Julia Brunner

About Julia’s Research:

Climate change significantly impacts agricultural practices and poses a significant threat to global food production. Our prehistoric ancestors may offer insights that could help shape farming strategies. Bronze Age farming communities in the UK and Ireland (and beyond) were confronted with changing climatic conditions that would have affected their agricultural activity.

This PhD project uses archaeobotanical analysis of charred plant remains and stable isotope analysis to investigate cultivation and mitigation strategies implemented by farming communities in Orkney and Ireland during this period.

Identification of crop types and agricultural practices (intensive vs extensive cultivation, manuring, etc.) aims to inform on the resilience of ancient/heritage cereals and the sustainability of farming strategies in the face of climatic deterioration. In examining wild plant use, this study sheds light on their role in Bronze Age diet and adaptive responses to climatic decline. These observations are considered within their social context to explore how Bronze Age social dynamics affected adaptive measures.
Finally, there is the question of whether research into prehistoric farming communities has the potential to contribute knowledge that can inform current and future farming strategies in a changing climate.