Anastasia Nikulina is a postdoctoral researcher and project manager at the Faculty of Archaeology

More information about Anastasia Nikulina

Office days

Monday to Friday

Research

My research focuses on past human–environment interactions across different regions and time periods, with particular emphasis on modelling long-term ecological dynamics. I currently study the earliest Homo occupation of Western Eurasia by combining computational modelling with palaeoecological and archaeological evidence. This work explores how early hominins adapted to changing environments, with special attention to diet, plant food use, and subsistence strategies. More broadly, my work brings together archaeology, palaeoecology, and computational science to develop reproducible, data-driven approaches to studying deep-time human–environment relationships.

Teaching activities

My teaching activities include the development of digital and interdisciplinary learning resources. I was one of the lead developers of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) exploring the past, present, and future of landscapes in the context of biodiversity loss and climate change.

Curriculum vitae

I am currently a Postdoctoral Researcher and Project Manager at Leiden University within the NWO Vici project Hominin FoodWays. I obtained my PhD in Archaeology from Leiden University in 2025. My doctoral research was conducted as part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie TERRANOVA programme. In my dissertation I focused on the ecological impact of prehistoric hunter-gatherers using computational modelling with focus on anthropogenic fire and its influence on landscape dynamics.
Prior to my current position, I worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Durham University (UK). I studied Mediterranean agriculture through computer simulations within the ERC-funded project SSE1K: Science, Society and Environmental Change in the First Millennium CE.
I hold Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in History and Archaeology from Novosibirsk State University (Russia). Before starting my PhD, I worked at the Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy and the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography (Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences). During this period, I contributed to several multidisciplinary projects, focusing on human–environment interactions and landscape transformations in Siberia and the Dordogne region (France). I also participated in multiple archaeological fieldwork projects in Russia and France.