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.
Developing new applications for plant wax n-alkane biomarkers can deepen our understanding of ecosystem history. In this thesis I study modern and sedimentary n-alkane signals, sourced along the tropical Andes, to better understand how they can be used as a proxy for past environmental change. The overarching question addressed in this thesis is: what do n-alkane patterns extracted from sedimentary records reflect? Specifically, I address:• Do environmental or taxonomic factors dominate the n-alkane signal?• Does the n-alkane signal alter as the plant material degrades?• How much of the n-alkane variability can be explained by our analytical protocols?I find that the taxonomic and environmental signals of n-alkane patterns are entangled, especially in leaf n-alkanes. Soil n-alkane patterns reflect environmental conditions at the site, but the results cannot rule out a taxonomic signal in soil n-alkane patterns. I also find that, as the source material degrades (leaves), the n-alkane patterns are altered. Although the n-alkane signal is recognizable as having plant origin, there is a reduction in n-alkane pattern variability and the metric for degradation becomes an increasingly important descriptor of the n-alkane pattern shifts observed in soils and sediments. I find evidence that the metric for degradation can be used as proxy for past environmental change, but the application of this n-alkane signal proxy is not straightforward. Finally, I find there is little understanding of how much extraction and measurement protocols contribute to the n-alkane pattern variability and what implications this has on interpretations of the n-alkane signal.
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).
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.
Using phytolith analysis to detect palm enrichment in AmazoniaNina Witteveen (University of Amsterdam)
Starch grains as indicators of plant food consumption in Neanderthals and Early Modern HumansAmanda Henry (University of Leiden)
Paleoenvironmental history of an archaeological lagoon in Central Italy: Insights from diatom analysisMajoi Nacimiento, Teye Aukes & Jan Sevink (University of Amsterdam)
15:45-17:30 – Laboratory activities
Advances in topical phytolith identificationNina Witteveen (University of Amsterdam)
Finding Suitable Grounds – combining the on/off site approach through phytolith investigation in FlevolandAna Smuk (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)
The Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA) is hosting its 24th congress 19-24 May 2024 in the Cango Valley, South Africa. The congress will bring together scientists working on all aspects of the Quaternary in southern Africa. Poster and oral presentations possible.
Abstract submission and student support application deadline: 31 March 2024
The 15th Mapping Ancient Africa seminar took place online on Friday 15th March 2024. The seminar was delivered by Bruk Lemma (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany; Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute – EBI). In the seminar Bruk presented recent advances made in the application of biomarker and stable isotope techniques in revealing the climate dynamics of the Bale Mountains in Ethiopia. He showed that it is possible to identify some plant types using these approaches, but that degradation of the signal in the sedimentary environment is possible.
A workshop will be held at the National Museums of Kenya (Nairobi, Kenya) in June 2024. The aim of the workshop is to help authors prepare articles for the Mapping Ancient Africa (MAA) special issue proposed for publication in Quaternary International and lead by Dr. Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr. The workshop will be associated with the “1st Joint International Scientific Conference” (3-6 June). The MAA workshop is being organized by Dr. Rahab Kinyanjui, and the congress organization is being lead by Dr. Emmanuel Ndiema (click here to watch his 2022 MAA seminar) and Dr. Esther Kioko (Acting Director National Repository and Research).
For further information on attending the MAA workshop please contact Rahab directly.
To find out more about the Mapping Ancient Africa project click here.
Piperno, D.R., McMichael, C.N.H., Pitman, N.C.A., Paredes, M.R., Torres-Montenegro, L.A. & Bush, M.B. (2024) Pre-Columbian vegetational and fire history in western Amazonia: Terrestrial soil phytolith and charcoal evidence from three regions. Quaternary International. DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2024.01.011
Ecology of the past 