Francesc Burjachs Casas

Francesc Burjachs Casas

Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social

Humanities

Born on 3rd August 1955 in Blanes, Catalonia. Dissertation on Paleopalynology, Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB, 1985). DEA on Quaternary, MNHN-IPH, Paris (1986). PhD in Biological Sciences (UAB, 1990). Contributor of the Botany Department (UAB, 1979-1990). Director and co-director of several archaeological excavations. Hired researcher at Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera, CSIC, Barcelona (1990-1998). Research Assistant at Catholic University of Louvain-La-Neuve (1994). Associate Professor at University Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona since 1998. ICREA Research Professor at URV (2001-2007) and at the Catalan Institute of Human Palaeoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES) since 2008. Training stages of palynological research abroad: CRA, Sophia Antipolis, France (1978) with Prof. M. Girard; IPH, Paris (1985-1987) with Prof. J. Renault-Miskovsky, and University La Sapienza, Roma (1991) with Prof. M. Follieri. He has published more than 390 papers and reports.

Research interests

My investigation seeks to understand the climatic changes that happened along human evolution. This information is important to appreciate some of the factors which have influenced our evolution towards the current species. More precisely, my work is developed in the science of Palynology, which basically consists in the study of the fossil pollen trapped in the soil that our ancestors stepped on. In this way, we can describe the landscape in which they lived, the climate they endured, the vegetables they ate, etc.

Selected publications

- Revelles J, Martí-Molist J, Burjachs F, et al. 2023, ‘Socioecological impact of monogenetic volcanism in the La Garrotxa Volcanic Field (NE Iberia)’. Science Reports, 13,1, 8168.
- Iriarte E, Revelles J., Finsinger W, Mesquita-Joanes F, Rodrigo MA, Burjachs F, Expósito I, Martí Molist J, Planagumà Ll, Alcalde G & Saña M 2023, 'Youngest Iberian Holocene volcanic eruptions and palaeoenvironmental evolution of a barrier-paleolake in the Garrotxa Volcanic Field (NE Spain)', The Holocene, 33, 8, 939-959.
- Fernández-López de Pablo J, Polo-Díaz A, Rabuñal-Gayo JR, Gómez-Puche M, Carrión-Marco Y, Cantó A, McLaughlin R, Ferrer C & Burjachs F 2023, ‘Impacts of Early Holocene environmental dynamics on open-air occupation patterns in the Western Mediterranean: insights from El Arenal de la Virgen (Alicante, Spain)’. Journal of Quaternary Science, vol. 38, no. 5, pp 725-749.
- Rull V, Burjachs F, Carrión JS, et al. 2023, ‘Historical biogeography of Cannabis in the Iberian Peninsula: A probabilistic approach using palynological evidence’. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, vol. 58, 125704. 
- Burjachs F, Karoui-Yaakoub N, Expósito I, Mtimet M-S, Amri L & Martínez-Navarro B 2023, ‘Palaeoenvironmental features of the early Middle Pleistocene site of Wadi Sarrat in NW Tunisia (Northern Africa)’. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, vol. 317, 104972.

Selected research activities

Co-organiser of the VII Reunió OIKOS de Bioarqueologia. Organized by Associació Catalana de BioArqueologia (ACBA) and Universitat de Girona (Catalonia). 26-27 May 2023, Sala de Graus, Facultat de Lletres, University of Girona.
Rechercher of the Project Using climate envelope models to predict spatial and temporal distribution patterns of climate-related Quaternary extinctions (QUATEXT)
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Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Programa Estatal para Impulsar la Investigación Científico-Técnica y su Transferencia, ref. PID2021-122533NB-I00