Curriculum Vitae
Irene Esteban Alama
Identification
Personal identification
- Full name
- Irene Esteban Alama
Citation names
- Esteban, Irene
Author identifiers
- Ciência ID
- B917-2D1E-594F
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-4850-1715
- Researcher Id
- K-8854-2017
Telephones
- Mobile phone
-
- (+27) 7603344033 (Personal)
- (+34) 600260700 (Personal)
Addresses
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, Palaeosciences Centre, East Campus, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2001, Johannesburg, 2001, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa (Professional)
- 49 3rd Avenue, 2009, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa (Personal)
Websites
Languages
| Language | Speaking | Reading | Writing | Listening | Peer-review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish; Castilian (Mother tongue) | |||||
| Catalan (Mother tongue) | |||||
| English | Advanced (C1) | Advanced (C1) | Advanced (C1) | Advanced (C1) | Advanced (C1) |
Education
| Degree | Classification | |
|---|---|---|
|
2012/06/01 - 2016/12/15
Concluded
|
Prehistory (Doctor of Philosophy)
Universitat de Barcelona Facultat de Geografia i Història, Spain
"RECONSTRUCTING PAST VEGETATION AND MODERN HUMAN FORAGING STRATEGIES ON THE SOUTH COAST OF SOUTH AFRICA" (THESIS/DISSERTATION)
|
Cum laude |
|
2010/10/01 - 2011/09/01
Concluded
|
Biologia Humana (Master Universitario)
Universitat de Barcelona Facultat de Biologia, Spain
|
Distinction |
|
2005/09/01 - 2010/07/31
Concluded
|
History (Bachelor)
Universitat de València, Spain
|
Grade B |
Affiliation
Science
| Category Host institution |
Employer | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021/04/01 - Current | Postdoc (Research) | Universitat de Barcelona, Spain |
| Universitat de Barcelona Facultat de Geografia i Història, Spain | ||
| 2017/04/01 - 2021/03/31 | Postdoc (Research) | University of the Witwatersrand Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, South Africa |
| University of the Witwatersrand Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, South Africa |
Projects
Grant
| Designation | Funders | |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/01/01 - Current | Firewood investigation of plant-remains: Coupling ethnography with experimental archaeology to disentangle aspects of South
African prehistory
N/A
Principal investigator
University of the Witwatersrand Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, South Africa
|
Leakey Foundation
Ongoing
|
| 2022/01/01 - Current | The Impact of Water Stress on Early Humans in the Kalahari Desert
N/A
Researcher
The University of Queensland, Australia
|
Australian Research Council
Ongoing
|
| 2020/01/01 - Current | Taking archaeology to the people of Pondoland and beyond through the Archaeology Comic Book project
N/A
Principal investigator
|
National Research Foundation
Concluded
|
| 2020/01/01 - Current | Taking archaeology to the people in Eastern Pondoland through the Archaeology Comic Book project
COEOP2020-1
Principal investigator
|
Centre of Excellence in Palaeoscience
Concluded
|
| 2018/02 - Current | Modern analogs as proxies for plant identification and vegetation characterization of the South African archaeological phytolith
record
No grant number
Principal investigator
Palaeontological Scientific Trust, South Africa
|
Ongoing
|
| 2018/08 - 2022/01 | CNH-S: Exploring the history of coupled climatic and human influences on ecosystem changes during the last one million years | National Science Foundation Directorate for Geosciences |
| 2018/07 - 2021/06 | Human Occupation Of Persistent Coastal Environments
Principal investigator
|
National Science Foundation Directorate for Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences
Concluded
|
| 2013/09 - 2019/08 | CNH: The Emergence of Coupled Natural and Human Landscapes in the Western Mediterranean | National Science Foundation Directorate for Biological Sciences |
| 2011/09 - 2017/08 | IPG - Developing and Testing an Integrated Paleoscape Model for the early Middle and Late Pleistocene of the South Coast of South Africa | National Science Foundation Directorate for Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences |
Outputs
Publications
| Book chapter |
|
| Conference poster |
|
| Journal article |
|
| Report |
|
Activities
Oral presentation
| Presentation title | Event name Host (Event location) |
|
|---|---|---|
| 2021/09 | Bedding Layers from Border Cave, South Africa: a Phytolith and FTIR Investigation. | 12th International Meeting on phytolith Research.
