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Anastasia Bertheussen

Doctoral Research Fellow - Archaeology

Email anastasia.bertheussen@iakh.uio.no

Room 1.23

Username

Visiting address Blindernveien 11

Postal address Postboks 1008 Blindern 0316 Oslo

Other affiliations Faculty of Humanities (Student) LINK-Centre for Learning and Education (Student)

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Academic interests

Environmental archaeology
Biomarkers
Palaeoecology
Sedimentology
Anthropogenic impact to environments

I am a doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo. Through my research project I am reconstructing the palaeoenvironment of Aursjøen and investigating past human-nature dynamics through geochemical analyses of peat cores. I am also exploring the use of biomarker analyses in archaeological research. This includes biomarkers such as e.g. faecal steroids and n-alkanes.

Education

MA in archaeology in 2022 from the University of Oslo.
Honours certificate in Environmental Humanities and Sciences in 2021 from the University of Oslo.
BA in archaeology in 2020 from the University of Oslo.

Background

I have worked as a field archaeologist on multiple projects since 2018. I have also been a research assistant at the University of Oslo from 2022-2023. Previously been the leader of the committee that organised the NASK conference in 2021-2022.

Supervisor: David Keith Wright

Tags: Environmental archaeology, Biomarkers, Geoarchaeology, Landscape utilisation, Palaeoecology, Stone Age

Walker, Samuel James; Boilard, Aurélie; Henriksen, Mona; Lord, Edana; Robu, Marius & Buylaert, Jan-Pieter [Show all 28 contributors for this article] (2025). A 75,000-y-old Scandinavian Arctic cave deposit reveals past faunal diversity and paleoenvironment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). ISSN 0027-8424. 122(32), p. 1–10. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2415008122. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
During the last glacial period (~118 to 11.7 ka), the Arctic has been characterized by a major redistribution of flora and fauna as a consequence of extreme climatic fluctuations, with associated glacial advances and retreats, sea-level changes, and shifting sea ice extent. In the high-latitude regions of Northern Europe that are currently subject to rapid climate warming, we lack a comprehensive understanding of faunal biodiversity in the last glacial period due to the extreme rarity of preserved organic remains. Here, we present a stratified sediment deposit with a diverse faunal composition preserved in a bone-bearing layer in Arne Qvamgrotta, part of the Storsteinhola cave system (68.10° N 16.38° E) in Northern Norway. Chronological analyses of sediments and bones including radiocarbon, optically stimulated luminescence, uranium–thorium, and phylogenetic dating place the faunal assemblage in Marine Isotope Stage 5a (MIS 5a, Odderade interstadial, ~85 to 71 ka). Combining comparative osteology and bulk-bone metabarcoding, we identify 46 taxa, including mammals, birds, and fish, with several species not previously found in Fennoscandia. The fauna implies a nonanalogous cold-adapted coastal community, with close proximity to sea ice and nearby freshwater bodies. Mitogenome analyses of a subset of taxa identify extinct lineages which attest to a lack of habitat tracking and the absence of a local refugium during the subsequent fully glaciated periods. This faunal record demonstrates long-term faunal dynamics and coastal environmental conditions during MIS 5a in the European Arctic.
Kilhavn, Håvard Parathan; Shipp, Julie & Bertheussen, Anastasia (2024). Comment to the ICS Anthropocene decision: From stratigraphy to storytelling. Quaternary Environments and Humans (QEH). doi: 10.1016/j.qeh.2024.100036. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
On March 4th, 2024, the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) voted against formally declaring the Anthropocene as a chronostratigraphic unit in the geological history of the Earth. The ICS proposal concerned so called “short Anthropocene”. This proposal suggested that human-made markers, among them radionuclides, in sediments from Lake Crawford in Canada could be used as a “golden spike” to pinpoint the chronological divide between the Holocene and the Anthropocene. According to this view, human impact upon the world’s environments and atmosphere increased exponentially from the industrial revolution onwards (“the great acceleration”). Radioactive particles from the first nuclear explosions could provide a truly global chronological marker in sediments and serve as a stratigraphical marker for the start of the Anthropocene (Waters et al., 2024).
Bertheussen, Anastasia (2023). It's been a long time coming: Anthropogenic impact and faecal biomarkers. Primitive tider. ISSN 1501-0430. doi: 10.5617/pt.10829. Full text in Research Archive Show summary
It's been a long time coming: Anthropogenic impact and faecal biomarkers It is undisputed that humans impact their environments. However, what the ecological consequences of anthropogenic influence are in longer time spans is not widely known. In this article I have discussed some ways that can possibly shed more light on the human-environment dynamics in the past e.g. deep-past perspectives and big data. Additionally, I have discussed specifically the potential of faecal biomarkers in archaeological research and how it can support claims of anthropogenic impact to landscape development through the site of the Mesna lakes.

