Job description

In the MEMELAND (Molecular Ecology of Medieval European Landscapes) project, we use sedimentary ancient DNA, biomarkers, and archaeobotical information to reconstruct the species-level ecological history of Europe, from the Roman era to the present day. Our findings will shine light on the persistent human influence on ecosystems and biodiversity since the Middle Ages. This information will inform proactive land management, conservation, and heritage-informed restoration, which are crucial to mitigate the impacts of modern climate change. We will analyse 50 strategically selected lake-pairs across northern and central Europe within three archaeological zones. For three of these lake pairs, we will go deeper in time and investigate medieval landscape-lake interactions at a much higher detail. Our goal is to reveal species-level biodiversity of plants, animals (livestock, fish, birds and invertebrates), plants-animal-soil pathogens, and sub-species biodiversity within critical taxa of human agricultural history (e.g. cereals and domestic livestock).