The University of York hosted a 6 day training workshop for the REAL members and also invited participants from the environment department and other research groups (CAPACITIE, AAREA, ENVIRON). This was held at the University of York Heslington East Campus and the Department of Archaeology, Kings Manor. The training course 24th-26th was aimed at imparting […]
PAA/SAfA Conference 2014
The REAL project was well represented at the jointly held 14th Congress of the Pan African Archaeological Association for Prehistory and Related Studies and the 22nd Biennial Meeting of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists which took place 14th-18th of July at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Nik Petek presented on Gifts, Feasts, and Social […]
Theory and Practice of Stable Light Isotope Mass Spectrometry
Stable isotope analysis has a huge range of applications including understanding the food histories and lifeways of past peoples and the animals they shared their landscapes with. I hope to use the ratio of naturally occurring stable isotopes (δ13C, δ15N, 18O / 16O and 87Sr, 88Sr) to evaluate whether historic and contemporary patterns observed in livestock and pastoral mobility […]
Phytolith Training Workshop – University of Cape Town
During the week of June 30th – July 4th 2014, Anna Shoemaker and Nik Petek had the opportunity to participate in a Phytolith Training Workshop at the University of Cape Town led by Professor Carlos Cordova of the Department of Geography, Oklahoma State University. The workshop was hosted by Professor Michael Meadows, Department of Environmental […]
Project Overview – Resilience in East African Landscapes (REAL)
Project summary The strong temporal dynamics of the East African landscape and natural-resource distributions have always encouraged people to innovate and adapt to changing conditions. However, the realities of current social and environmental changes are occurring at unprecedented rates and amplitudes. Increasing population growth, changes in patterns of land tenure, industrialization, weak systems of governance, […]
Amboseli fieldwork
Assorted REALers accompanied Esther and Colin on their fieldwork trip to the Amboseli region. Two swamps were targeted for analysis, resulting in some beautiful cores and a ton of fun, all under the watchful eye of Mount Kilimanjaro. Further activities included mapping the sediment depth, taking pictures with the trusted Quad “Don’t land me in […]
Workshop on archival sources
From March 24 to 25, 2014, Dr. David Anderson and Dr. Benoit Hazard led a workshop on accessing and critically analysing archival sources and historical research methods at the British Institute in Eastern Africa and the Kenya National Archives. The workshop introduced archival sources and historical research methods to scholars with limited experience in historical research. The workshop […]
Workshop in Palaeoenvironmental Approaches
This week some of the REAL members came together with researchers of the National Museums of Kenya to participate in a workshop in palaeoenvironmental approaches organised by Stephen Rucina, Rob Marchant, and Colin Courtney Mustaphi. The workshop was held at the National Museums in Nairobi. Some of the REAL members enjoying the sun Colin talked […]
ESR 2: On the periphery of living memory in the Amboseli basin human settlement and landscape interaction c. 1700-1950
Early Stage Researcher: Anna Shoemaker Supervision: Paul Lane Host Institution: Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University Duration: 4 years – starting from 1 January 2014 The Amboseli basin in southern Kenya is considered to be a landscape traditionally inhabited by pastoralists, and the Maasai are identified as the indigenous people of the basin. Yet, today […]
Photos from the Baringo conference at the University of Köln
Over January 8-10, 2014, the Global South Studies Center at the University of Cologne hosted a conference and brought together many members of the REAL team and other researchers working in East Africa. The focus was social-ecological transitions, exchange and emergence: resilience and vulnerability in the wider Baringo basin and adjoining highlands. […]
Resilience and vulnerability in the wider Baringo basin
Over January 8-10, 2014, the Global South Studies Center at the University of Cologne hosted a conference and brought together many members of the REAL team and other researchers working in East Africa. The focus was social-ecological transitions, exchange and emergence: resilience and vulnerability in the wider Baringo basin and adjoining highlands. The program is […]
Stockholm GIS workshop, Feb 2014
REAL ESRs participated in the QGIS and R statistical analysis training held 10-14 February at Stockholm University. The QGIS training, organised by the department of Human Geography at Stockholm University included basic GIS exercises, followed by intermediate and advanced GIS analyses involving spatial data analysis, working with terrain data, and accessing public domain geographic data. […]