For more information click here.
Nederlandse Archaeologevereniging – day out
September 1, 2023
Mapping Ancient Africa: Scientists (part 3)
September 1, 2023
The third instalment of interviews with Mapping Ancient Africa scientists is now available. Watch ‘the final four’ below, and check out the other videos by clicking on the names below:
- Alfred Houngnon
- Busisiwe Hlophe, Angela Effion, Bahru Zinaye Asegahegn, Michela Leonardi
- Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr, Mathais Vinnepand, Rahab Kinyanjui, Manu Chevalier
Interview 10: Markus Fisher (University of Potsdam)
Interview 11: Soléne Boisard (University of Montréal) – in French
Interview 12: Trevor Hill (University of KwaZulu-Natal)
Interview 13: Jemma Finch (University of KwaZulu-Natal)
To find out more about the Mapping Ancient Africa project click here.
Mapping Ancient Africa: Special Issue
August 31, 2023
The Mapping Ancient Africa (MAA) project has an open call for contributions to a Special Issue of Quaternary International; the journal of our funder the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA). The concept for the special issue is agreed in principle with the journals editor-in-chief so now it is our task to collate a collection of manuscripts suitable to published in this international peer reviewed journal. The special issue will be based around papers discussed and presented at the MAA workshop in Rome and session at the INQUA congress in Rome in July 2023, but we are also happy to consider other manuscripts that fit within the MAA project area.
To find out if your manuscript idea might fit either explore the MAA web pages or contact a member of the editorial team:
Continue ReadingJob: PhD in Caribbean Palaeoecology
August 29, 2023
The Palaeoecology Research Group within the Department of Archaeology at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany is pleased to announce a new vacancy for a Doctoral student exploring long-term human-environment interactions in the Caribbean. The position will be for a period of 3 years with the option for extensions based in Jena, Germany and supervised by Dr. Yoshi Maezumi. The position will be linked with the Department of Ecosystem & Landscape Dynamics at the University of Amsterdam.
Deadline: 30 August 2023
For full details on how to apply click here.
Mapping Ancient Africa: Scientists
August 25, 2023
During the Mapping Ancient Africa workshop in Rome I conducted short interviews with the scientists involved. The first of these, Alfred Houngnon can be viewed here, below are four more, and more will follow as I get them uploaded. I hope they provide interesting insights into the diverse range of skills and backgrounds our scientists have.
Interview 2: Busisiwe Hlophe (University of the Witwatersrand)
Interview 3: Angela Effion (University of the Witwatersrand)
Interview 4: Bahru Zinaye Asegahegn (University of Cologne)
Interview 5: Michela Leonardi (University of Cambridge)
To find out more about the Mapping Ancient Africa project click here.
Mapping Ancient Africa: INQUA Rome – session 2
August 24, 2023
The second part of the Mapping Ancient Africa session at the INQUA Rome congress contained eight talks. Busisiwe Hlophe (University of the Witwatersrand) kicked us off by showing us the power of looking at wood anatomy preserved in charcoal microfossils to determine the nature of past vegetation and climate. Rahab Kinyanjui (National Museums of Kenya) presented phytolith work from archaeological sites revealing a mixed woody and grassy vegetation associated with archaic Homo sapiens in Kenya.
Three talks from the Cape Region in South Africa then followed with Saul Manzano (University of Leon), Stella Moscher (University of Utah), and Asithandile Ntsondwa (Nelson Mandela University) using various palaeo ecological approaches to explore climate, vegetation and fire regime shifts during the Holocene. Adele Julier (University of Portsmouth) then took us a little further north to Namibia to think about the challenges of parameterising modern pollen-vegetation relationships in arid regions. The final southern African talk was given by Gemma Poretti (University of Cape Town) explored a new approache to tracking change in past rainfall patterns using charcoal material.
Continue ReadingMapping Ancient Africa: INQUA Rome – session 1
August 18, 2023
On Wednesday 19 July 2023 the Mapping Ancient Africa session of the INQUA Rome congress took place. We were delighted to have an full program of speakers despite some late cancellations. The first session featured seven speakers.
