Major debates in later prehistory, following the establishment of farming, relate to the social and wider ecological implications of farming practices and their long-term consequences. A range of complementary methodologies is now available to identify and track land management practices, and to reassess conventional theories of agricultural 'intensification' as urban societies developed. The DPhil student will be part of an international interdisciplinary research group conducting pioneering fieldwork on the ecological characterisation of ancient and traditional modern farming regimes. The student will be generally engaged in interpreting archaeobotanical datasets as evidence of farming practices. The details of any DPhil project will be defined in discussion with the student, but there are a number of potential avenues of research, including morphological identification of ancient crop and weed assemblages from archaeological sites; application of stable isotope ecology and/or plant functional ecology to the elucidation of crop growing conditions and land management practices; and ethnobotanical investigation of traditional modern agricultural regimes
Experience & Qualifications
PhD in Archaeology, University of Sheffield
19 years' teaching experience as lecturer/professor