Dr Alexander Weide

After studying Prehistoric Archaeology and Biology at the Universities of Marburg and Tübingen (Germany), I obtained my doctorate in Archaeological Sciences from the University of Tübingen in 2018. The following year I joined the School of Archaeology at the University of Oxford as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow. Until my appointment at Cambridge in January 2024, I continued my postdoctoral research at Oxford on a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowship.

My research focuses on various aspects of human-environment interactions, plant-based subsistence strategies and domestication. Besides archaeobotanical research on prehistoric sites in southwest Asia and Europe (mostly Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Age) I employ plant functional ecology to better understand past agro-ecological processes and their link to human subsistence practices and socio-economic dynamics. I also have a strong interest in archaeological and ecological theory related to domestication studies and non-human agency.

Here you find information about my current research project "Capital economies in ancient Mesopotamia: reconstructing palatial cuisines and agricultural systems at Carchemish, Niniveh, and Dur Kurigalzu", which received funding from the Isaac Newton Trust and the British Academy. The project is co-directed by Dr. Müge Ergun, University of Oxford, and conducted in collaboration with Prof. Nicholò Marchetti from the University of Bologna, who directs the archaeological excavations.