News

„Archäologie am Berg“. Public Weekend of Archaeology in Hallstatt in September.

The Natural History Museum Vienna and the Salzwelten Hallstatt invite you to their annual public weekend of archeology on the mountain in Hallstatt:   When: Saturday, September 16 and Sunday, September 17, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m Location: Around the "Alte Schmiede", the branch of the NHM in Hallstatt The latest results of archaeologists and their related disciplines relating to archeology on the Salzberg are presented at around 15 stands. See the attached program for details. Arch am Berg September 2023_Einladung+Programm_DIGITAL

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2023 CALL FOR NOMINATIONS – The Rohlf Medal

The Rohlf Medal for Excellence in Morphometric Methods and Applications was established in 2006 by the family and friends of F. James Rohlf to mark his 70th birthday. He has been a longtime Stony Brook University faculty member and is currently Emeritus Distinguished Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution, and Research Professor in the Department of Anthropology.   Recipients of the Rohlf Medal will be recognized for excellence in their sustained body of work on the development of new morphometric methods or for their applications in the biomedical sciences, including evolutionary biology, population biology, physical anthropology, and medicine. The term “morphometrics” is intended to include high-dimensional pattern analysis of biological form, especially those methods that analyze shape in a comprehensive way, or of covariation of shape with other variables. Additional details may be found on the Rohlf Medal website: https://tinyurl.com/RohlfMedalNom.   Nominations may be made either by the nominee himself/herself or by a colleague. Nominations consist of a letter making the case for the nominee for the 2023 award. Nominees under full consideration by the committee may then be asked to provide additional materials as described on the website: https://tinyurl.com/RohlfMedalNom. Nominations must be submitted to that website by June 15, 2023.   The successful candidate will receive the Rohlf Medal and a cash prize at Stony Brook University,…

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20th anniversary of the Laboratory for scanning electron microscopy at the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS), University Vienna, 14.11.2024, 15:00

Organisation: Dr. Ing. Mathias Mehofer, VIAS, University Vienna In the year 2004 the scanning electron microscopy laboratory was funded at the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science, University of Vienna. Initiated within the FWF project (P 16489) "The Gold Treasure from Sannicolau Mare (Nagyszentmiklós)" under the direction of Gen. Dir. Prof. Dr. F. Daim, it was used to conduct technological and material analysis of this outstanding early medieval gold treasure, which is nowadays housed in the Antikensammlung, Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (KHM). The scanning electron microscope played a pivotal role in this work and has since been utilized in many other research projects addressing various scientific questions. Anorganic and organic materials of all kind were analysed, contributing to archaeometric research and numerous publications. The planned anniversary event on November 14, 2024 aims to reflect on the scientific activities of the past 20 years and present outstanding research results. We warmly invite you to join us in celebrating this anniversary. Where: Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology University Vienna Franz Klein Gasse 1/3rd floor 1190 Vienna lecture room 7 (HS7) When: 14.11.2024, 15-17 pm, followed by a get-together with a buffet and good vine.   We kindly ask you to register by 07.11.2024 at mathias.mehofer@univie.ac.at Jubiläum_20_Jahre-REM_VIAS_Universität_Wien_  

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Press

7,500 years old – Neolithic finds rewrite Hallstatt’s history Archaeologists of the NHM Vienna discover earlier traces of settlements of early farming communities and present them to the public for the first time on 12 August 2025

During excavation work in Hallstatt (on the property of the Kocsar-Riezinger family in the Seestraße), archaeological layers of scientific importance were uncovered: Medieval terracing walls, a burnt layer with coins, bricks and fragments of vessels of the Roman period, as well as up to one meter thick layers from the Latène period (Late Iron Age, c 450-15 BC). Around 1,000 artefacts from different epochs have recently been recovered. The archaeologists of the NHM Vienna also identified spectacular finds pointing to older epochs: Neolithic fragments of stone tools for wood working, flint blades, animal bones and ceramics emerged under a prehistoric rock fall – about 7,500 years old. These are the oldest known traces in Hallstatt and its surrounding areas to date, which prove that the place was inhabited much earlier than previously thought. The earliest farming communities with settled lifestyles, praciting agriculture and animal domestication first appeared in Central Europe from 5,600 BC onwards. This is the first time that we have evidence that those communities, coming across rivers such as the Danube and Traun, also reached areas deep into the region of Salzkammergut and even to the Apls. The reason for this was presumably the salt deposits. On Tuesday, 12 August 2025, the NHM Vienna, together with the Museum Hallstatt, the municipality Hallstatt and the UNESCO World Heritage Management…

