Mapping Ancient Africa: Seminar 18

June 4, 2024
WDG

On the 20 June 2024 (17:00-18:00 CEST) the next Mapping Ancient Africa (MAA) online seminar will take place. This talk will introduce a parallel INQUA funded project “PalaeoHome” (@PalaeoHome). It is hoped that there can be complimentary lines of research identified between PalaeoHome and the MAA projects.

  • Speaker:  Kumar Akhilesh1*
  • Co-authors: Prachi Joshi1, Yanni Gunnell2, Anupama K3, Doris Barboni3, Vandana Prasad4, Mohammad Sahnouni5, Sileshi Semaw5, Razika Chelli6

  • Title: PalaeoHome Palaeolithic Hominins and Habitats: Out of Africa to South Asia
  • Abstract: Evidence of enduring preference among hominins for particular geographic places or habitats over long periods is a global phenomenon in the Palaeolithic. Sites such as Attirampakkam (India), have evidence of Early Pleistocene Acheulian occupation contemporary with some sites in East Africa and elsewhere. Ongoing work at Sendrayanpalyam in the vicinity of ATM, suggest more variability than expected in Lower Palaeolithic assemblages in India. Comparative studies between Lower Palaeolithic assemblages and their ecological settings in key areas of both Africa and India as well as along regions of population migration, carry implications for investigating debates on the routes and timing of migrations and evolution of Oldowan and Acheulian technocomplexes. Here, we discuss aspects of research that seeks to bring together experts working in India, Africa, Arabia, and SW and E Asia to address major issues related to multiple questions on the ‘Out of Africa’ story as related to chronology, palaeoenvironments and behavioural variability over the Lower Palaeolithic (Early to Middle Pleistocene), exploring similarities as also differences in evolutionary trajectories. We plan to establish inclusive global networks of scientists with similar interests, embracing diversity and differences in views, to organise hybrid meetings (online, in-person in India and Ethiopia) uniting established scientists and with a prominent ECR component. A key part includes skill development amongst ECRs who will also join us in engaging in public outreach and science communication to generate an awareness of prehistory among children, teachers and the wider public. Above all, this project seeks to build global networks of scientists from diverse disciplines to share ideas that can culminate in publications that explore diverse opinions on topics of key interest in the Lower Palaeolithic of India and Africa.

The seminar will be delivered via Zoom. The link for the seminar can be obtained from the MAA Slack channel or by contacting the chair of this seminar (Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr). If you want to know more about the Mapping Ancient Africa project visit our web pages and please do not hesitate to get in contact if you want to get involved.

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Phytoliths, starch grains and diatoms

May 29, 2024
WDG

Caroline Goossens receives the Florschütz Award.

On Friday 24 May 2024 the Palynologische Kring (Dutch palynological society) held a seminar series and laboratory workshop at the Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics (University of Amsterdam). During the afternoon we had the annual meeting of the society, the presentation of our MSc Thesis prize, four seminars and two laboratory demonstrations. The MSc thesis prize “Florschütz Award” was won by Caroline Goossens (VU Amsterdam) for her thesis entitle: “An Eemian-Early Weichselian sequence in the Amersfoort Basin, the Netherlands”; the project was supervised by Natalie Van der Putten, Cees Kasse and Jeroen Schokker. We hope that Caroline will present her thesis at a future Palynologishe Kring meeting.

Teye Aukes presenting on the diatoms of ancient Rome

The talk series was kicked off by Nina Witteveen (University of Amsterdam) who presented part of her PhD thesis (currently awaiting defense), entitled: “Long-term forest recovery in Amazonia insights from phytolith analysis”. Nina discussed the impact of past peoples on the vegetation of Suriname based on her work identifying phytoliths in soil samples collected at varying distances from an archaeological site. The second talk was given my Amanda Henry (Leiden University) who demonstrated how the analysis of starch grains extracted from archaeological context can provide insights in to past diets. She used these evidences to suggest that early humans and Neanderthals had a similar diversity of plants in their diets. The third talk was given by University of Amsterdam MSc researcher Teye Aukes and focused upon his identification of diatoms from an swampy lagoon environment near Ostia (Italy). He drew conclusions from these data about the antiquity of salt production in ancient Rome. The final talk was given online by Welmoed Out (Moesgaard Museum) who presented a detailed analysis of inter- and intra-analyst variability in phytolith morphometric analysis.

After the seminars we moved upstairs to the microscope laboratory where Nina Witteveen and Ana Smuk (University of Groningen) showed off phytoliths from their study site in South America and the Netherlands.

Some of the Palynologische Kring members enjoying some refreshment after the event.

XXIV Biennial Congress of the Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA)

May 17, 2024
WDG

The SASQUA congress will kick off next week (19-24 May 2024) in Cango Valley (South Africa). Sessions cover many aspects of Quaternary science and range from archaeology through palaeoclimate to geological topics. The full program is now available to download.

