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This month, we feature Dimitri Papavasiliou, a fourth-year PhD student in Anthropology whose research examines fire use and domestic space in Pleistocene hunter-gatherers, with a focus on hearth and bedding practices. His work combines ethnoarchaeology, microarchaeological methods, and international collaboration to better understand how everyday human behaviors are preserved in the archaeological record.
Dimitri received his B.A. and M.A. in archaeology from Boston University, where he specialized in tropical archaeobotany. His research affiliations include the University of Nairobi, the British Institute in Eastern Africa, the National Museums of Kenya, and the Ogiek Peoples’ Development Program. He also collaborates with the AMBI Lab at La Laguna University in Spain and is a member of Rutgers’ Laboratory for MicroArchaeology.
Research Focus
Hearths and bedding materials are central to understanding Paleolithic lifeways but are highly vulnerable in preservation. Dimitri’s research addresses two key challenges: identifying the function of Paleolithic hearth features, and detecting bedding materials in archaeological contexts.
To address these questions, he conducted ethnoarchaeological fieldwork with the Ogiek, an Indigenous hunter-gatherer community in Kenya. His work documents traditional fire-and bed-making practices and collects comparative samples to improve the interpretation of archaeological sites.
Fieldwork and Methods
Dimitri spent five months in the field. He lived and worked with the Ogiek community in Kenya for two months, followed by three months in Spain. While in Spain, he excavated at the Middle Paleolithic site of El Salt and conducted laboratory analyses.
His methods include micromorphology, FTIR, loss on ignition (LOI), phytolith analysis, and microcharcoal quantification, with samples processed at Rutgers and partner institutions.
Life in the Field
Dimitri’s mornings began with loud tapping at the window of the small room in the cultural center where he stayed, caused by a forest bird smashing nuts against the glass. His days were spent organizing equipment, coordinating excavation schedules, collecting samples, and conducting interviews with community members. Much of the work required careful planning, including protecting samples left to dry overnight in the forest and securing permission from village elders before working in local communities.
Excavating a single hearth feature took approximately 3 hours, and because the plaster covering micromorphology blocks needed to dry overnight, Dimitri often protected samples in the forest and returned the following day. Some sampling took place in villages, requiring permission from elders and close observation by community members. He also conducted interviews at both the cultural center and in surrounding villages.
K
ey Insights
Dimitri documented nine types of traditional hearth features and three types of bedding practices. These features produced distinct stratigraphic signatures, ranging from thick ash layers and rubified sediments to subtle sediment discoloration. Bedding features revealed sediment patterns comparable to phytolith-rich deposits identified at Sibudu Cave in South Africa. Highlighting the potential of ethnoarchaeology to refine interpretations of Paleolithic domestic behavior.
Community Impact
Beyond academic contributions, Dimitri emphasizes ethical, collaborative research. He was the first researcher to work with the Ogiek’s newly established cultural center and hopes his project will support long-term research partnerships and broader recognition of Ogiek history and culture.
Together with community members, he founded the Ogiek Youth Development Program (OYDP), which supports education, school supplies, and intergenerational mentorship initiatives, an effort he describes as one of the most rewarding parts of his fieldwork.
CHES Support
This research was supported by the CHES Albert Fellows Dissertation Research Grant, which enabled his extended international fieldwork.
Advice for the Field
Be prepared, be respectful, and enjoy every moment. Let adversity introduce you to yourself and let the challenges make you wiser…
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Dr. Susan Cachel, CHES faculty member and Professor of Anthropology at Rutgers, recently advised a Cranbury Middle School team competing in the First LEGO League Robotics Innovation Challenge and helped them design a field-ready solution inspired by real archaeological challenges.
Drawing from her experience in Kenya with the Koobi Fora Paleoanthropological Field School, Dr. Cachel taught students about the limits of solar panels in extreme heat. The team then developed an innovative tent system that combines solar panels with hydropanels, which extract water from air humidity to generate drinking water and cool the solar technology.
