A5054297009- Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
- Ancient Egypt and Archaeology
- Silicon Effects in Agriculture
- Archaeology and Historical Studies
- Agriculture and Rural Development Research
- Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development
- Date Palm Research Studies
- African Botany and Ecology Studies
- Agricultural Innovations and Practices
- Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
- Urban Agriculture and Sustainability
- Cocoa and Sweet Potato Agronomy
- Paleopathology and ancient diseases
- Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology
- Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History
- Banana Cultivation and Research
- Archaeological Research and Protection
- Genetic diversity and population structure
- African history and culture analysis
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Seed and Plant Biochemistry
- Animal and Plant Science Education
- Animal Diversity and Health Studies
- Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
2019-2025
British Museum
2011-2024
Museum of London Archaeology
2011-2014
University College London
2011-2014
Societal Impact Statement Biodiversity is essential to food security and nutrition locally globally. By reviewing the global state of edible plants highlighting key neglected underutilized species (NUS), we attempt unlock plant resources explore role fungi, which along with wealth traditional knowledge about their uses practices, could help support sustainable agriculture while ensuring better protection environment continued delivery its ecosystem services. This work will inform a wide...
The study of plant exploitation and early use cereals in Africa has seen over the years a great input from charred desiccated macrobotanical remains. This paper presents results one few examples microbotanical analyses. Three grave contexts phytolith-rich deposits dental calculus 20 individuals were analysed two Neolithic cemeteries North Central Sudan. radiocarbon-dated phytoliths burial samples show presence Near East domestic Northern Sudan at least 7000 ago. Phytoliths also indicate...
Societal Impact Statement Agrobiodiversity is central to sustainable farming worldwide. Cultivation, conservation and reintroduction of diverse plant species, including ‘forgotten’ ‘underutilized’ crops, contribute global agrobiodiversity, living ecosystems food production. Such efforts benefit from traditional historical knowledge crop plants' evolutionary cultural trajectories. This review a first attempt at systematically gauging species representativeness in studies archaeological...
The food systems and territories of Indigenous Peoples sustain much the world’s biodiversity, cultivated wild, through agroecological practices rooted in cosmovision cultural spiritual values. These have a critical role to play sustainability transformations but are widely threatened received limited research attention. This paper presents results four virtual workshops with Peoples: global workshop local communities coastal Kenya, northeast India southwest China. participants highlighted...
The site of Çatalhöyük occupies a key position within the development larger settlements in south-west Asia, but apparent absence outdoor activity areas has challenged conceptions social interaction site. Where did inhabitants this substantial settlement meet together if there were no public spaces? identification is difficult such densely patterned settlement, micromorphology and phytolith analysis, when used together, can provide secure interpretations. present study applies these methods...
Societal Impact Statement White fonio ( Digitaria exilis [Kippist] Stapf) is an understudied millet crop, indigenous to West Africa and cultivated in the region largely through traditional practices. This species climate‐resilient, fast‐growing, nutritionally rich, provides livelihoods food security rural communities. Through collaboration with smallholder farmers Fouta Djallon region, Guinea, this study investigates how diversity selection of landraces has changed living memory. research...
Societal impact statement Landraces and traditional pea varieties hold great potential for enhancing agrobiodiversity promoting pulse consumption, offering a rich historical cultural resource the UK food system. Unfortunately, many are lost, those surviving mostly in seed banks or used only by small‐scale growers. Minor cultivars landraces overlooked wider systems, making it difficult to integrate them into modern value chains. Reintroduction challenges include complex phenotypic traits,...
Seed germination is highly temperature sensitive. Climate change factors such as increasing temperatures are likely to have a harmful effect on agriculture, particularly after crop sowing. Better utilisation of indigenous, arid–resilient crops like fonio (Digitaria exilis) commonly proposed solution improving food security. This study develops knowledge requirements and how these correspond future climate conditions across West Africa. We use combined approach; integrating seed experiments...