The first two talks focused on southern Africa. The first talk by Liviu Giosan (Woodshole Oceanographic Institute) focused on new sediment cores extracted from the Okavango – Makgadikgadi region and new efforts to obtain sediment cores that can provide information on the dispersal of hominins. Brian Chase (CNRS) then looks us to the Karoo highlighting recent findings that suggest that this currently arid region was more habitable in the past and that a proliferation of stone tools suggests past peoples utilised the region extensively (Carr et al., 2023).
Continue ReadingUncovering Ecuador’s landscapes and cultures: A student adventure
August 16, 2023
By: Lina Cabrera Sáenz and Bianca Gomes
We invite you to join us on an incredible journey through the heart of Ecuador, where a group of adventurous students from Florida Institute of Technology embarked on a life-changing experience as part of the Neotropical Archaeoecology summer field course. Buckle up as we delve into the marvels of nature, indigenous cultures, and unforgettable experiences. Let’s dive right in!
Unveiling the Andes
Our adventure began with a breath-taking visit to the Paramo at Cayambe-Coca National Park. Paramos are high altitude (3000-4000 metres) wet grasslands above the tree line and below the snow line within the equatorial Andes. Our tour guides Patricio and Byron gave us information about the local vegetation, focusing on the Polylepis tree (locally known as “paper tree”), which is unique to this sort of habitat. They also told us about some of the fascinating wildlife that can be seen here, such as the Andean Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) and the Andean Puma (Puma concolor).
We then descended through the cloud forest (3,600–3,400 meters) and lower montane rainforest (3,400–2,500 meters). Across these various habitats, we documented changes in hummingbird abundance and recorded their behaviour at four different feeder points: Guango Lodge, La Brisa, San Isidro Lodge, and Cascada el Hollin. The sheer diversity of hummingbird species left us in awe, and we marvelled at their iridescent feathers and incredible agility.
We explored a waterfall near San Isidro Lodge (https://cabanasanisidro.com), and we were able to observe pre-Inca pottery. At the lodge we also saw a diverse array of bird species, which was delightful! The forest’s nightlife brought us close encounters with a group of nocturnal monkeys, and to our surprise, we stumbled upon a very rare mountain tapir. The following morning we saw a small agouti (a small rodent) prowling around the lodge, and ended our adventures in the cloud forest on a high note.
San Isidro waterfall and some of the animal diversity we observed
Continue ReadingMapping Ancient Africa: INQUA Rome session (updated)
July 16, 2023
The Mapping Ancient Africa (MAA) project has a double session of talks and a poster session at the INQUA congress in Rome 2023. Our session will be on Wednesday 19 July. Unfortunately a number of the originally planned speakers could not make it to Rome due to a combination of not obtaining visas, logistical challenges and ill health. We wish them all well and hope that they will continue to be involved in the project. Further, many thanks to all those who have agreed to step up and give a presentation at a late notice. Below is an updated schedule correct as of Sunday 16 July based on the information contained on the INQUA Rome App; if you are aware of any further problems or changes please let me know ASAP!
If you are at the INQUA Rome congress please come along to our talks and posters in Session 64: Mapping Ancient Africa: Climate, Vegetation & Humans.
Part 1: 08:30-11:00
- Giosan et al. When the desert was a lake: Providing context for Homo sapiens development in the northern Kalahari
- Chase et al. Paleolakes and socioecological implications of glacial “greening” of the South African interior
- Blinkhorn et al. Evaluating refugia in recent human evolution in Africa
- Aureli et al. Homo sapiens behaviour and adaptation in East Africa. New evidence from an open-air site in a modern Ethiopian savannah environment: the GOT10 site
- Effiom et al. Late Holocene palaeoecological studies at Lake St Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal
- Tallavaara et al. Pan-African Climate and Vegetation over the Quaternary and Implications for Human Distribution
- Quick et al. Palaeoenvironments of the Cape Floristic Region: New research & current developments
Part 2: 11:00-13:00
Continue ReadingMapping Ancient Africa: Rome workshop – gallery
July 15, 2023
The Mapping Ancient Africa workshop took place on the 12-13 July 2023 at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome. At this INQUA funded workshop we played with palaeoclimate models and discussed past environmental change across the continent. Here are some picture of us in action. To find out more click here.
Day 1: Modelling past climate through the pastclim package, and reconstructing past climate through CREST
Ecology of the past 