PhD project The establishment of agrarian settlements in northern Fennoscandia has left few traces and those discovered are spread both spatially and temporally. This thesis aims to study the settlement development in the Ume region by studying subfossil insects. By applying palaeoentomology it is possible to reconstruct a detailed image of the past landscape with the goal being to survey the long-term changes in the natural and cultural landscape.
This project has the aim to survey and analyse the development of early settlements in the Ume region, testing existing hypothesis about the expansion of agriculture in northern Fennoscandia. To achieve this, I will sample natural archives (wetlands and lakes) and analyse them using palaeontology. Identifying and analysing these insects allows us to reconstruct past landscapes, environments, and to detect human activity in the landscape. This analysis will be complemented with palynological (pollen) and archaeological data to better understand the settlement development in the region.
