Karen Wicks Email and Phone Number

Karen Wicks is a post-doctoral research assistant to Professor Steven Mithen, Deputy Vice Chancellor and Professor of Prehistory at the University of Reading. She is field director of the Inner Hebrides Mesolithic Project (IHMP) and East Islay Mesolithic Project (EIMP), major archaeological research projects directed by Steven Mithen, based in the School of Archaeology, Geography & Environmental Science (SAGES). The projects are investigating the settlement-subsistence patterns of the Mesolithic hunter-gatherers of western Scotland. These investigations encompass reconstructions of both the earliest and most recent hunter-gatherer activity in a landscape setting, working with leading specialists in lithics and palaeoecology in addition to providing placement training for SAGES students. Karen’s recent work has been focusing on the construction of a Bayesian chronology for Mesolithic activity across the western Scottish seaboard, with interests branching into the nature and timing of the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition and the emergence of a Neolithic ‘package’ in the region. By using Bayesian chronological analysis, she hopes to further refine understanding of the rate and timing of events occurring in the region across this critical period of cultural and economic change. This is the first post-doctoral research position held by Karen, following her PhD (Reading 2012) examining vegetation history, human impact and climate change during prehistory in the Inner Hebrides, western Scotland. Prior to this she was Enterprise Manager in SAGES, with responsibility for running the commercial wing of activities in the school under the auspices of AFESS (Archaeology, Forensic & Environmental Scientific Services), since merged with QUEST. During this time she provided expert witness services as a forensic palynologist to police forces and legal teams across the UK.