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Blog Posts

A Bell Beaker workshop in Vienna

Blog post by Eve Derenne and Karina Grömer On March 21, 2023, members of two partner institutions from the HEAS network — the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science and the Natural History Museum Vienna — co-organised a workshop titled ‘Interweaving Bell Beaker decorative motifs and textile patterns: Exploring technical and symbolic productions during the third millennium BCE in Europe’. The idea for this workshop emerged in September 2022, when Priv.-Doz. Dr. Karina Grömer (Head of the Prehistory Department at the NHM) and Dr. Eve Derenne (postdoctoral fellow, VIAS) met by chance in Hallstatt during a science communication event, the ‘Archäologie am Berg’ day. The conversation regarding the reconstruction of Bronze and Iron Age textiles shifted to the subject of Bell Beakers, a crucial component of SEASCAPES, the project currently occupying Eve's time in Vienna. The intricate motifs found on both Bell Beaker pottery and anthropomorphic stelae have often been compared to textile patterns, but few if any publications have really substantiated that claim. Several aspects of this topic have also remained unexplored, such as the weaving or fiber working methods used to produce these repeated geometric patterns, and whether these techniques were already established by the third millennium BCE. This lively discussion ultimately resulted in an agreement to hold a workshop that would bring together experts from both fields, with…

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Allgemein Publications

A First Look at the Gravettian Open-Air Site Ollersdorf-Heidenberg (Austria): Recent Fieldwork and First Results on Stratigraphy, Chronology, Organic Preservation and Combustion Activity

Bosch, M.D., Pirson, S., Damblon, F., Jambrina-Enríquez, M., Mallol, C., Pryor, A., Murphree, W.C., Viola, B.T., Antl-Weiser, W., Nigst, P.R., 2025. A First Look at the Gravettian Open-Air Site Ollersdorf-Heidenberg (Austria): Recent Fieldwork and First Results on Stratigraphy, Chronology, Organic Preservation and Combustion Activity. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology 8, 10. read more

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Publications

A genetic history of continuity and mobility in the Iron Age central Mediterranean

Moots, H.M., Antonio, M., Sawyer, S., Spence, J.P., Oberreiter, V., Weiß, C.L., Lucci, M., Cherifi, Y.M.S., La Pastina, F., Genchi, F., Praxmeier, E., Zagorc, B., Cheronet, O., Özdoğan, K.T., Demetz, L., Amrani, S., Candilio, F., De Angelis, D., Gasperetti, G., Fernandes, D., Gao, Z., Fantar, M., Coppa, A., Pritchard, J.K., Pinhasi, R., 2023. A genetic history of continuity and mobility in the Iron Age central Mediterranean. Nature Ecology & Evolution. read more

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Publications

A genetic history of the Balkans from Roman frontier to Slavic migrations.

Olalde, I., Carrión, P., Mikić, I., Rohland, N., Mallick, S., Lazaridis, I., Mah, M., Korać, M., Golubović, S., Petković, S., Miladinović-Radmilović, N., Vulović, D., Alihodžić, T., Ash, A., Baeta, M., Bartík, J., Bedić, Ž., Bilić, M., Bonsall, C., Bunčić, M., Bužanić, D., Carić, M., Čataj, L., Cvetko, M., Drnić, I., Dugonjić, A., Đukić, A., Đukić, K., Farkaš, Z., Jelínek, P., Jovanovic, M., Kaić, I., Kalafatić, H., Krmpotić, M., Krznar, S., Leleković, T., M. de Pancorbo, M., Matijević, V., Milošević Zakić, B., Osterholtz, A.J., Paige, J.M., Tresić Pavičić, D., Premužić, Z., Rajić Šikanjić, P., Rapan Papeša, A., Paraman, L., Sanader, M., Radovanović, I., Roksandic, M., Šefčáková, A., Stefanović, S., Teschler-Nicola, M., Tončinić, D., Zagorc, B., Callan, K., Candilio, F., Cheronet, O., Fernandes, D., Kearns, A., Lawson, A.M., Mandl, K., Wagner, A., Zalzala, F., Zettl, A., Tomanović, Ž., Keckarević, D., Novak, M., Harper, K., McCormick, M., Pinhasi, R., Grbić, M., Lalueza-Fox, C., Reich, D., 2023. A genetic history of the Balkans from Roman frontier to Slavic migrations. Cell 186, 5472-5485.e5479. read more

