Position: Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Professor Current Address: Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Professor of the Deep History & Archaeology of Africa Department of Archaeology Cambridge University, United Kingdom Email: pjl29@cam.ac.uk Website link Previous address during the REAL project ITN (Professor of Global Archaeology): Institute for Archaeology and Ancient History Uppsala Universitet Box 626 751 26 Uppsala Sweden […]
Where is Paul now?
Prof. Paul Lane currently the Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Professor of the Deep History & Archaeology of Africa at the University of Cambridge, UK, and is presently involved in the following research and training projects: 2025-2029 Principal Investigator, Landscape Historical Ecologies of Ancient African Pastoralists (LHEAAPS) European Research Council Advanced Grant / UKRI Frontier Research for research on […]
New paleoenvironmental record from Chalbi Desert, northern Kenya
First Online in The Holocene journal 29.04.2026 Three alumni researchers of the EU Marie Cure Action ITN funded ‘REAL project’ supported the analysis and dissemination of a new diatom, pollen and charcoal record from Erenderi, Marsabit, Kenya, led by Veronica Muruiri et al., 2026. References Muiruri V, Courtney-Mustaphi C, Marchant R, Nkirote M’Mbogori F, Minya A, […]
Where is Nik now?
Since completing his MSCA ITN, Nik has been a curator for the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme at the British Museum where he helped set up a digital repository for preserving material and crafting knowledge; a MSCA fellow in Archaeology at Cambridge University where he researched the recent social and material cultural history of the Ilchamus […]
ERC Synergy Grants 2025 highlights
Synergy Grants 2025: Examples of projects 6 November 2025 Originally posted https://erc.europa.eu/news-events/news/synergy-grants-2025-examples-projects How do you solve science’s toughest puzzles? By joining forces. Sixty-six research teams, bringing together 239 scientists, will receive a total of €684 million in European Research Council Synergy Grants to tackle some of the most challenging scientific questions across a broad range […]
Introducing the new MCAA brand and website
We are proud to share with you our new brand identity and website. This comprehensive update, effective immediately, improves our alignment with the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme and enhances compliance with accessibility requirements, ensuring a more inclusive experience for our diverse, global network. The brand is a visual evolution that reflects our new motto, […]
AFRI-CAN: New ERC-Funded Project
to Advance East African Mountain Futures (07.11.2025) article written by MRI, originally posted: https://mountainresearchinitiative.org/news/afri-can-new-erc-funded-project-to-advance-east-african-mountain-futures/ 07.11.25 | 10:11h We are delighted to share that Professor Rob Marchant, former member of the MRI Science Leadership Council and current co-lead of our Mountain Social-Ecological Futures working group, will head the AFRI-CAN project to explore East African mountain social ecological […]
BIEA writing workshop April 2026
Open for applications from the BIEA, Nairobi! https://www.linkedin.com/posts/florian-g-kern-4b0168335_please-share-widely-with-africa-based-researchers-ugcPost-7343588533799907328-GF0E?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAEbSmc0BvBSZNi8y1dBMH015H5NphJlPlXw
New ARCC project study on past fires around Serengeti
Research Context Soils of Serengeti have been characterised at relatively broad scales (Jager, 1982; Scoon, 2018; Hengl et al., 2015) and are an important influence on vegetation cover and biodiversity (Timbuka and Kabigumila, 2006; Sinclair et al., 2008; Mbise, 2015). The disturbance ecology on the kopje rock outcrops themselves has not investigated in much detail. […]
Cambridge Archaeologists at Awards for Research Impact and Engagement
Images and text modified from: Cambridge Chronicles (2025) The Department of Archaeology and the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research are delighted to announce that Professor Gilly Carr, REAL project alumnus Dr Nik Petek-Sargeant and Stanley Jachike Onyemechalu were recognised at the recent Cambridge Awards for Research Impact and Engagement. See the original port on the University of Cambridge Department of […]
New publication promotes paleoecological data to understand planetary boundaries
How #paleoecology insights can be integrated into the #planetary health framework to improve our understanding of global #environmental change, and navigate a challenging future, are explored in a new commentary article (Gillson et al., 2025; Bayles et al., 2025). How #paleoecology insights can be integrated into the #planetary health framework to improve our understanding of […]
REAL project Final Report Archived in CORDIS
Resilience in East African Landscapes: Identifying critical thresholds and sustainable trajectories – past, present and future REAL Project Web Documentary “CHANGES” Project Information Grant agreement ID: 606879 Start date: 1 September 2013End date: 31 August 2017 Funded under Total cost € 3 968 063,33 Objectives (CORDIS) The strong temporal dynamics of the East African landscape […]
Weathering Climate Change in Eastern Africa
An audio recording of Professor Paul Lane’s talk on ‘Weathering Climate Change in Eastern Africa – Archaeological Insights on the Current Climate’ presented on Monday 18th November 2024, is now available to listen to from the Centre of African Studies CAS, University of Cambridge, UK. Permalink https://sms.cam.ac.uk/media/4815577. The PowerPoint that accompanies the talk is available here.