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Geography, Archaeology & Irish Studies

Dr Daisy Spencer

MPhil, BSc, PhD

Contact Details

Post Doctoral Researcher
Department of Archaeology
University of Galway
E: DAISY.SPENCER@universityofgalway.ie

Biography

I am a pollen specialist and environmental archaeologist with a research focus on prehistoric Ireland and Britain, specifically Neolithic to Bronze Age human-environment interactions.

I am currently a post-doctoral researcher based in the Palaeoenvironmental Research Unit on a 2-year IRC funded project 'Palynology and Land-Use in Preseli: Investigating the Origins of the Stonehenge Bluestones via Pollen Analysis'. I previously completed my PhD on linking human-environment interactions to the archaeological record of Co. Clare using pollen, chironomid and geochemical analyses at the University of Galway.

I have completed palynological studies on numerous archaeological sites and large-scale infrastructure projects since 2019. I have been involved in palaeoecological and archaeological fieldwork across Ireland, UK, Greece, and northern Africa, both in the academic and commercial spheres.

Research Interests

Research Interests:

Palynology
Linking palaeoecological & archaeological data
Prehistoric Ireland and Britain
Human-environment interactions from prehistory to medieval periods
Pastoral and arable farming
Use of chironomid analysis in archaeology
Wood & charcoal identification

Peer Reviewed Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2023)	'Prehistoric farming impacts and erosion revealed through a palaeolimnological investigation of Lough Inchiquin, Co. Clare, western Ireland' SPENCER, D., POTITO, A., MOLLOY, K., MARTINI, A & JONES, C (2023) 'Prehistoric farming impacts and erosion revealed through a palaeolimnological investigation of Lough Inchiquin, Co. Clare, western Ireland'. Environmental Archaeology, 28 (3) [DOI] [Details]
	(2019)	'New insights into Late Bronze Age settlement and farming activity in the southern Burren, western Ireland¿' SPENCER, D., MOLLOY, K., POTITO, A., & JONES, C (2019) 'New insights into Late Bronze Age settlement and farming activity in the southern Burren, western Ireland¿'. Vegetation History And Archaeobotany, [DOI] [Details]
	(2016)	'A novel MC1R allele for black coat colour reveals the Polynesian ancestry and hybridization patterns of Hawaiian feral pigs¿' LINDERHOLM, A., SPENCER, D., BATTISTA, V., FRANTZ, L., BARNETT, R., FLEISCHER, R.C., JAMES, H.F., DUFFY, D., SPARKS, J.P., CLEMENTS, D.R., ANDERSSON, L., DOBNEY, K., LEONARD, J.A & LARSON, G (2016) 'A novel MC1R allele for black coat colour reveals the Polynesian ancestry and hybridization patterns of Hawaiian feral pigs¿'. Royal Society Open Science, 3 (9) [Details]

Other Journals

	Year	Publication
	(2022)	'Fossil pollen grains: what can they teach us?' Spencer, D (2022) 'Fossil pollen grains: what can they teach us?' Archaeology Ireland, Spring Edition . [Details]

Professional Associations

Association	Function	From / To
Environmental Archaeology Ireland Workgroup	Member	01-JAN-19 /
Association for Environmental Archaeologists	Committee member & newsletter editor	01-DEC-15 /
Irish Quaternary Association	member	01-DEC-14 /

Employment

	Employer	Position	From / To
	IAC Archaeology	Pollen Specialist & Post-Excavation Supervisor	01-FEB-19 / 01-AUG-22

Education

Year	Institution	Qualification	Subject
2019	University of Galway	PhD	Archaeology
2011	University of Durham	BSc (Hons) Dunelm	Archaeology
2013	University of Cambridge	MPhil (Cantab)	Archaeological Research

Other Activities

	Description
	I have provided CPD training courses to both the Institute for Archaeologists of Ireland (IAI) and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) on the application of pollen analysis on archaeological sites.