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Publications

A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia.

Lazaridis, I., Alpaslan-Roodenberg, S., Acar, A., Açıkkol, A., Agelarakis, A., Aghikyan, L., Akyüz, U., Andreeva, D., Andrijašević, G., Antonović, D., Armit, I., Atmaca, A., Avetisyan, P., Aytek, A.İ., Bacvarov, K., Badalyan, R., Bakardzhiev, S., Balen, J., Bejko, L., Bernardos, R., Bertsatos, A., Biber, H., Bilir, A., Bodružić, M., Bonogofsky, M., Bonsall, C., Borić, D., Borovinić, N., Bravo Morante, G., Buttinger, K., Callan, K., Candilio, F., Carić, M., Cheronet, O., Chohadzhiev, S., Chovalopoulou, M.-E., Chryssoulaki, S., Ciobanu, I., Čondić, N., Constantinescu, M., Cristiani, E., Culleton, B.J., Curtis, E., Davis, J., Demcenco, T.I., Dergachev, V., Derin, Z., Deskaj, S., Devejyan, S., Djordjević, V., Duffett Carlson, K.S., Eccles, L.R., Elenski, N., Engin, A., Erdoğan, N., Erir-Pazarcı, S., Fernandes, D.M., Ferry, M., Freilich, S., Frînculeasa, A., Galaty, M.L., Gamarra, B., Gasparyan, B., Gaydarska, B., Genç, E., Gültekin, T., Gündüz, S., Hajdu, T., Heyd, V., Hobosyan, S., Hovhannisyan, N., Iliev, I., Iliev, L., Iliev, S., İvgin, İ., Janković, I., Jovanova, L., Karkanas, P., Kavaz-Kındığılı, B., Kaya, E.H., Keating, D., Kennett, D.J., Deniz Kesici, S., Khudaverdyan, A., Kiss, K., Kılıç, S., Klostermann, P., Kostak Boca Negra Valdes, S., Kovačević, S., Krenz-Niedbała, M., Krznarić Škrivanko, M., Kurti, R., Kuzman, P., Lawson, A.M., Lazar, C., Leshtakov, K., Levy, T.E., Liritzis, I., Lorentz, K.O., Łukasik, S., Mah, M., Mallick, S., Mandl, K., Martirosyan-Olshansky, K., Matthews, R., Matthews, W., McSweeney,…

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A global catalog of whole-genome diversity from 233 primate species

Kuderna, L.F.K., Gao, H., Janiak, M.C., Kuhlwilm, M., Orkin, J.D., Bataillon, T., Manu, S., Valenzuela, A., Bergman, J., Rousselle, M., Silva, F.E., Agueda, L., Blanc, J., Gut, M., de Vries, D., Goodhead, I., Harris, R.A., Raveendran, M., Jensen, A., Chuma, I.S., Horvath, J.E., Hvilsom, C., Juan, D., Frandsen, P., Schraiber, J.G., de Melo, F.R., Bertuol, F., Byrne, H., Sampaio, I., Farias, I., Valsecchi, J., Messias, M., da Silva, M.N.F., Trivedi, M., Rossi, R., Hrbek, T., Andriaholinirina, N., Rabarivola, C.J., Zaramody, A., Jolly, C.J., Phillips-Conroy, J., Wilkerson, G., Abee, C., Simmons, J.H., Fernandez-Duque, E., Kanthaswamy, S., Shiferaw, F., Wu, D., Zhou, L., Shao, Y., Zhang, G., Keyyu, J.D., Knauf, S., Le, M.D., Lizano, E., Merker, S., Navarro, A., Nadler, T., Khor, C.C., Lee, J., Tan, P., Lim, W.K., Kitchener, A.C., Zinner, D., Gut, I., Melin, A.D., Guschanski, K., Schierup, M.H., Beck, R.M.D., Umapathy, G., Roos, C., Boubli, J.P., Rogers, J., Farh, K.K.-H., Marques Bonet, T., 2023. A global catalog of whole-genome diversity from 233 primate species. Science 380, 906-913.read more

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News

A new article has been published by HEAS member Martin Kuhlwilm et al. on the genomic history of chimpanzees.

