In today’s episode we continue our series on the early peopling of the Americas, this time focusing on Amazonia and the peoples that occupied and modified this region.  Joining us for this episode is Dr. Mark Robinson, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Exeter. Dr. Robinson’s research focuses on environmental archaeology, and applying interdisciplinary techniques to explore human-plant relationships. His research has particularly focused on human-environment interactions, including wood and charcoal identification to understand resource exploitation and anthropogenic impacts on the forest. He has worked extensively throughout the New World, with ongoing projects in Belize, Brazil, Bolivia, and Colombia, with contexts ranging from the peopling of the Americas during the Late Pleistocene, to the collapse of the Mayan civilisation.
In earlier research, Dr Robinson applied a novel methodology using GIS modelling, vegetation prediction, and isotope geochemistry to isolate humans from climate as the principal driver of vegetation change during the Late Holocene.
Currently, Dr. Robinson is using airborne LiDAR to document forest structure and archaeology in western Amazonia.  Additionally, ongoing research in the remote Bladen Nature Reserve in Belize has uncovered some of the oldest tropical skeletons in well-defined stratigraphic sequences.
To learn more about Dr Robinson's work please visit:
Dr Robinson's Website
Jungle Mystery: Lost Kingdoms of the Amazon Documentary Series