Background and Aims: Millet crops in the grass genus Digitaria include white black fonio (D. exilis D. iburua), raishan compacta) Polish millet sanguinalis), cultivated across West Africa, India, Europe. Fonio are important to supporting food security subsistence agricultural systems rural communities, while sanguinalis is no longer cultivated. These resilient challenging climates. We aim produce an integrated study of these crops: a phylogeny including all four species, identify key crop...
Perspectives from the recent and ancient past are largely underutilized in modern sustainability or food systems studies. However, information about regional crop histories land use through time can add essential value context to debates concerning future agricultural strategies security. In particular, archaeological anthropological research provide long-term perspectives on adaptive solutions resilience that could support for sustainable agriculture, especially developing countries. This...
Social Impact Statement Climate change is expected to disproportionately affect sub‐Saharan Africa in the next century, posing a threat livelihoods of smallholder farmers and deepening food insecurity. To adapt this threat, more climate‐resilient crops need be brought into system; these may developed through breeding with crop wild relatives key traits cope climate change. Here, we assess level open‐access trait documentation 29 important crops, their resilience, how threatened they are...
The date palm, Phoenix dactylifera, has been a cornerstone of Middle Eastern and North African agriculture for millennia. It was first domesticated in the Persian Gulf, its evolution appears to have influenced by gene flow from two wild relatives, P. theophrasti, currently restricted Crete Turkey, sylvestris, widespread Bangladesh West Himalayas. Genomes ancient palm seeds show that theophrasti dactylifera may occurred ∼2,200 years ago, but traces sylvestris could not be detected. We here...
Abstract Across a 1000‐km stretch of the River Nile, from 1st Cataract in southern Egypt to 4th Sudan, many hundreds drystone walls are located within active channels, on seasonally inundated floodplains or now‐dry Holocene palaeochannel belts. These (or river groynes) functioned as flood and flow control structures type now commonly use worldwide. In Nile Valley, have been subject only localised investigations, none radiometrically dated. Some were built living memory trap nutrient‐rich...
Des empreintes sur argile et des phytolithes attestent sans ambiguïté l’existence de la vannerie à Çatalhöyük. On détaille ici les informations complémentaires offertes par une analyse conjointe technologie, usages formes ces vanneries avec l’identification l’étude répartition végétaux utilisés dans cet artisanat.
Iconographic evidence from Egypt suggests that watermelon pulp was consumed there as a dessert by 4,360 BP. Earlier archaeobotanical comes seeds Neolithic settlements in Libya, but whether these were watermelons with sweet or other forms is unknown. We generated genome sequences 6,000- and 3,300-year-old Libya Sudan, worldwide herbarium collections made between 1824 2019, analyzed data together resequenced genomes important germplasm for total of 131 accessions. Phylogenomic...
Bioarchaeological studies of animal dung from arid environments provide valuable information on various aspects life in ancient societies relating to land use and environmental change, the Neolithic onwards husbandry animals as markers status wealth. In this study we present archaeobotanical analysis gut contents burials elite Predynastic cemetery HK6 at Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt. The involved plant macrofossils, phytoliths pollen applied samples two elephants, a hartebeest, an aurochs five...
Abstract Agricultural practices in northern Sudan have been changing rapidly but remain little documented. In this paper we aim to investigate changes crops grown living memory and their uses through interviews with Nubian farmers on the island of Ernetta. By exploring cultivation crop processing practices, together associated material culture foodstuffs, also seek explore how agricultural food heritage are connected, better understand reasons for changes. Several cereals pulses that were...
Community engagement programmes are increasingly designed into archaeological projects in Sudan, largely prompted by the remit and funding of Qatar-Sudan Archaeological Project (QSAP; 2013-present). This paper provides a critical reflection on how British Museum project northern Sudan instigated, evaluated modified its community programme across twelve years, before, during after QSAP funding. We outline transition from western institutional design information sharing, to enhanced...
Societal Impact Statement Plants and agricultural practices are an integral part of human food systems well‐being. Here, example ethnobotanical research approach is provided to increase our understanding the relationship between plants activities in Madagascar, where sector local economy basis. This examines weeds Poaceae family, assessing their recognition societal impacts, quantifying farmers' perception weed's status cropping systems. A better weed knowledge will strengthen ability...