  • Quick, L.J & Asithandile, N. (2024) Proceedings of the XXIV Biennial Congress of the Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA), Cango Valley, South Africa, 19-24 May 2024. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11125697

To find out more about the meeting and other SASQUA activities you can also visit the organizations web pages: https://sasqua.co.za/

Mapping Ancient Africa: Video of seminar 17

May 17, 2024
WDG

The 17th online Mapping Ancient Africa seminar took place on Thursday 16 May 2024. The seminar was delivered by N’dji dit Jacques Dembele and was entitled “Evidence of recent seismicity in the West African Craton: The Bamako seisemites Mali”. In the seminar surprising new evidence for Quaternary seismic activity within the West African Craton – which was thought to be tectonically stable – was presented. Specifically, the identification of clastic dykes and deformation within sedimentary and lacustrine deposits was used to suggest past high magnitude earth quakes in the last 170,000 years.

Details of this seminar can be found here. You can find more Mapping Ancient Africa seminar videos on the “Ecology of the Past” YouTube channel.

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Mapping Ancient Africa: Seminar 17

May 15, 2024
WDG

The next Mapping Ancient Africa seminar will take place online at 17:00 CEST on 16 May 2024.

  • Speaker: N’dji dit Jacques Dembele (President of WAQUA, Université des sciences sociales et de gestion de Bamako, Mali)
  • Title: Quaternary period seismicity on the West African Craton

The seminar will be delivered via Zoom. The link for the seminar can be obtained from the MAA Slack channel or by contacting the chair of this seminar (Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr). If you want to know more about the Mapping Ancient Africa project visit our web pages and please do not hesitate to get in contact if you want to get involved.

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Mapping Ancient Africa: Video of seminar 16

April 15, 2024
WDG

The 16th Mapping Ancient Africa seminar took place online on Friday 12th April 2024. The seminar was delivered by Stéphanie Bodin (Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt). In the seminar Stéphanie demonstrated how the examination of ancient charcoals found in caves used for shelter by hunter-gather populations living in Ethiopia at the end of the African Humid Period (4,000-2,000 years ago) can provide insights into vegetation and human selection of woody resources.

Details of this seminar can be found here. You can find more Mapping Ancient Africa seminar videos on the “Ecology of the Past” YouTube channel.

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Pre-contact and post-colonial ecological legacies shape Surinamese rainforests

April 10, 2024
WDG

Open access:

Witteveen, N.H., White, C., Sánchez-Martínez, B.A., Philip, A., Boyd, F., Booij, R., Christ, R., Singh, S., Gosling, W.D., Piperno, D.R. & McMichael, C.N.H. (2024) Pre-contact and post-colonial ecological legacies shape Surinamese rainforests. Ecology, e4272. DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4272

PhD Scholarship program for migrants in the Netherlands

April 5, 2024
WDG

The Dutch science foundation (NWO) currently has a call for proposals to support migrants to the Netherlands to undertake a PhD project.

Applicants must have:

  • a Dutch passport (or residency status),
  • a masters level degree from a university in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and
  • have been born in specific regions outsides the Netherlands (or be the child of someone born outside the Netherlands)

For full details click here visit the NWO Mozaiek 2.0 call web page.

If you think you might fulfill all the criteria for application, and are interested in conducting a PhD on a “ecology of the past” related theme at the University of Amsterdam, please do not hesitate to get in contact. I am then happy to check eligibility and discuss if your skill set and interests would be appropriate to apply for a PhD scholarship with us. I would be delighted if we would be able to support an applicant to this scheme.

Deadline for applications: 21 May 2024 (but please get in contact as soon as possible so that we can make the relevant eligibility checks and discuss ideas).

Contact: William D. Gosling

Mapping Ancient Africa: Quaternary International special issue

April 5, 2024
WDG

The Mapping Ancient Africa (MAA) special issue of Quaternary International (QI) will open for submission on 30 April and will close 30 July 2024. To submit your article go to the QI submission portal and click “submit new article”, you will then be asked to “select article type”. From the drop down list select “SI: Mapping Ancient Africa”. This will ensure that your manuscript is directed to the guest editorial team. Submissions should follow the standard QI guideline (click here for details) and take account of the advice for submission to this special issue (click here for details).

The special issue is centered around work and papers presented in the MAA Rome workshop and sessions at the INQUA Rome congress (session 1, session 2), however, if you have a manuscript that you think would be appropriate for inclusion given the research themes of the project please also consider submitting. If you have any questions feel free to contact the editorial team in advance.

For further information on:

Presenters in the Mapping Ancient Africa session of the INQUA Rome congress 2023
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What has biogenic silica ever done for us?

April 3, 2024
WDG

Siliceous Microfossils Meeting

  • Date: Friday 24 May 2024
  • Location: Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam

Program

  • 13:00-14:00 – Palynologische Kring society annual meeting
  • 14:00-14:15 – Coffee
  • 14:15-15:45 – Seminar series
    • Using phytolith analysis to detect palm enrichment in Amazonia Nina Witteveen (University of Amsterdam)
    • Starch grains as indicators of plant food consumption in Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans Amanda Henry (University of Leiden)
    • Paleoenvironmental history of an archaeological lagoon in Central Italy: Insights from diatom analysis Majoi Nacimiento, Teye Aukes & Jan Sevink (University of Amsterdam)
  • 15:45-17:30 – Laboratory activities
    • Advances in topical phytolith identification Nina Witteveen (University of Amsterdam)
    • Finding Suitable Grounds – combining the on/off site approach through phytolith investigation in Flevoland Ana Smuk (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

If you are not already a member and would like to attend please contact the society via email or the web portal: https://www.palynologischekring.nl/contact/

To find out more about the Palynologische Kring click here to visit the web site.

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