Mia Lempiäinen-Avci
PhD
Biodiversity unit mialem@utu.fi +358 29 450 2114 +358 40 053 9279 Office: Herbarium ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/orcid.org/0000-0002-0221-151X |
Archaeology, Archaeobotany, Environmental history, Macrofossils, Cultivation history, Economic Plants, Barley, Rye, Middle Ages, Early Modern Period
- Title of Docent in archaeobotany in 2025 (University of Turku)
- PhD in archaeobotany in 2019 (University of Turku)
- I am an audited forensic botanist.
Between 2016 and 2019, I worked as an archaeobotanist at the Archaeological Museum of the University of Stavanger, Norway, where I participated in large-scale excavations and environmental analyses. For most of my career, I have worked as a grant-funded researcher in projects supported by the Academy of Finland and several private foundations.
My current position is as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Biodiversity Unit, University of Turku, and a Research Coordinator in the Human Diversity Consortium at the same university. My research affiliations also include the Department of Archaeology (University of Turku), the Department of Archaeology (University of Tartu, Estonia), the Archaeological Museum (University of Stavanger, Norway), and the Niedersächsisches Institut für Historische Küstenforschung (Germany).
My research focuses on the history of economic plants, cultivation, agriculture and biodiversity. My research spans from Neolithic to the Middle Ages, approached through both archaeology and archaeobotany. Geographically, my work spans Fennoscandia and the Baltic region, with additional comparative studies in Greece and Italy. I employ a wide range of analytical methods, including genetic and isotopic analyses, to investigate the history of cultivation and plant use in Finland, Estonia, and Norway. My studies have examined plant remains from Neolithic wetland sites, medieval rural villages and graves, diet and consumption patterns at archaeological sites, wood species used in medieval sculptures and coffins, waterlogged plant material from shipwrecks, and botanical evidence in forensic investigations.
- Archaeobotany course at the University of Tartu in Estonia (2025->).
- Archaeobotany course at the University of Turku for geology students (2012-2021).
- I supervise Master's theses and review them.
- Getting Back to the Lake: A New Look into the Mesolithic and Neolithic Settlement and Subsistence Strategies at the Wetland Site of Järvensuo 1, Southwest Finland (2026)
- Journal of Wetland Archaeology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Kasvien muinais-DNA-tutkimus tarkentaa tietoa viljelyn historiasta (2025) Muinais-DNA: Avain menneisyyteen Lempiäinen-Avci, Mia
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - New evidence of late Neolithic and early Metal Period agriculture in Turku, southwest Finland (2025)
- Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - New insight into medieval cultivation at the village of Mankby in Espoo, Finland – Comparing stable isotopes of carbon δ¹³C and nitrogen δ¹⁵N of Secale and Hordeum from Mankby to 14th century grain materials from Estonia (2025) Shattered and Scattered Pasts: Festschrift for Professor Georg Haggrén Lempiäinen-Avci, Mia; Johanson, Kristiina; Sepp, Holar; Väisänen, Tuija; Sammler, Sandra; Kriiska, Aivar; Tõrv, Mari
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Millaista monimuotoisuutta kaupunkiluontoon kaivataan? (2024)
- Turun Sanomat
(E1 Popularised article) - Submerged Mesolithic plant remains reveal lush thermophilous woodland on remote isle off the SW-Norwegian coast (2024)
- Quaternary International
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Witte Swaen from 1636. The Discovery and Archaeological Survey of an Intact Fluit in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea (2024)
- International Journal of Nautical Archaeology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Artisans of the Stone Age: the utilisation of plant- and wood-based raw materials at the wetland site of Järvensuo 1 (2023)
- Antiquity
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Autolla Ruotsin muinaisuuteen ja Pohjoismaiden kaupunkiarkeologiaan - Nordic Urban Archaeology -konferenssi (NUA 2023) 10.–12.5.2023 (2023)
- SKAS
(B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal) - Herbarium TUR Celebrates Its 100 Years (2023)
- Taxon
(B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal)



