Archaeology Research

We welcome Alexandra Vasilieva on the MSCA AFRI-DRY project; Alexandra joined Archaeology in January 2025. She will be working on a project entitled "Land cover changes and formation of cultural landscapes’ focusing on southern Africa

She tells us a little about herself:

"I am a palynologist specialising in reconstructions of Holocene vegetation dynamics. My experience includes classical palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, which combine fossil-inferred data – in my case pollen – from lacustrine deposits or peat with radiometric dating results in order to establish landscape changes over time. I was educated at St Petersburg University, my previous studies focused on NW Russia. 

The main challenge of such palaeoecological investigations, however, remains to make reconstructions as detailed as possible – both in terms of qualitative and quantitative approaches. This requires a strong emphasis on investigating contemporary pollen samples in relation to modern vegetation composition, which was the exact focus of my most recent research. Pollen-vegetation relationship studies can shed light on comprehensive interpretation of pollen data, e.g. determination of indicator species or correct quantitative interpretation of pollen ratios. This is particularly significant for establishing minor environmental changes and nature-human interactions in the past. My research interests also encompass pollen-based modelling, which is considered an important tool allowing more objective and unified reconstructions. I have experience in biome modelling and REVEALS.

My role within the AGRI-DRY project will consequently involve investigating fossil samples for palynology, combined with applying appropriate modelling techniques to pollen dataImplementing some of the models will require their additional development, leading me to also focus on the study of modern samples and vegetation. All this will enable exploring human-induced landscape and biodiversity changes, especially the impacts of early farming communities, as well as the broader palaeoenvironmental context of the region”

Alexandra will be working closely with AGRI-DRY project colleagues and is supervised by Professor Nicki Whitehouse, Dr Bianca Cavazzin (UoG and University of Canterbury), Professor Jasper Knight (Wits) and Professor Frank Neumann (NWU).

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First published: 24 February 2025