Turid Hillestad Nel

Turid Hillestad Nel is a Research Fellow at the Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural and Religious Studies, University of Bergen. Her work focuses on paleoenvironmental reconstruction through micromammal analysis in Middle Stone Age contexts, particularly in South African sites like Blombos Cave and Klasies River. Affiliated with the Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), her research explores links between climatic changes and human cognitive evolution.

Education: PhD in Archaeology from the University of Bergen (2013). Key research themes include micromammal taphonomy, experimental archaeology, and symbolic behavior contexts. She has conducted interdisciplinary studies on fire experiments and paleoenvironmental correlations.

Publications emphasize sites such as Klipdrift Shelter and Blombos Cave, analyzing micromammal sequences to understand human adaptation strategies. Recent work (2023) contributes to Pleistocene archaeology of Africa, while 2021 studies investigate Blombos Cave's climatic stability. She actively participates in international conferences (EAA, PanAF) and experimental archaeology initiatives.

Grants: Supported by Research Council of Norway project 262618. Collaborates with institutions like the University of the Witwatersrand and EXARC. Her experimental work during lockdowns highlights innovative teaching methods.

Labs/Teams: Core member of SapienCE, leading projects on early human behavior. Ongoing research involves pilot fire experiments and actualistic studies to refine archaeological methodologies.