On Tuesday, May 20th, PhD candidate Johan Jarl will be defending his dissertation, “Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction of the Middle–Upper Paleolithic in the Southern Caucasus Using Phytolith Analysis.” This event will take in room 211 of the Business Building, or virtually via WebEx. If interested in a WebEx link, contact Johan via email: johan.jarl@uconn.edu.

Johan describes his topic as “The rich archaeological record of the Late Pleistocene in the southern Caucasus and Armenian Highlands offers archaeologists a unique opportunity to study the behavioral patterns of the varied groups of hominins who occupied the region. As choices around subsistence, migration, and social networks, take place within regional and local paleoenvironmental conditions, understanding these is critical to any archaeological interpretation. Here, PhD Candidate Johan Jarl will present his research on the use of phytolith analysis as a
tool for paleoenvironmental reconstruction at three regional sites—Aghitu-3 and Lusakert-1 (Armenia), and Ortvale Klde (Georgia)—spanning the period 61–28 ka.”

Best of luck, Johan!