Dr. Madelynn von Baeyer

Dr. von Baeyer is an archaeobotanist who uses botanical macrofossils to study the reciprocal relationship between humans and plants. She’s particularly interested in how environmental conditions and climate change impact agricultural systems and how changes in the human-environment relationship can foster cultural resilience in ancient and modern populations.

Working in the Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia, Dr. von Baeyer’s research for the FEDD project examines wood charcoal from various sites along the Silk Road for evidence of the spread of fruit trees, particularly from the Rosaceae family, and for woodland management practices.

Dr. von Baeyer recently completed a research fellowship at Harvard University Herbaria. Before that, she studied macrofossils from Turkey and Greece as part of her Ph.D. project at the University of Connecticut.