Max-Planck-InstitutDepartment of Human Evolution
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
phone: +49 (341) 3550 - 350
fax: +49 (0341) 3550 - 399
e-mail: streiber@[>>> Please remove the brackets! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Alexa Benson
Doctoral Student
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Department of Human Evolution
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
Germany
phone: 0049 (0) 341 3550 352
fax: 0049 (0) 341 3550 399
e-mail: alexa_benson@[>>> Please remove the brackets! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Research Interests
Alexa Benson is a PhD student in the Department of Human Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and a participant of the Leipzig School of Human Origins (IMPRS).
She is an archaeological researcher with a broad-scoping education in both palaeoecological and geological sciences. Her master’s thesis on minimalistic sampling techniques of Neanderthal teeth to obtain U-series age estimates and Sr isotopic information, presented an innovative new way to date human remains directly, while preserving the integrity and aesthetics of the materials themselves.
In her doctoral thesis, Alexa will focus on a large-scale comparative multiproxy study spanning the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. For this project, she plans to refine chronologies of some archaeological sites and provide a terrestrial palaeoclimate record spanning the last glacial period.
Prior to arriving to MPI-EVA, Alexa was a research assistant at the School of Geography at the University of Melbourne, where she primarily worked in a pollen laboratory. During this time she worked on high-resolution palaeoenvironmental records of sites across the Southern Hemisphere; primarily Tasmania, Australia. A multiproxy approach was used for this project, including microfossil, charcoal, geochemical and isotopic analysis to provide a comprehensive reconstruction of environmental change.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
| 2015-present | PhD Candidate, Max Planck Institute, Leipzig |
| 2012 | M.Sc. (Hons) Archaeological Science, Australian National Universtiy Thesis title: Laser ablation depth profiling of U-series and Sr isotopes in human fossils Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rainer Grün |
| 2010 | B.A Archaeology and Spanish, University of Queensland |
| 2007 | B.A. Sociology, University of California at Santa Barbara |
Research Interests
- Uranium series dating
- Archaeology
- Isotopic analysis of human/hominin remains
- Palaeoecology/Palaeclimatology
- Geochemistry/Geochronology
- Experimental sampling/processing methods
Professional Employment
| 2014-2015 | Laboratory Technical Officer Department of Resource Management and Geography, University of Melbourne |
| 2014-2015 | Research Assistant and Laboratory Manager Department of Resource Management and Geography, University of Melbourne Palaeoecological Laboratory Supervisor: Dr. Michael-Shawn Fletcher |
| 2013-2014 | Archaeologist Biosis Heritage Consulting |
| 2011-2014 | Research Assistant College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University Palynology Laboratory Supervisors: Dr. Janelle Stevenson, Prof. Simon Haberle and Dr. Geoff Hope |
| 2011 | Archaeologist College of Social Sciences, Australian National University Supervisor: Mr. Anthony Barham |
Other Field and Laboratory Experience
| 2014 | Research Assistant Department of Resource Management and Geography, University of Melbourne Mass-Spectrometry Laboratory Supervisor: Dr. Russell Drysdale |
| 2014 | Field Assistant, Tasmania Department of Resource management and Geography, University of Melbourne palaeoecological sample collection Supervisor: Dr. Michael-Shawn Fletcher |
| 2014 | Field Assistant, South Africa School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne Geochronological sampling and field work Supervisor: Assistant Prof. Andy Herries |
| 2013 | Research Assistant Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University ESR Spectromescopy Laboratory Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Rainer Grün |
| 2012 | Research Assistant Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University R adiocarbon Laboratory Supervisor: Dr. Rachel Wood |
| 2011-2012 | Research Assistant Australian National University, Shell Cataloguing and Analysis Supervisor: Mr. Anthony Barham |
Publications
Articles