Their concept integrates lightweight Dyneema fabric, recycled materials, and dual water and power systems to support archaeologists in remote, arid environments. The students also demonstrated that their system could dramatically increase daily water availability up to 4 to 8 liters per day while reducing emissions associated with fuel use and bottled water transport based on their project testing and design work.
With Dr. Cachel’s guidance, the team successfully advanced through the Mid Atlantic FLL Robotics Competition and placed in the top six teams, qualifying for the next level at the state competition. CHES congratulates Dr. Cachel and the Cranbury Middle School team on their achievement and celebrates this collaboration as a standout example of applied anthropology inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers!!!
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Congratulations to CHES Director Dr. Erin Vogel, on her recent publication in Science Advances: “Integrated behavioral and metabolically flexible responses of wild orangutans to ecologically driven dietary variation.”
This landmark study provides integrated evidence of how wild orangutans adapt to feast-and-famine cycles by maintaining protein intake and flexibly shifting to body fat and muscle during periods of fruit scarcity. The paper has already received wide attention in the scientific community and media, highlighting its significance for both primate ecology and human health research.
Dr. Vogel also co-authored a companion article in BioScience (“Fermented fruits: scrumping, sharing, and the origin of feasting”, September 2025), which reviews evidence that African apes frequently consume naturally fermented fruits (“scrumping”) and explores implications for the evolution of alcohol tolerance and social behavior.
Check out Dr. Vogel's new publications below!
Integrated behavioral and metabolically flexible responses of wild orangutans to ecologically driven dietary variation
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adv7613
Fermented fruits: scrumping, sharing, and the origin of feasting
https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/75/9/774/8215783
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CHES graduate affiliate Charles Maingi has been awarded a grant from the Primate Action Fund for his project, “Anthropogenic Impacts on the Activity Budget, Physiological Stress, and Health of the Tana River Mangabeys (Cercocebus galeritus) in Tana River National Primate Reserve, Kenya.”
This award supports important conservation research addressing the effects of human disturbance on endangered primates and their habitats.
Congratulations, Charles!
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We are thrilled to congratulate CHES graduate affiliates Dimitri Papavasiliou and Rebecca (Becca) DeCamp on being awarded National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (NSF DDRIGs) for their dissertation projects.
Dimitri Papavasiliou
Dimitri’s project, A Microarchaeological Approach to Paleolithic Fire and Bedding Technology, will examine the social and technological development of early human groups by exploring how they organized and maintained domestic living areas. Focusing on two critical elements, fire use and the placement of bedding materials, this research offers insight into cognitive complexity, changing social structures, and survival strategies in our evolutionary past. By incorporating ethnoarchaeology, experimental archaeology, and microarchaeology, Dimitri’s study presents a novel approach to understanding domestic behavior in ancient human societies.
Rebecca 'Becca' DeCamp
Becca’s project, Genomic and Transcriptomic Investigation of Reproductive Seasonality and Sperm Competition in Primates, investigates the molecular changes that the testes undergo during the breeding season in the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus), a seasonally reproducing primate. This work will shed light on the genetic and physiological mechanisms underlying reproductive seasonality and mating strategies.
Congratulations to both Dimitri and Becca for receiving this prestigious award!
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CHES graduate affiliates from the Bergey Genetics Lab presented their lemur genomics research as part of invited symposia at the 30th International Primatological Society Congress in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Lindsey Hauff gave a talk on her work generating a new genome sequence for an endangered lemur, completed entirely in Madagascar using portable Nanopore sequencing technology. Miarisoa Ramilson presented her research applying new methods for rapid pathogen detection in lemurs, with potential applications for monitoring disease-causing pathogens crossing species boundaries. Rebecca (Becca) DeCamp spoke about their genomic investigation into reproductive seasonality and sperm competition in mouse lemurs living in and around Ranomafana National Park. Additionally, Becca was invited to lead a workshop on Oxford Nanopore sequencing as part of the IPS PreCongress Training Program, held at the Centre ValBio field station prior to the Congress. CHES faculty member Christina Bergey collaborated on these projects, and she and Lindsey Hauff also contributed to Rutgers postdoctoral researcher Morgan Chaney’s presentation of a new genome for the golden bamboo lemur, sequenced in Madagascar.