In this paper, DNA data has been gathered from feces of hundreds of chimpanzee individuals living in Africa. Such genomic data from the wild provides a fine-grained picture of the history of our closest living relatives. During the past tens of thousands of years, differences between regions emerged, but there were also opportunities for gene flow and migration. The local genetic variation can now be used to track the geographic origin of captive and confiscated chimpanzees, which is important for the conservation of threatened species. Read full article

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A new late Neanderthal from Crimea reveals long-distance connections across Eurasia

Pigott, E.M., Cheshmedzhieva, K., Zeller, E., van der Sluis, L.G., Pal Chowdhury, M., Gianni, M., Végh, E., Uthmeier, T., Chabai, V., Patou-Mathis, M., Šimková, P.G., Voglmayr, J.N., Weber, G.W., Pinhasi, R., Timmermann, A., Kuhlwilm, M., Douka, K., Higham, T., 2025. A new late Neanderthal from Crimea reveals long-distance connections across Eurasia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 122, e2518974122. read more

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A review on Pyrenean Pleistocene leopards paleoecology, paleobiogeography and adaptative convergences with snow leopards.

Prat-Vericat, M., Marciszak, A., Bartolini-Lucenti, S., Fidalgo, D., Rufí, I., Tura-Poch, C., Vizcaíno-Varo, V., Jovells-Vaqué, S., Ramada, N., Díez-Canseco, C., Gelabert, P., Tornero, C., Terradas, X., Rook, L., Madurell-Malapeira, J., 2025. A review on Pyrenean Pleistocene leopards paleoecology, paleobiogeography and adaptative convergences with snow leopards. Quaternary Science Reviews 358, 109327. read more

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A sedimentary ancient DNA perspective on human and carnivore persistence through the Late Pleistocene in El Mirón Cave, Spain.

Gelabert, P., Oberreiter, V., Straus, L.G., Morales, M.R.G., Sawyer, S., Marín-Arroyo, A.B., Geiling, J.M., Exler, F., Brueck, F., Franz, S., Cano, F.T., Szedlacsek, S., Zelger, E., Hämmerle, M., Zagorc, B., Llanos-Lizcano, A., Cheronet, O., Tejero, J.-M., Rattei, T., Kraemer, S.M., Pinhasi, R., 2025. A sedimentary ancient DNA perspective on human and carnivore persistence through the Late Pleistocene in El Mirón Cave, Spain. Nature Communications 16, 107. read more

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A short and sickly life. Multi-indicator analysis of an infant from a late antique Italian burial site (Piano della Civita, Artena, 3rd-5th cent CE).

Cecconi, V., Nava, A., Lugli, F., Mittnik, A., Sawyer, S., Gadeyne, J., Brouillard, C., Pinhasi, R., Reich, D., Sperduti, A., 2025. A short and sickly life. Multi-indicator analysis of an infant from a late antique Italian burial site (Piano della Civita, Artena, 3rd-5th cent CE). International Journal of Paleopathology 49, 93-103. read more

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A swamp as an obstacle to approach–archaeological and geoelectrical investigations on the Early Bronze Age fortification of Ratzersdorf, Lower Austria,

Krenn-Leeb, A., Supper, R., Ottowitz, D., Jochum, B., Preiner, A., Weßling, R., Jetzinger, D., 2023. A swamp as an obstacle to approach–archaeological and geoelectrical investigations on the Early Bronze Age fortification of Ratzersdorf, Lower Austria, Advances in On-and Offshore Archaeological Prospection: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Archaeological Prospection, pp. 159-162.   read more

