Modern ecosystems have been shaped by extensive climatic changes, but also by human-environment interactions that already started in prehistoric times. Analysing the fossil record allows us to trace how and when biodiversity has changed through time and how this links to climate change and human activity. In the EvoCave and SaveCave projects we are analysing bones preserved in a number of caves in Norway, including caves that have been used by humans in prehistory. We work with material that has been excavated previously and that is now stored in museum collections, and we also perform new excavations. We work closely with both archaeologists and geologists, enabling us to combine data and insights from different disciplines.
We have different options for master projects. We use zoo-archaeological and osteological methods to analyse the animal diversity present at specific cave sites, and explore how this diversity has changed through time. The species that are represented in bone assemblages are identified and bones are measured and described. We also use DNA analyses to identify species from small bone fragments that cannot be identified visually. This technique is called bulk-bone metabarcoding, where we use DNA barcoding to find which species are represented in a pile of small bone fragments that are powdered and analysed in the laboratory. Finally, we also do population genomic analyses on specific species that are represented in the bone assemblages, to explore how populations have changed through time.
The student will be supervised by Sanne Boessenkool and be part of the vibrant and friendly Archaeogenomics group at CEES
For more information please contact Sanne Boessenkool