Kiel University (Kiel, Germany)
|
| 2019/01 | A multi-proxy approach for coupling past climate and environments to plant-foraging hunter-gatherer behaviours from MIS 3 to the Early Holocene in coastal Pondoland (South Africa). | 22nd Southern African Society for Quaternary Research
(Mossel Bay, South Africa)
|
| 2019/01 | Coastal occupation and foraging during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene at Waterfall Bluff, eastern Pondoland, South Africa | 22nd Southern African Society for Quaternary Research
(Mossel Bay, South Africa)
|
| 2019/01 | Mwulu’s Cave revisited 71 years later. | 22nd Southern African Society for Quaternary Research
(Mossel Bay, South Africa)
|
| 2018/09/01 | Depicting the Fynbos biome through the phytolith record | 11th International Meeting on phytolith Research
China University of Geosciences (Wuhan, China)
|
| 2018/09/01 | Mwulu’s Cave revisited: Some thoughts on the Pietersburg Industry. | 24th Biennal Meeting of the Society of Africanist Archaeologists
Victoria College, University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada)
|
| 2018/07/01 | Recent advances in phytolith studies in the archaeological and palaeontological record: a review. | 20th Biennial Conference of the Palaeontological Society of Southern Africa
National Museum Bloemfontein (Bloemfontein, South Africa)
|
| 2018 | Digital Proxies' for Validating Models of Past Socio-Ecological Systems in the Mediterranean Landscape Dynamics Project. | 24th European Association of Archaeologists Annual Meeting.
University of Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain)
|
| 2017/11/01 | The study of plant remains through microscope analysis; the case of phytoliths. | Life Science Imaging Facility Research Day
Medical School, University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa)
|
| 2017/07/01 | Past vegetation reconstruction and modern human foraging strategies on the south coast of South Africa. | III Paleoscapes Workshop
(Mossel Bay, South Africa)
|
| 2017/04/01 | MIS6 to MIS3 environmental change on the south coast of South Africa as indicated by phytolith analysis at Pinnacle Point. | SASQUA- Southern African Society for Quaternary Research
University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa)
|
| 2017/02/01 | Grasses in past hunter-gatherer combustion features in Mediterranean environments: an overview from the phytolith record. E. | Ethnoarchaeology of Fire Symposium
University of La Laguna (Tenerife, Spain)
|
| 2016/09/01 | Environmental and vegetation reconstruction during MIS 5-6 at Cova Negra (Xàtiva, Valencia, Spain): the evidence from phytoliths. | 10th International Meeting of Phytolith Research
CEREGE (Aix en Provence, France)
|
| 2016 | Pinnacle Point (costa sud de Sudàfrica): les anàlisis de fitòlits. | Tribuna d’Arqueologia 2016-2017
Generalitat de Catalunya (barcelona, Spain)
|
| 2015/05/01 | Ús dels Recursos Vegetals, Reconstrucció Paleoambiental i Processos Tafonòmics en el Abrigo de la Quebrada (Xelva, València): el estudi de fitòlits. | III Reunio´ Oikos de Bioarqueologia
University of Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain)
|
| 2014/09/01 | Paleoscape Reconstruction at the Central South Coast of South Africa using Modern Phytolith Assemblages. | 9th International Meeting on Phytolith Research,
Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences (Brussels, Belgium)
|
| 2014/07/01 | Phytolith Studies at the Middle Stone Age sites Pinnacle Point caves 13B and 5-6, Mossel Bay, South Africa. | II Paleoscapes Workshop
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (George, South Africa)
|
| 2013/09/01 | Buried A Horizons in Old Bench Terraces in Les Garrigues (Catalonia): soil forming conditions. | Soil in Space and Time
Ulm University (Germany)
|
| 2013/04/04 | Phytoliths as a tool to identify the exploitation of vegetal resources and reconstruct the vegetation of Pinnacle Point 5/6 (Mossel Bay) during early Homo sapiens occupation. | I African Phytolith Working Group Workshop
University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa)
|
| 2013/04/01 | Reconstrucción de la vegetación en la costa central de Sudáfrica a través del estudio de fitolitos en base al análisis de suelos modernos. | II Reunió OIKOS de Bioarqueologia
IPHES- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (Tarragona, Spain)
|
