Investigating human-environmental relationships in the Zagros region during the Late Glacial, and Early to Mid-Holocene period.

The aim of this three-year long research is to reconstruct the environmental history of Hashilan wetland (Iran) and Lake Ganau (Iraq) during the Late Glacial and Early to Mid-Holocene period (13,000-5000 cal. BP) with a view to correlate changes in vegetation cover and land-use with nearby archaeological records and known periods of climate change.

The results and interpretation will form a key component of this multi-proxy research for the Zagros region to form a better understanding of human-environmental relationships and to what extent early human societies were resilient to changes in the environment and climate.

To produce high-resolution palaeoenvironmental record for Hashilan wetland and Lake Ganau, pollen, microscopic charcoal, non-pollen palynomorphs, and geochemical analyses will be used. This Project is funded by the University of Reading (Scholarship).

Links:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maria_Rabbani

About Me:

I hold a BSc in Archaeology and a MSc (with Distinction) in Environmental Archaeology from the University of Reading. My MSc dissertation investigated the impact of climate change and human activity on the Ligurian Apennine environment (Italy) during the Neolithic and Copper age, for which I won the dissertation prize from the department. I have experience as an environmental science assistant at Border Archaeology and technical assistant at QUEST. I have participated in a number of archaeological excavations including Bestansur (Iraq), Silchester, Vale of Pewsey and Wroughton. Furthermore, I have been involved in sediment coring in Italy and Iran as part of my MSc and PhD, respectively.

Research Interests:

• Palaeoecology.
• Near Eastern archaeology.
•  Geoarchaeology.
• Quaternary environmental change.

Research Groups:

Landscape, Climate and the Lived Environment

Centre for Past Climate Change