| Fletcher, M.-S., Benson, A., Bowman, D. M., Gadd, P. S., Heijnis, H., Mariani, M., Saunders, K. M., Wolfe, B. B., & Zawadzki, A. (2018). Centennial-scale trends in the Southern Annular Mode revealed by hemisphere-wide fire and hydroclimatic trends over the past 2400 years. Geology,46(4), 363-366. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Benson, A., Hoffmann, D. L., Bella, P., Drury, A. J., Hercman, H., & Atkinson, T. C. (2018). Building robust age models for speleothems: A case-study using coeval twin stalagmites. Quaternary Geochronology,43, 83-90. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Daura, J., Sanz, M., Allué, E., Vaquero, M., López-García, J. M., Sánchez-Marco, A., Domènech, R., Martinell, J., Carrión, J. S., Ortiz, J. E., Torres, T., Arnold, L. J., Benson, A., Hoffmann, D. L., Skinner, A. R., & Julià, R. (2017). Palaeoenvironments of the last Neanderthals in SW Europe (MIS 3): Cova del Coll Verdaguer (Barcelona, NE of Iberian Peninsula). Quaternary Science Reviews,177, 34-56. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Stevenson, J., Benson, A., Athens, J., Kahn, J., & Kirch, P. (2017). Polynesian colonization and landscape changes on Mo'orea, French Polynesia: The Lake Temae pollen record. The Holocene,27(12), 1963-1975. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Willmes, M., Grün, R., Douka, K., Michel, V., Armstrong, R. A., Benson, A., Crégut-Bonnoure, E., Desclaux, E., Fang, F., Kinsley, L., Saos, T., & Defleur, A. R. (2016). A comprehensive chronology of the Neanderthal site Moula-Guercy, Ardèche, France. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports,9, 309-319. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Fletcher, M.-S., Benson, A., Heijnis, H., Gadd, P. S., Cwynar, L. C., & Rees, A. B. H. (2015). Changes in biomass burning mark the onset of an ENSO-influenced climate regime at 42°S in southwest Tasmania, Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews,122, 222-232. DOI BibTeX Endnote | |
| Benson, A., Kinsley, L., Willmes, M., Defleur, A., Kokkonen, H., Mussi, M., & Grün, R. (2013). Laser ablation depth profiling of U-series and Sr isotopes in human fossils. Journal of Archaeological Science,40(7), 2991-3000. DOI BibTeX Endnote |
Posters
| Benson, A., Hoffmann, D. L., Bella, P.., Drury, A. J., Hercman, H., & Atkinson, T. C. (2017).Building robust age models for speleothems: A case-study using coeval twin stalagmites from Demänovská Jaskyňa Slobody Cave (Slovakia). Poster presented at Summer School on Speleothem Science (S4), Burgos, Spain. BibTeX Endnote | |
| Beck, K., Fletcher, M.-S., Saunders, K., Benson, A., Gadd, P., Heijins, H., Wolfe, B., & Zawadzki, A. (2016).Critical thresholds in aquatic ecosystems: A case study of Tasmanian diatom community response to regional and local environmental change. Poster presented at Australian Society for Limnology Conference (ASL), Ballarat, Australia. BibTeX Endnote | |
| Benson, A. (2016).A comprehensive fire history reconstruction of Flinders Island, Tasmania. Poster presented at Australian Archaeological Association Annual Conference (AAA), Terrigal, NSW. BibTeX Endnote | |
| Fletcher, M.-S., Benson, A., Bowman, D. M. J. S., Heijnis, H., Saunders, K. M., Wolfe, B. B., & Zawadzki, A. (2016).Hemisphere-wide fire and hydroclimatic trends over the last 2400 years reveal centennial-scale trends in the Southern Annular Mode. Poster presented at AMOS/ARCCSS National Conference 2016, Melbourne. BibTeX Endnote |
Meeting Abstracts
Benson, A., Hoffmann, D. L., Mattey, D., Müller, W., Wacker, U., & Zilhao, J. (2017). Investigating palaeoclimate variability in the western Iberian Peninsula during the last glacial period using speleothems. In Proceedings of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution (PESHE) (6, pp. 23).  Open Access BibTeX Endnote |
Talks
| Benson, A., Hoffmann, D. L., Bella, P.., Drury, A. J., Hercman, H., & Atkinson, T. C. (2017).Climate variation in Central Europe throughout the holocene: Robust age modelling study and a regional comparison to a terrestrial record from Demänovská Jaskyňa Slobody Cave (Slovakia). Talk presented at Climate Change: The Karst Record VIII Conference (KR8). Austin, Texas, USA. 2017-05-21 - 2017-05-24. BibTeX Endnote | |
| Benson, A., Hoffmann, D. L., Mattey, D., Müller, W., Wacker, U., & Zilhao, J. (2017).Investigating palaeoclimate variability in the western Iberian Peninsula during the last glacial period using speleothems. Talk presented at The 7th Annual Meeting of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution (ESHE). Leiden, the Netherlands. 2017-09-21 - 2017-09-23. BibTeX Endnote | |
| Benson, A., & Grün, R. (2013).Laser ablation depth profiling of U-series and Sr isotopes in human fossils. Talk presented at 78th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. Honolulu, Hawaii. 2013-04-03 - 2013-04-07. BibTeX Endnote | |
| Benson, A., & Grün, R. (2012).Laser ablation depth profiling of U-series and Sr isotopes in human fossils. Talk presented at Annual Meeting of the Australian Archaeological Association. Wollongong, Australia. 2012-12-09 - 2012-12-13. BibTeX Endnote | |
| Benson, A., & Grün, R. (2012).Preliminary results and discussion: Laser ablation depth profiling of U-series and Sr isotopes in human fossils. Talk presented at Research School of Earth Sciences EE Seminar, Australian National University. BibTeX Endnote |
