Qimeng Duan is a paleoethnobotanist who investigates how underutilized and neglected plants contributed to food production and agrobiodiversity in ancient China. Focusing on chenopods, she tests whether cultivation led to measurable change in seed morphology, combining standardized digital microscopy, experimental charring, and comparative archaeological datasets.

 

Her prior research includes charred plant remains from Jinzai and phytolith studies at Liangchengzhen and Sujiacun, where she analyzed field management and crop processing strategies.