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.
- Planted, designed and managed landscapes – A review of Finnish garden archaeology involved in garden history with an archaeobotanical view (2018) Landscapes of the past and future: Current Finnish Research in Landscape Archaeology Teija Alanko, Mia Lempiäinen-Avci
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Archaeobotanical analysis of radiocarbon-dated plant remains with special attention to Secale cereale (rye) cultivation at the medieval village of Mankby in Espoo (Finland) (2017)
- Vegetation History and Archaeobotany
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Archaeobotanical remains from inhumation graves in Finland, with special emphasis on a 16th century grave at Kappelinmäki, Lappeenranta (2017)
- Journal of archaeological science : reports
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Elämää Pirkanmaalla rautakaudella – ruokaa ja rohtoa (2017) Tursiannotko – tutkimuksia hämäläiskylästä viikinkiajalta keskiajalle Mia Lempiäinen-Avci
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - The 18th century sea fortress of Ruotsinsalmi, Kotkansaari in Finland : Archaeobotanical data of a log latrine (2017)
- Estonian Journal of Archaeology
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Tursiannotkon pelloilla viljeltiin ohraa ja hernettä (2017)
- Pirkanmaan Alta: Arkeologisia Tutkimuksia
(B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal) - Ancient Fields in the Medieval Village of Mankby in Espoo (2016)
- Archaeologia Medii Aevi Finlandiae
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Domestic Animals and Plants in Finnish Medieval Church Wall Paintings from zooarchaeological and archaeobotanical perspective (2016)
- Finskt Museum
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Patterns of Everyday life. Archaeobotanical Research in the Medieval Village of Mankby (2016) Mankby – A Deserted Medieval Village on the Coast of Southern Finland Lempiäinen-Avci Mia
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Sinebrychoffien empiresohva kätkee sisälleen merkittävää kasvihistoriaa (2016)
- Verhoilija : Suomen verhoilijamestarien liiton julkaisu
(D1 Article in a professional journal) - Käymäläkaivaus – harvinaista herkkua. Uusia tutkimustuloksia Ruotsinsalmen historiaan (2014)
- Muinaistutkija
(B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal) - Tattaria ja hirssiä sotilaiden ruokana 1790-luvun Ruotsinsalmen merilinnoituksessa (2014)
- Taapeli : Kymenlaakson museon tiedotuslehti
(E1 Popularised article) - Espoo Mankby, keskiaikaisen kylätontin kasvijäännetutkimukset (2013) Mia Lempiäinen-Avci
(Other publication) - Greece, Arachamiai Agia Paraskevi. Macrofossil analysis report (2013) Mia Lempiäinen-Avci
(Other publication) - Maatalouden historiaa arkeologisen eläinluututkimuksen ja kasvijäännetutkimuksen mukaan (2013)
- Historiallinen Aikakauskirja
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Pirkkala, Tursiannotko – Rautakauden asuinpaikan makrofossiilitutkimukset (2013) Mia Lempiäinen-Avci
(Other publication) - Saiganruokaa ja rikkaruohojen jälkeläisiä – Viljalajimme ovat alunperin Lähi-idän heiniä. Niiden kantalajeihin voi törmätä esimerkiksi lomamatkalla Turkissa (2013)
- Länsi-Suomi
(Other publication) - Vrouw Maria 1700-luvun hollantilainen kauppa-alus. Kasvijäännetutkimukset (2013) Mia Lempiäinen-Avci
(Other publication)



