Marvin Demicoli

Email: marvin.demicoli@liverpool.ac.uk

Website: https://liverpool.academia.edu/MarvinDemicoli

Previous education

M.Sc. (Distinction) Environmental Archaeology, University College London (2015)
M.A. (Qual) Archaeology, University of Malta (2009)
B.A. Archaeology and Psychology, University of Malta (2008)

Thesis title

Fuelling urbanisation: a study of changes in woodland composition in relation to the rise of complex urban centres in Neolithic and Bronze Age North and Central China

Supervisors

Eleni Asouti (University of Liverpool, primary)
Douglas Baird (University of Liverpool)
Dorian Fuller (UCL)

Research Summary

This study will look at anthracological (wood charcoal) remains from archaeological sites with the aim of identifying the impact humans had on arboreal vegetation during the Neolithic and the Bronze Age of Central China. Wood charcoal preserves the internal cellular anatomy of wood allowing identification of species and hence the possibility to reconstruct woodland vegetation. Moreover, archaeological charcoal is also an artefact of human activity and thus links the anthropic and environmental factors that impact vegetation change and vice-versa. This project will shed light on the initial stages of the Anthropocene when large scale landscape modifications and exploitation commence. It will also harbour new research collaborations between UK and Chinese academic institutions.

Research interests

Anthracology, Chinese prehistory and archaeology, Archaeobotany, Archaeology, Human environment interactions and wood resource management, Wood anatomy, Vegetation history, Paleoecology, Paleoenvironmental change, Environmental Archaeology

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