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Publications

A symbolic Neanderthal accumulation of large herbivore crania

Baquedano, E., Arsuaga, J.L., Pérez-González, A., Laplana, C., Márquez, B., Huguet, R., Gómez-Soler, S., Villaescusa, L., Galindo-Pellicena, M.Á., Rodríguez, L., García-González, R., Ortega, M.C., Martín-Perea, D.M., Ortega, A.I., Hernández-Vivanco, L., Ruiz-Liso, G., Gómez-Hernanz, J., Alonso-Martín, J.I., Abrunhosa, A., Moclán, A., Casado, A.I., Vegara-Riquelme, M., Álvarez-Fernández, A., Domínguez-García, Á.C., Álvarez-Lao, D.J., García, N., Sevilla, P., Blain, H.-A., Ruiz-Zapata, B., Gil-García, M.J., Álvarez-Vena, A., Sanz, T., Quam, R., Higham, T., 2023. A symbolic Neanderthal accumulation of large herbivore crania. Nature Human Behaviour. read more

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Publications

Accessible, realistic genome simulation with selection using stdpopsim

Gower, G., Pope, N.S., Rodrigues, M.F., Tittes, S., Tran, L.N., Alam, O., Cavassim, M.I.A., Fields, P.D., Haller, B.C., Huang, X., Jeffrey, B., Korfmann, K., Kyriazis, C.C., Min, J., Rebollo, I., Rehmann, C.T., Small, S.T., Smith, C.C.R., Tsambos, G., Wong, Y., Zhang, Y., Huber, C.D., Gorjanc, G., Ragsdale, A.P., Gronau, I., Gutenkunst, R.N., Kelleher, J., Lohmueller, K.E., Schrider, D.R., Ralph, P.L., Kern, A.D., 2025. Accessible, realistic genome simulation with selection using stdpopsim. Molecular Biology and Evolution. read more

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Adaptability of Bony Armor Elements of the Threespine Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus (Teleostei: Gasterosteidae): Ecological and Evolutionary Insights from Symmetry Analyses

Schröder, M., Windhager, S., Schaefer, K., Ahnelt, H., 2023. Adaptability of Bony Armor Elements of the Threespine Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus (Teleostei: Gasterosteidae): Ecological and Evolutionary Insights from Symmetry Analyses. Symmetry 15, 811. read more

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Aigerim RYMBEKOVA

I am a biologist and obtained a Master degree working on population genomics of multiple species including horses, dogs and date palms at University of Bologna. Currently, I am a PhD student in Computational Admixture Genomics group at the University of Vienna. My research interests involve computational approaches to study population history in humans and great apes, particularly admixture between populations.

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Team Leaders

Alexandra S. RODLER-RØRBO

I am an archaeological scientist at the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences with a PhD in Geosciences. My research focuses on the organization of ancient colorant networks in view of economic, political and technological changes, currently from late Bronze Age to late Antiquity in the Mediterranean, southwest Asia and Europe. This includes materials of various industries such as mineral pigments, glasses/glazes, metals, and earths, and includes geological fieldwork, experiments, and mineralogical/petrographic and geochemical analyses with a focus on mass spectrometry.  

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Team Leaders

Alfred GALIK

Alfred Galik originally studied paleontology at the Univ. of Vienna. Since 2003 he has collaborated as a research associate at the institute for Anatomy at the Vetmed Univ Vienna. From 2012 to 2016 he was university assistant at the institute for Anatomy, histology and embryology at the Vetmed Univ Vienna with cooperations in numerous historical and prehistoric archaeozoological projects. He was awarded with the habilitation with the venia legendi “archaeozoology in veterinary medicine” in 2016. Since 2016 Alfred Galik is member of the ÖAI as academy scientist. His prime-interest lies on Archaeozoology, including archaeomalacology and ichthyoarchaeology, besides animal anatomy and osteology, palaeopathology, domestication and evolution research, morphometry and environmental history.

