Femke Reidsma
Postdoc / guest
- Name
- Dr. F.H. Reidsma MA
- Telephone
- 071 5272727
- f.h.reidsma@arch.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0003-1636-8486
Femke Reidsma is a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Archaeology.
More information about Femke Reidsma
News
-
Rubicon grants for research on fire and the first light -
Archaeologists bring experts on human evolution together with Kiem grant -
Ancient fire expert Femke Reidsma on Tea-Break Time Travel Podcast -
Faculty of Archaeology launches dinosaur-focused research -
New technique makes it easier to determine how our ancestors used fire -
Three Leiden papers in top 10 most cited of Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports -
Podcast Finally Friday with ancient-fire expert Femke Reidsma -
Unravelling prehistoric fire use: ‘Variation in fire conditions equals variation in human behaviour’
-
Peer-reviewed student journal Inter-section in the spotlight: ‘We aim at quality work’
Office days
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday
Research
My research explores the role of fire in human evolution and lies at the intersection of archaeology, material science, and geochemistry. I use analytical chemistry and controlled experimental work to improve our knowledge of the formation and preservation of Pleistocene fire proxies, and reconstruct how our ancestors used fire at different stages of their evolution. Being able to translate fire-related behaviour into archaeological signatures is essential for tracing its origins and testing different hypotheses.
More broadly I am interested in the relationship between early humans, (natural) fire, and the environment, and how this may have shaped different aspects of human evolution (e.g., diet, biological traits, adaptive strategies, technology, cognition, social behaviour, niche construction). I approach this topic from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing on data, concepts, and methods from various fields.
For my analytical work, I collaborate with different specialists and laboratories, including the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency and the GeoLab (Utrecht University).
I strive to make my research open and accessible and advocate for this to become standard practice within Archaeology.
Curriculum Vitae
In 2025 I obtained my doctorate from Leiden University, as part of the Human Origins Group. For my PhD I conducted fundamental research and developed an analytical toolkit and reference data for the study of heated bone, applicable to material from any context and time period. Alongside my doctoral research I have been part of several international collaborative projects and fieldwork at sites in Europe and South Africa.
I also dedicate time to other academic activities on themes that are important to me. I am part of the Open Science Community Leiden and actively support and advocate for early career researchers. I was editor in chief of INTER-SECTION (open access, peer-reviewed student journal), and have served on the PhD Committee and the Faculty Research Committee. In addition, I engage in outreach in various formats to make science accessible to the public and increase the visibility of women in academia.
Currently, I am a postdoc with the Department of Archaeological Sciences, where I conduct research and co-coordinate the Leiden Human Evolution Collective, a university-wide interdisciplinary network of scholars working on topics related to human evolution. With support from a KIEM grant, we organised an interdisciplinary symposium on fire in human evolution held in June of 2024, which brought together diverse scholars from Europe and the US.
Postdoc / guest
- Faculty of Archaeology
- Archaeological Sciences
- Bioarchaeology
- Reidsma F.H. (12 February 2025), Footprints of fire: understanding the formation and preservation of Pleistocene fire traces through laboratory-based experimental research (Dissertatie, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University). Supervisor(s) and Co-supervisor(s): Roebroeks J.W.M. & Henry A.G., Os B.J.H. van.
- Reidsma F.H. & Henry A.G. (2025), Exploring landscape burning as the earliest active use of fire. In: Dusseldorp G.L., Chu W., BakelsC. & Soressi M. (Eds.), Intent on the Paleolithic: Papers in honour of Prof. Dr. Wil Roebroeks. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia no. 55. Leiden: Sidestone Press. 147-158.
- Reidsma F.H. 22 August 2023, Tea-break time travel: did someone leave the oven on? . Tea-break time travel 15. Archaeology Podcast Network [podcast].
- Reidsma F.H. (2023), Fundamental fire: laboratory-based chemical research into the effect of diagenesis on heated bone and its implications for the study of fire proxies and other biomolecules in the deep past. ISBA, Tartu. 13 September 2023 - 15 September 2023. [conference poster].
- Bartholdy B.P., Henry A.G. & Reidsma F.H. (2023), FAIR sharing is caring. [conference poster].
