flowed down the rock face, catching the sunlight as it filtered into the green valley below. The interplay of water, rock, and light created a remarkably beautiful and tranquil setting, making the site feel both impressive and deeply serene.

Holley Shelter archaeological site
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Vegetation and climate dynamics in a 16,600-year marine sequence offshore Mozambique in Delagoa Bight, south-eastern Africa

September 8, 2025
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Mapping Ancient Africa Quaternary International special issue article #8

Open access:

Neumann, F. H., Finch, J., Hahn, A., Miller, C. S., Scott, L., Schefuß, E., Dupont, L., Cawthra, H. C., & Engelbrecht, F. (2025). Vegetation and climate dynamics in a 16,600-year marine sequence offshore Mozambique in Delagoa Bight, south-eastern Africa. Quaternary International, 747, 109956. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109956

To find the complete list of articles in the Mapping Ancient Africa special issue of Quaternary International click here.

A multi-model approach to the spatial and temporal characterization of the African Humid Period

July 25, 2025
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Mapping Ancient Africa Quaternary International special issue article #7

Open access:

Gosling, W.D., Chevalier, M., Fischer, M.L., Holewijn, M., Finch, J., Gil-Romera, G., Hill, T., Houngnon, A., Leonardi, M., Manica, A., & Kaboth-Bahr, S. (2025). A multi-model approach to the spatial and temporal characterization of the African Humid Period. Quaternary International 744, 109933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109933

Gosling, W.D., Chevalier, M., Lothar Fischer, M., Holewijn, M., Finch, J. M., Gil-Romera, G., Hill, T. R., Houngnon, A., Leonardi, M., Manica, A., & Kaboth-Bahr, S. (2025). Code from: A multi-model approach to the spatial and temporal characterization of the African Humid Period. Figshare. https://doi.org/10.6084/M9.FIGSHARE.29608400.V1

To find the complete list of articles in the Mapping Ancient Africa special issue of Quaternary International click here.

Drivers of vegetation change in tropical Africa

April 9, 2025
WDG

I was delighted to be invited to give a seminar as part of the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology “Human Palaeo-systems Research Group” series. In case you missed it the seminar is will soon be available to watch online (click here).

To see the full list of seminars in the series click here.

Heat, hydroclimate and herbivory

January 6, 2025
WDG

Mapping Ancient Africa Quaternary International special issue article #5

Kiely, R.E., Paine, A.R., McMichael, C.H. & Gosling, W.D. (2025) Heat, hydroclimate and herbivory: A late-Pleistocene record of environmental change from tropical western Africa. Quaternary International 717, 109636. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2024.109636

To find the complete list of articles in the Mapping Ancient Africa special issue of Quaternary International click here.

Climate frameworks for the Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age in Northwest Africa

December 15, 2024
WDG

Mapping Ancient Africa Quaternary International special issue article #4

#openaccess

Boisard, S., Wren, C.D., Timbrell, L. & Burke, A. (2025) Climate frameworks for the Middle Stone Age and Later Stone Age in Northwest Africa. Quaternary International 716, 109593. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2024.109593

To find the complete list of articles in the Mapping Ancient Africa special issue of Quaternary International click here.

Fieldwork in the Drakensberg

December 11, 2024
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South African research trip (part 3 of 3)

by Jelle Kraak

As part of my MSc Biological Sciences research project at the University of Amsterdam I  travelled to Africa, where I first presented the early findings of my research at the SASQUA congress (blog post 1) in Oudtshoorn (Western cape), before heading to the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal (blog post 2). Here I met up with local experts and prepared for the upcoming fieldwork, which the previous parts of this blog series covered. Now, the time has come for the final and best part, about my fieldwork in the absolutely gorgeous Drakensberg mountains.

Aims: As the samples for my research had already been collected earlier by my supervisors Prof. Dr. Jemma Finch & Prof. Dr. Trevor Hill for the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal, our initial goal was to collect various samples (charcoal, sediment cores, etc) for the next students. During my time at the university of Kwa-Zulu natal, however, we realized that it would be great to collect a bunch of C3 and C4 grass species, to extract phytoliths (amorphous silica particles formed in plant tissues) from, which would help with the interpretation of our data. This then became our new focus. To achieve this goal we visited the Drakensberg twice, one day trip in the weekend, and one trip with an overnight stay.

Day 1

After a night of utterly terrible sleep (I was alone on the AirBnB property, the gate did not lock due to the cold, and our dogs started barking at something (someone!?) at 2AM), I woke up at 6AM to get ready for the long day ahead of us. Jemma came to pick me up at the, bringing coffee with her, which I really appreciated. We then picked up Trevor at their place and began our drive towards the mountains.  I had not seen much of the landscape in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province, which turned out to be very compared to the Western Cape. Whereas the western cape had fynbos vegetation (very similar to the Mediterranean, KZN was more savanna like. There was grass everywhere the eye could see, except for the patches of spruce, planted by humans. Halfway through the drive the Drakensberg mountains came into view, which was stunning. We then drove through some small villages, until we finally arrived at the Berg.

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Highland forest dynamics across equatorial East Africa during the end ofthe African humid period

November 6, 2024
WDG

MAPPING ANCIENT AFRICA QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE #2

Ivory, S.J., MacDougal, E., Mason, A., Pereboom, E., Garelick, S., Ficken, K., Wooller, M.J., Nakileza, B. & Russell, J. (2024) Highland forest dynamics across equatorial East Africa during the end of the African humid period. Quaternary International. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2024.10.007

INQUA Fellowship journey: Alfred Hougnon (field work)

October 19, 2024
WDG

INQUA fellow Alfred Hougnon continues his research into past environmental change in the Dahomey Gap (Benin). In the fourth video documenting his progress a short background to the project, and insights into field work, are given. Field work took place near the Ewe-Adakplame forest in the south east of Benin and involved the recovery of sediments using a Russian corer. The video also shows how interactions and engagement with the local community was developed during the research expedition.

To find out more above Alfreds project read posts on:

To watch more videos about past environmental change visit the Ecology of the Past YouTube channel.

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