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology (IUHA) Members

Ana M. HERRERO CORRAL

Dr. Ana M. Herrero Corral is a Marie-Curie postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Prehistory and WANA Archaeology, of the Austrian Archaeological Institute. She has a master's degree in Physical Anthropology and a PhD in Prehistory from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain). Her main research focuses on the social role that children of recent prehistory would have within their communities through the bioarchaeological analysis of the funerary record. During her Marie-Curie project she will explore biological and non-biological kinship relationships between children and adults buried together in multiple graves of recent prehistory Iberia. Since 2017 has been part of the Humanejos research project, one of the most important cemeteries of the III and II millennium BC in Iberia, financed by the Spanish Ministry of Culture. Out of an output of over 30 academic publications, those more relevant include: Herrero et al. 2019 The Inheritors: Bell Beaker Children’s Tombs in Iberia and their Social Context, Cintas and Herrero 2020 Missing prehistoric women? Sex ratio as an indicator for analyzing the population of Iberia from the 8th to the 3rd millennia B.C, or the recently published book (Herrero 2022) Bioarchaeological analysis of child burials from the III and II millennium BC in the upper and middle basins of the Tagus.

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Publications

Analyses invasives, micro-invasives et non-invasives des vestiges anthropobiologiques: quelles évolutions des pratiques actuelles et recommandations? Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris.

Goude, G., Le Maître, A., Bertrand, B., Mounier, A., 2024. Analyses invasives, micro-invasives et non-invasives des vestiges anthropobiologiques: quelles évolutions des pratiques actuelles et recommandations? Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris. BMSAP 36. read more

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Anastasia PAPADOGIANNI

I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna, working under the supervision of Katerina Douka (University of Vienna) and Barbara Horejs (Austrian Academy of Sciences). I received my BA in Archaeology and Art History from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece and my MSc in Archaeological Science from the University of Oxford, UK. My research interests lie in bioarchaeology and biomolecular archaeology (especially palaeoproteomics), for the study of palaeodiet, disease prevalence, and population mobility, mostly in prehistoric contexts. Throughout my studies, I have gained experience both in field and laboratory settings, which I enjoy equally, and I have been trained in the application of various analytical techniques applied on archaeological remains. For my PhD, my research focuses on the study of the emergence of the Neolithic way of life in the Greek peninsula and the Aegean, as well as the broader region of the Balkans. With the application of a multimethod approach on skeletal remains, combining traditional (14C dating, isotopic analyses) and cutting-edge biomolecular methods (palaeoproteomics on dental calculus, ZooMS), my PhD will contribute to the investigation of questions concerning the timing, processes and impact of the Neolithisation processes and the different models of diffusion of the Neolithic across Greece and further afield.    

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Publications

Ancient DNA and deep population structure in sub-Saharan African foragers

Lipson, M., Sawchuk, E.A., Thompson, J.C., Oppenheimer, J., Tryon, C.A., Ranhorn, K.L., de Luna, K.M., Sirak, K.A., Olalde, I., Ambrose, S.H., Arthur, J.W., Arthur, K.J.W., Ayodo, G., Bertacchi, A., Cerezo-Román, J.I., Culleton, B.J., Curtis, M.C., Davis, J., Gidna, A.O., Hanson, A., Kaliba, P., Katongo, M., Kwekason, A., Laird, M.F., Lewis, J., Mabulla, A.Z.P., Mapemba, F., Morris, A., Mudenda, G., Mwafulirwa, R., Mwangomba, D., Ndiema, E., Ogola, C., Schilt, F., Willoughby, P.R., Wright, D.K., Zipkin, A., Pinhasi, R., Kennett, D.J., Manthi, F.K., Rohland, N., Patterson, N., Reich, D., Prendergast, M.E., 2022. Ancient DNA and deep population structure in sub-Saharan African foragers. Nature. read more

