Willem van Zeist

Willem van Zeist (12 March 1924 – 7 October 2016) was a Dutch archaeobotanist and palynologist. He was the director of the Biologisch-Archaeologisch Instituut at the University of Groningen.

Education Van Zeist studied biology at the University of Utrecht, completing his PhD dissertation in 1955 on pollen analysis investigation in the Netherlands, with special reference to archaeology (Acta Botanica Neerlandica 4, 1955). From 1951 to 1989 he was linked to the Biologisch-Archaeologisch Instituut at the University of Groningen. He became lecturer there in 1967 and a professor in 1973.

Research

Europe Van Zeist conducted research in Europe on the oldest recovered canoe in the world, the Pesse canoe found in the Netherlands. According to C14 dating analysis it was found to be constructed somewhere between 8200 and 7600 BC. Van Zeist also conducted analytical studies of pollen cores and charred seeds and fruits from archaeological excavations at Gasselte, Noordbarge, Odoorn, Peelo and Wijster. In 1983 he became a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Near East

In 1975, van Zeist began work on establishing the climatological record for the Near East with pollen analyses from Iran and Turkey. Along with other studies he concluded that there had only been relatively minor fluctuations in the climate of this area since 5500 BC. He conducted paleobotanical studies and dating analyses at various Near Eastern archaeological sites such as Tell Ramad, Tell Ghoraife, El Kowm, Ras Shamra, Cayonu, Ganj Dareh, Mureybet and Tell Aswad. At the latter site near Mount Hermon in Syria, he made a find of the earliest cultivated Emmer Wheat yet found anywhere on Earth to date, along with what he considered to be domesticated peas and lentils along with other grains such as einkorn and barley at later stages.

Selected bibliography