View all works in NVA

Bertheussen, Anastasia (2025). Brent skog skyr ikke ild. Østlendingen. Full text in Research Archive
Bertheussen, Anastasia (2024). Faecal nature - the use of faecal biomarker analysis in archaeological research. Full text in Research Archive
Bertheussen, Anastasia (2024). The Story of Mesna lake – Anthropogenic impact in prehistoric inner regional Norway. Full text in Research Archive
Bertheussen, Anastasia (2024). The Faecal Matter at Hand – the utilisation of faecal biomarker analysis in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Full text in Research Archive
Bertheussen, Anastasia (2023). Aura under overflaten: menneske-natur dynamikk i fjellet. Full text in Research Archive
Bertheussen, Anastasia (2023). It’s a niche thing: Anthropogenic impact to prehistoric landscapes. Full text in Research Archive
Bertheussen, Anastasia (2022). Landskap og mennesker i endring - en analyse av en sedimentkjerne fra Sør-Mesna. Full text in Research Archive
Friis, Ellen Kathrine; Mjærum, Axel & Bertheussen, Anastasia (2022). Mesnavassdraget. Besøkende og bofaste ved Mesnavannene. Ringsaker og Lillehammer. Innlandet. Kulturhistorisk museum, Universitetet i Oslo, Arkeologisk seksjon . Full text in Research Archive Show summary
I 2020 og 2021 ble det foretatt prøvetaking, arkeologiske registreringer og utgravninger i tilknytning til vannene Nord- og Sør-Mesna (ca. 520 moh.) i Ringsaker og Lillehammer kommuner, Innlandet. Feltarbeidet var knyttet til at det var gitt fornyet konsesjon for kraftproduksjonen i Mesnavassdraget. Arbeidet ble finansiert gjennom sektoravgiften for kulturminneundersøkelser i vassdrag. Undersøkelsen var et samarbeid mellom Innlandet fylkeskommune (IFK) og Kulturhistorisk museum (KHM). IFK har laget en separat rapport for registreringene (se Bratlie 2022). Denne rapporten omhandler arbeidet med naturvitenskaplige analyser og utgravninger, samt at den sammenfatter resultatene fra prosjektet. Hovedproblemstillingen ved undersøkelsen har vært knyttet til hvordan Mesnavannene og omegn ble anvendt fra steinalder til middelalder. I forbindelse med prosjektet har det blitt analysert bunnsedimenter fra Sør-Mesna ved bruk av et bredt spekter av metoder (blant annet C14, ulike biomarkører, aDNA (ingen resultater), pollen, stabile isotoper, glødetap og MS). En slik kombinasjon av analyser er tidligere nær uprøvd i Norge og gir nye kilder til kunnskap om forhistorien. Prøveresultatene viser blant annet at mennesker har påvirket vegetasjonen i området siden senmesolittisk tid (ca. 4500 f.Kr.), betydelig aktivitet i deler av yngre steinalder (omkring 3000 f.Kr.) og gode holdepunkter for husdyrhold fra eldre bronsealder (fra ca. 1400 f.Kr.). Metodikken kan følgelig gi vesentlig kunnskap om overordnede utviklingstrekk, også fra vassdrag som er skadet av langvarig vannkraftproduksjon. I forbindelse med prosjektet ble det også fortatt en omfattende utgravning av en fiskefelle (kattise, id 264114). Feltarbeidet, en dendrokronologisk analyse og C14-dateringer viser at fiskefellen besto av minst 145 staur og hadde blitt driftet fra ca. år 1200 til 1350. Det er svært sannsynlig at bruken av anlegget opphørte som følge av svartedauden. Ut over dette foretok KHM blant annet en begrenset utgravning av en steinalderboplass (id 276887), hvor det fremkom et ildsted med ca. 200 g elgbein datert til ca. 3500–3100 f.Kr. Vi undersøkte også et dyrkningslag på gården Bergundhaugen. Laget ble tidfestet til ca. 1450–1630 e.Kr., og angir trolig etableringen av intensivt jordbruk på stedet. Prosjektleder: Axel Mjærum.