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Allgemein

Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia

Lazaridis, I., Alpaslan-Roodenberg, S., Acar, A., Açıkkol, A., Agelarakis, A., Aghikyan, L., Akyüz, U., Andreeva, D., Andrijašević, G., Antonović, D., Armit, I., Atmaca, A., Avetisyan, P., Aytek, A.İ., Bacvarov, K., Badalyan, R., Bakardzhiev, S., Balen, J., Bejko, L., Bernardos, R., Bertsatos, A., Biber, H., Bilir, A., Bodružić, M., Bonogofsky, M., Bonsall, C., Borić, D., Borovinić, N., Bravo Morante, G., Buttinger, K., Callan, K., Candilio, F., Carić, M., Cheronet, O., Chohadzhiev, S., Chovalopoulou, M.-E., Chryssoulaki, S., Ciobanu, I., Čondić, N., Constantinescu, M., Cristiani, E., Culleton, B.J., Curtis, E., Davis, J., Demcenco, T.I., Dergachev, V., Derin, Z., Deskaj, S., Devejyan, S., Djordjević, V., Duffett Carlson, K.S., Eccles, L.R., Elenski, N., Engin, A., Erdoğan, N., Erir-Pazarcı, S., Fernandes, D.M., Ferry, M., Freilich, S., Frînculeasa, A., Galaty, M.L., Gamarra, B., Gasparyan, B., Gaydarska, B., Genç, E., Gültekin, T., Gündüz, S., Hajdu, T., Heyd, V., Hobosyan, S., Hovhannisyan, N., Iliev, I., Iliev, L., Iliev, S., İvgin, İ., Janković, I., Jovanova, L., Karkanas, P., Kavaz-Kındığılı, B., Kaya, E.H., Keating, D., Kennett, D.J., Deniz Kesici, S., Khudaverdyan, A., Kiss, K., Kılıç, S., Klostermann, P., Kostak Boca Negra Valdes, S., Kovačević, S., Krenz-Niedbała, M., Krznarić Škrivanko, M., Kurti, R., Kuzman, P., Lawson, A.M., Lazar, C., Leshtakov, K., Levy, T.E., Liritzis, I., Lorentz, K.O., Łukasik, S., Mah, M., Mallick, S., Mandl, K., Martirosyan-Olshansky, K., Matthews, R., Matthews, W., McSweeney,…

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Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia.

Lazaridis, I., Alpaslan-Roodenberg, S., Acar, A., Açıkkol, A., Agelarakis, A., Aghikyan, L., Akyüz, U., Andreeva, D., Andrijašević, G., Antonović, D., Armit, I., Atmaca, A., Avetisyan, P., Aytek, A.İ., Bacvarov, K., Badalyan, R., Bakardzhiev, S., Balen, J., Bejko, L., Bernardos, R., Bertsatos, A., Biber, H., Bilir, A., Bodružić, M., Bonogofsky, M., Bonsall, C., Borić, D., Borovinić, N., Bravo Morante, G., Buttinger, K., Callan, K., Candilio, F., Carić, M., Cheronet, O., Chohadzhiev, S., Chovalopoulou, M.-E., Chryssoulaki, S., Ciobanu, I., Čondić, N., Constantinescu, M., Cristiani, E., Culleton, B.J., Curtis, E., Davis, J., Demcenco, T.I., Dergachev, V., Derin, Z., Deskaj, S., Devejyan, S., Djordjević, V., Duffett Carlson, K.S., Eccles, L.R., Elenski, N., Engin, A., Erdoğan, N., Erir-Pazarcı, S., Fernandes, D.M., Ferry, M., Freilich, S., Frînculeasa, A., Galaty, M.L., Gamarra, B., Gasparyan, B., Gaydarska, B., Genç, E., Gültekin, T., Gündüz, S., Hajdu, T., Heyd, V., Hobosyan, S., Hovhannisyan, N., Iliev, I., Iliev, L., Iliev, S., İvgin, İ., Janković, I., Jovanova, L., Karkanas, P., Kavaz-Kındığılı, B., Kaya, E.H., Keating, D., Kennett, D.J., Deniz Kesici, S., Khudaverdyan, A., Kiss, K., Kılıç, S., Klostermann, P., Kostak Boca Negra Valdes, S., Kovačević, S., Krenz-Niedbała, M., Krznarić Škrivanko, M., Kurti, R., Kuzman, P., Lawson, A.M., Lazar, C., Leshtakov, K., Levy, T.E., Liritzis, I., Lorentz, K.O., Łukasik, S., Mah, M., Mallick, S., Mandl, K., Martirosyan-Olshansky, K., Matthews, R., Matthews, W., McSweeney,…

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Ancient DNA from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) refutes best-selling population collapse theory and reveals pre-European contact with Indigenous Americans