- Reidsma F.H. (2022), Laboratory-based experimental research into the effect of diagenesis on heated bone: implications and improved tools for the characterisation of ancient fire, Scientific Reports 12: 17544.
- Pop E., Reidsma F.H., Reimann T., Sier M.J., Arps C.E.S., Gaudzinski-Windheuser S. & Roebroeks W. (2021), Identifying heated rocks through feldspar luminescence analysis (pIRIR290) and a critical evaluation of macroscopic assessment, Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology 4: art. 13.
- Reidsma F.H., Sifogeorgaki I, Dinckal A., Huisman D.J, Sier M.J., Os B. van & Dusseldorp G.L. (2021), Integrating geoarchaeological techniques to reveal the invisible stratigraphy at Umhlatuzana rockshelter, South Africa: a grid-based approach. Developing International Geoarchaeology, Faro. 17 May 2021 - 19 May 2021. [conference poster].
- Reidsma F.H. 7 May 2021, All Fired Up. The EXARC Show #FinallyFriday. EXARC [podcast].
- Reidsma F.H., Sifogeorgaki I., Dinckal A., Huisman H., Sier M.J., Os B. van & Dusseldorp G.L. (2021), Making the invisible stratigraphy visible: a grid-based, multi-proxy geoarchaeological study of Umhlatuzana Rockshelter, South Africa, Frontiers in Earth Science 9: 664105.
- Bartholdy B.P., Reidsma F.H. & Henry A.G. (2020), Build-A-Calculus: Experimental dietary research on in vitro dental calculus. Leiden: WILEY (Leiden University). [other].
- Braadbaart F., Reidsma F.H., Roebroeks W., Chiotti L., Slon V., Meyer M., Théry-Parisot I., Hoesel A. van, Nierop G.G.J., Kaal J., Os B. van & Marquer L. (2020), Heating histories and taphonomy of ancient fireplaces: a multi-proxy case study from the Upper Palaeolithic sequence of Abri Pataud (Les Eyzies-de-Tayac, France), Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 33: 102468.
- Reidsma F.H., Politopoulos A. & Mol A.A.A. (2020), Streaming the Past: Summer Stream Extravaganza: Dawn of Man - play-through and commentary. Leiden, (VALUE). [other].
- Hoesel A. van, Reidsma F.H., Os B.J.H. van, Megens L. & Braadbaart F. (2019), Combusted bone: Physical and chemical changes of bone during laboratory simulated heating under oxidising conditions and their relevance for the study of ancient fire use, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 28: .
- Reidsma F.H., Pop E.A.L., Reimann T., Guralnik B., Sohbati R., Versendaal A., Wallinga J., Arps C.E.S., Gaudzinski-Windheuser S. & Roebroeks W. (2019), Fire on the rocks - Establishing prehistoric heating of non-flint rocks through feld-spar luminescence analysis (pIRIR). ESHE, Liège. 19 September 2019 - 21 September 2019. [conference poster].
- Reidsma F.H. (2017), To see the fire through the bones: experimental tools for the reconstruction of past heating conditions. Ethnoarchaeology of Fire Symposium, La Laguna, Tenerife. 9 February 2017 - 11 February 2017. [conference poster].
- Reidsma F.H. (2017), Diagenesis Dissected: A laboratory-based experimental study into the influence of pH exposure on heated bone. ESHE Leiden 2017, Leiden. 21 September 2017 - 23 September 2017. [conference poster].
- Reidsma F.H., Hoesel A. van, Os B.J.H. van, Megens L. & Braadbaart F. (2016), Charred bone: Physical and chemical changes during laboratory simulated heating under reducing conditions and its relevance for the study of fire use in archaeology, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 10: 282-292.
- Reidsma F.H., Pop E.A.L. & Reimann T. (2014), Fire (?) Cracked Rock and Palaeolithic Cooking. Archaeology in Transition Symposium, Leiden. 25 September 2014 - 26 September 2014. [conference poster].
- Reidsma F.H. (2011), Détermination de la température de chauffe de la structure 65. In: Fromont N. (Ed.), La Trinité-‐sur-‐Mer (56), Morbihan, le Mané Roullarde: Occupations Néolithiques et extraction du granite, INRAP: Rapport final d’opération de fouille archéologique 169/385.