Dr Carolyne Douché

caroline douche headshot
Researcher Co-Investigator
Caroline.douche@arch.ox.ac.uk

Research Interests:

Key terms: Mesopotamia, Iraq, Agriculture, Plant economy, Archaeobotany, Urbanisation

  • Transition from farming villages to large cities
  • Agricultural practices and farming activities, from production to consumption
  • Agriculture and social and cultural identities
  • Domestication, introduction and trade of crops

Geographic area

Mesopotamia, northern and southern Iraq

Research Profile

Carolyne Douché is an archaeobotanist who completed her PhD in Archaeology at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (in collaboration with the Museum for Natural History of Paris), under the joint direction of G. Willcox, M. Tengberg and P. Butterlin. Carolyne is currently a Marie Curie fellow at the Institute of Archaeology, working with Prof. M. Charles. The aim of the project is to investigate and compare the plant economies in Mesopotamia, from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age. In order to collect samples, she participates in several excavations in northern and southern Iraq. Research on farming practices will be explored through traditional morphological analysis, stable isotopes and weed ecology.

Current activities

MSCA Project : GRAMADIF ‘Do grains make the difference? Plant economies during the development of urban societies in Mesopotamia’ (with Prof. Mike Charles).

Northern Iraq : Bana Hilk, Gird-i Lashkir, Gird-i Rostam, Gird-i Qala, Kunara, Logardan

Southern Iraq : Tell el-‘Uwaili, Larsa

Publications