I am an archaeobotanist with a Bachelor degree in Archaeology from the University of Porto (Portugal), and an MA in Prehistory of North-Western Europe from the University of Leiden (The Netherlands). I am currently doing a PhD in Prehistoric Archaeobotany at the University of Basel (Switzerland). I have been focusing my research on the relationship between humans and the environment in the past. In particular, I analyse how humans use plant resources; not only focusing on the type of crops that were used in the past, but also which wild plants might have been used for textiles, oil, medicine and other purposes. I am interested in having a long-term perspective of human-plant interactions, from the history of agriculture, technology and traditional knowledge regarding plant uses, and I work on different periods from the Mesolithic to modern times.
Main research interests
- Archaeobotany
- Human relationship with nature in prehistoric times
- Plant uses in the past
- Biometrical techniques
- Domestication and its social, economic and cultural aspects
Curriculum Vitae
| from 2018 | PhD candidate in Archaeobotany. Faculty of Science, IPAS, University of Basel. Project SNF Professorship “ Small seeds for large purposes: an integrated approach to agricultural change and climate during the Neolithic in Western Europe” (2018-2021, PI: F. Antolin, University of Basel) |
| 2010-2019 | Participation in several excavations in Portugal, Italy, Spain and Macedonia. |
| 2016-2017 | Research Fellowship within the project " Arqueobotânica do Baixo Sabor", Environmental Archaeology laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto. |
| 2015-2016 | MA in Prehistory of North-Western Europe. Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University. Areas: Prehistory of Europe; Paleoecology; Cereal processing; Identity and Archaeology; Neolithisation of the ancient Near East. ”Negotiating Personhood: disposal of animal remains in mortuary practices at the beginning of the adoption of domestic animals in South Scandinavia and Netherlands” |
| 2015 | Master's internship |
| 2014-2015 | Freelance archaeobotanist (seeds and fruits identification) in the Environmental Archaeology laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, within the project "Arqueobotânica do Baixo Sabor”. |
| 2013 | Training in Archaeobotany directed by Dr. João Tereso. |
| 2012-2013 | Erasmus Program. Suor Orsola Benincasa University of Naples. Areas: Laboratory of experimental archaeology; Laboratory of sciences applied to archaeology and Informatics applied to archaeology. |
| 2010-2013 | BA in Archaeology. Faculty of Arts, the University of Porto |
Ana Cláudia Jesus Sousa
Integrative Prähistorische und Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie (IPNA)
Spalenring 145
4055 Basel
Tel: +41 61 207 42 33