| 2013/04/01 | Phytoliths as a proxi for paleovegetation reconstruction and use of plant resources by early hominins. | 78th Society for American Archaeology
(Hawaii, United States)
|
| 2013/01/01 | Phytolith taphonomy: A case study in the context of the modern human behavior evolution at Pinnacle Point 5/6, Mossel Bay, South Africa. | Seventh World Archaeological Congress
(Dead Sea, Jordan)
|
| 2011/09/01 | The use of plant resources at the Middle Stone Age sites Pinnacle Point 13B and Pinnacle Point 5/6, Mossel Bay, South Africa. | 8th International Meeting on Phytolith Research
PaleoResearch Institute (PRI) (Golden, Colorado, United States)
|
| 2011/09/01 | The GEPEG Phytolith-Core Reference Collection. , (Golden, Colorado, USA) | 8th International Meeting on Phytolith Research
PaleoResearch Institute (PRI) (Golden, Colorado, United States)
|
| 2011/04/01 | Phytolith preservation at the Middle Stone Age site Pinnacle Point 5/6, Mossel Bay, South Africa. | International Student Workshop on Microarchaeology
Wiezmann Institute of Science (Rehobot, Israel)
|
Supervision
| Thesis Title Role |
Degree Subject (Type) Institution / Organization |
|
|---|---|---|
| 2022/03/01 - Current | Analysis of phytolith deposits in surface and wetland cores along an altitudinal transect on the Drakensberg Escarpment
Co-supervisor
|
Geography and Environmental Sicences (Master)
University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
|
| 2020/02/01 - Current | The Middle and Later Stone Age plant signature at Die Kelders Cave 1 from the phytolith record
Supervisor
|
Honours in Palaeontology (Other)
University of the Witwatersrand Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, South Africa
|
| 2020/02/01 - Current | Human-environmental interactions during the Middle Pleistocene of Elandsfontein and Duinefontein, Western Cape, South Africa:
a phytolith approach.
Supervisor
|
Honours in Palaeontology (Other)
University of the Witwatersrand Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, South Africa
|
Event organisation
| Event name Type of event (Role) |
Institution / Organization | |
|---|---|---|
| 2013/05 - Current | Arqueobotánica: principis i tècniques d’anàlisi. VI Jornadas de Jóvenes en Investigación Arqueológica (JIA) (2013/05)
Workshop (Co-organisor)
|
Universitat de Barcelona, Spain |
| 2013/05 - Current | Session: El papel de la arqueobotánica en el estudio de los momentos de transición y cambio durante la historia de la humanidad.
VI Jornadas de Jóvenes en Investigación Arqueológica (JIA) (2013/05)
Conference (Co-organisor)
|
Universitat de Barcelona, Spain |
Jury of academic degree
| Topic Role |
Candidate name (Type of degree) Institution / Organization |
|
|---|---|---|
| 2018/11 | Plants of the walls. Studying the relationship between plants and stone walls of the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve
Thesis Member
|
Lucien James (Other)
University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Science, South Africa
|
| 2017/11 | Palynological Analysis of a Short Core from the Holocene of the Angolan Highlands
Thesis Member
|
Kevwe Adigu (Other)
University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Science, South Africa
|
| 2017/09 | Phytolith analysed to Compare Changes in Vegetation Structure of Koobi Fora and Olorgesailie Basins through the Mid-Pleistocene-Holocene
Periods
Thesis Member
|
Rahab Kinyanjui (PhD)
University of the Witwatersrand Faculty of Science, South Africa
|
| 2017/08 | Reconstruction of the mid-to late Pleistocene plant community along the southwestern coast of South Africa using phytolith
evidence
Thesis Member
|
Nicole Jean Mann (Master)
University of Cape Town Department of Archaeology, South Africa
|
Course / Discipline taught
| Academic session | Degree Subject (Type) | Institution / Organization | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021/09 - Current | Arqueologia | Historia (Bachelor) | Universitat de Barcelona Departament d'Història i Arqueologia, Spain |
| 2019 - 2020 | Evolution of Terrestrial Ecosystems | Honours in Palaeontology (Postgraduate Certificate) | University of the Witwatersrand Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, South Africa |
| 2017 - 2018 | Plio-Pleistocene Palaeoecology of Africa | Honours in Palaeontology (Postgraduate Certificate) | University of the Witwatersrand Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, South Africa |
Distinctions
Title
| 2016 | PhD Cum Laude
Universitat de Barcelona, Spain
|