dr. D. (Daniella) Vos

My research focus can be summarised as the development and application of spatial quantitative methods with the aim of gaining insights into processes of transformation in human subsistence, mobility and well-being. I am interested in the interaction between humans and their environments, and have approached this topic from different angles. I set up an interdisciplinary summer school about the Anthropocene, which hosted renowned experts in geology, earth systems science, palaeoecology, archaeology, biology, ecology, communication studies, political ecology, landscape studies and philosophy. Some of the previous projects I was involved in include water accumulation modelling in GIS for the province of Fryslan as part of a climate stress test, studying street names in relation to gender and sense of place, ancient diets and the transition to agricultural lifestyles during the Neolithic, current and historical trends of sedentarisation in the Near East, and the impact of human activities on mobility and subsistence patterns of other species.

I have a background in spatial analysis, environmental archaeology, geoarchaeology, Near Eastern prehistory, and ethnoarchaeology, which I developed during my studies at Leiden University. My PhD research at Bournemouth University explored methodologies for reconstructing the spatial distribution of activity areas in ephemeral Neolithic sites and Bedouin campsites in Jordan through soil and statistical analyses. After obtaining my PhD in 2017 I became lead scientist at the Geodienst, the spatial expertise center of the University of Groningen, and GIS lecturer at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, before transferring to my current role at the department of Cultural Geography in 2019. As part of my work at the Geodienst I led various Geo-ICT projects in collaboration with researchers and local governments. The most enjoyable of these was the technical realisation of PAN (Portable Antiquities of the Netherlands), an open science project involving the creation of an online platform for metal detection finds in the Netherlands catering both a general and research public, which received De Nederlandse Dataprijs in 2018.