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) with its gigantic statues and treeless landscape has fascinated researchers for centuries. A new genetic study published in this week's Nature disproves the popular theory that the Rapanui population collapsed as a result of an "ecocide"—a human-caused environmental suicide—and shows that the Rapanui admixed with Indigenous Americans centuries before Europeans arrived on the island.   Rapa Nui or Te Pito o Te Henua (the navel of the world), also known as Easter Island, is one of the most isolated inhabited places in the world. Located in the Pacific, it lies over 1,900 km east of the closest inhabited Polynesian island and 3,700 km west of South America. Although the island, its inhabitants and their rich culture have been extensively studied by archaeologists, anthropologists and geneticists, two key elements of Rapanui history remain very controversial to this day. One of these is the theory of population collapse through "ecocide" or "ecological suicide" in the 1600s, thought to be the result of overpopulation and resource mismanagement. The other major contention is whether the Polynesian ancestors of the Rapanui interacted with Indigenous Americans before contact with Europeans in 1722. This week's issue of Nature features a genetic study that sheds light on these two debates related to Rapanui history by examining the genomes of 15 Rapanui individuals who lived…

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Ancient DNA refines taxonomic classification of Roman equids north of the Alps, elaborated with osteomorphology and geometric morphometrics

Sharif, M., Mohaseb, A.,  Zimmermann, M., Trixl, S., Saliari, K,   Kunst, G.,  Cucchi, T.,    Czeika, S., Mashkour,M., Orlando, L., Schaefer, K., Peters, J., Mohandesan, E. , 2022, Ancient DNA refines taxonomic classification of Roman equids north of the Alps, elaborated with osteomorphology and geometric morphometrics  Journal of Archaeological Science read more

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Ancient DNA reveals diverse community organizations in the 5th millennium BCE Carpathian Basin

Szécsényi-Nagy, A., Virag, C., Jakab, K., Rohland, N., Ringbauer, H., Anders, A., Raczky, P., Hajdu, T., Kiss, K., Szeniczey, T., Évinger, S., Keszi, T., M. Virág, Z., Cheronet, O., Mallick, S., Akbari, A., Pinhasi, R., Reich, D., Siklósi, Z., 2025. Ancient DNA reveals diverse community organizations in the 5th millennium BCE Carpathian Basin. Nature Communications 16, 5318. read more

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Ancient DNA reveals five streams of migration into Micronesia and matrilocality in early Pacific seafarers

Liu, Y.-C., Hunter-Anderson, R., Cheronet, O., Eakin, J., Camacho, F., Pietrusewsky, M., Rohland, N., Ioannidis, A., Athens, J.S., Douglas, M.T., Ikehara-Quebral, R.M., Bernardos, R., Culleton, B.J., Mah, M., Adamski, N., Broomandkhoshbacht, N., Callan, K., Lawson, A.M., Mandl, K., Michel, M., Oppenheimer, J., Stewardson, K., Zalzala, F., Kidd, K., Kidd, J., Schurr, T.G., Auckland, K., Hill, A.V.S., Mentzer, A.J., Quinto-Cortés, C.D., Robson, K., Kennett, D.J., Patterson, N., Bustamante, C.D., Moreno-Estrada, A., Spriggs, M., Vilar, M., Lipson, M., Pinhasi, R., Reich, D., 2022. Ancient DNA reveals five streams of migration into Micronesia and matrilocality in early Pacific seafarers. Science 377, 72-79. read more

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Ancient DNA reveals reproductive barrier despite shared Avar-period culture

Wang, K., Tobias, B., Pany-Kucera, D., Berner, M., Eggers, S., Gnecchi-Ruscone, G.A., Zlámalová, D., Gretzinger, J., Ingrová, P., Rohrlach, A.B., Tuke, J., Traverso, L., Klostermann, P., Koger, R., Friedrich, R., Wiltschke-Schrotta, K., Kirchengast, S., Liccardo, S., Wabnitz, S., Vida, T., Geary, P.J., Daim, F., Pohl, W., Krause, J., Hofmanová, Z., 2025. Ancient DNA reveals reproductive barrier despite shared Avar-period culture. Nature. read more

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