Kseniia Boxleitner

Kseniia Boxleitner is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena, Germany, affiliated with the independent research groups for Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution (DAE) and Fruits of Eurasia: Domestication and Dispersal (FEDD). Her work focuses on paleoecological and paleoethnobotanical analyses of Central Asian, European, and Caucasus archaeological sites using plant macrofossil methodologies.

Her research interests span Paleoecology, Paleoethnobotany, and Quaternary environmental reconstruction, with specialization in Pleistocene-Holocene transition periods. She investigates human-environment interactions through plant macrofossil analysis, permafrost studies, and archaeobotanical investigations of domestication processes. Her fieldwork concentrates on Central and Northeastern Asia, particularly Siberia, the Pamir Mountains, and the Caucasus region.

Boxleitner's publication record demonstrates expertise in multiproxy environmental reconstruction, with significant contributions to understanding mammoth steppe ecosystems, fruit domestication pathways, and high-altitude human adaptations. Her work frequently employs interdisciplinary approaches combining archaeobotany, paleoclimatology, and molecular analysis.

Her educational background includes:

• Diploma in Physical Geography and Ecology (2011) from Saint-Petersburg State University
• Double MSc in Polar and Marine Research (2013) from University of Hamburg and Saint-Petersburg State University
• PhD in Quaternary Palaeontology (2018) from Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena

She actively contributes to public outreach through media appearances and science communication initiatives, including BBC documentaries, Science magazine features, and translation of educational materials like the 'Frozen Ground Cartoon'.