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This month, we’re thrilled to feature Charles Kivasu Maingi, a fifth-year PhD student and dedicated primate conservationist whose fieldwork explores how primates persist in human-altered landscapes. Charles’s work focuses on the critically endangered Tana River mangabey, a species facing increasing habitat challenges due to anthropogenic pressures.
Meet Charles
Charles describes himself as a “primate conservation enthusiast yearning to learn how habitat changes influence their biology.” He’s passionate about fieldwork and relishes time in nature, especially walking through forests where primates roam. With field boots on and binoculars in hand, Charles has entered the data collection phase of his dissertation research.
His project was inspired by a central question in conservation biology: How do primates cope with habitat modification? More specifically, Charles is comparing mangabey groups living in heavily disturbed forests with those in less disturbed areas, investigating their behavior, stress levels, and health (including gastrointestinal parasites). By understanding their ability to adapt, he hopes to contribute to both primate conservation and our broader understanding of ecological and behavioral plasticity, insights that reflect evolutionary patterns seen in early hominins. 
Charles employs noninvasive techniques, collecting fecal samples for hormonal and parasite analyses and sampling plant materials for nutritional information. While still early in the fieldwork stage, his daily routine already begins at dawn, listening for the signature “whoop gobble” of the mangabeys, following their movements from sunrise until evening as they forage and rest.
CHES Support
Charles notes that CHES has been a key supporter of his work, both financially and intellectually. “Being the only major grant, I have received so far, I really appreciate it as it will enable me to kickstart the dissertation fieldwork,” he shares. Beyond funding, CHES talks have offered valuable opportunities to exchange ideas and learn from scholars across disciplines.
Field Moments and Challenges
Although logistical obstacles like export permits briefly delayed his research timeline, Charles has faced challenges with calm persistence, navigating bureaucratic systems and leaning on local networks. One of his favorite field moments? Observing mangabeys spread around him, completely unbothered by his presence as they feed on fallen Ficus sycomorus fruits (image attached).
Charles offers wise advice: “Visit your study site ahead of time and connect with researchers who’ve worked there before. Keep an open line with your academic advisor, be friendly with your field colleagues, and learn from the local community.” His philosophy? Keep an open mind there’s always more to learn.
When not immersed in fieldwork, Charles enjoys rest and quiet reflection, no doubt much needed after long days tracking primates in Kenya’s riverine forests.
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Congratulations to CHES faculty member Dr. Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello and colleagues on the publication of their latest paper in Nature Communications! The article introduces the Microbiota Vault Initiative (MVI), which is a groundbreaking global effort to preserve the planet’s disappearing microbial diversity. By cryogenically storing samples from human, animal, plant, and environmental sources, the MVI aims to protect these essential microbes from threats like antibiotics, industrialization, and climate change. Building on her research into how modern life disrupts our ancestral microbiomes, Dr. Dominguez-Bello and her collaborators are working to create a long-term global archive of microbial life. For more information read the paper here!
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Congratulations to PhD candidate and Graduate Affiliate, William Aguado, who won Best Genetics Poster at the 94th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists (AABA) in Baltimore, March 2025!
His poster, titled “Evolution of Primate Salivary PRP Genes in Response to Tannin-Rich Diets,” explored how genes coding proline-rich proteins (PRPs) (a specialized class of salivary proteins) have evolved through the primate lineage. Since PRPs are thought to help mitigate the toxic effects of tannins found in many plant foods, his research looked into how changes in PRP gene structure correlate with dietary adaptations in primates.
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On March 7, 2025, the Anthropology Department held its annual Second Year Colloquium, a key milestone where second year Ph.D. students present their developing dissertation research. This year’s presenters included CHES members Natalie Robinson and Miarisoa Ramilison, with Natalie presenting on her proposed research in Indonesia and Miarisoa in Madagascar! This rite of passage debuted exciting emerging research in anthropology and offered a valuable opportunity for exchange of ideas and project feedback.
