A curated dataset of great ape genome diversity
Han, S., Riyahi, S., Huang, X., Kuhlwilm, M., 2025. A curated dataset of great ape genome diversity. Scientific Data 12, 1835. read more
Publications
Autor: Maeve Nic Samhradáin
Publications
SAI: A Python Package for Statistics for Adaptive Introgression
Huang, X., Chen, S., Hackl, J., Kuhlwilm, M., 2025. SAI: A Python Package for Statistics for Adaptive Introgression. Molecular Biology and Evolution. read more
Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS) Members
Stefan KROJER
Stefan Krojer is a research associate and PhD candidate at the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS) at the University of Vienna. His research and teaching focus on the application of geophysical and imaging techniques for the investigation of underwater archaeological sites in Austria and internationally. As part of the FWF-WEAVE project “Drowned Villages of the Scheldt. A Geoarchaeological Study,” he investigates submerged historical settlements in the Scheldt Delta (Netherlands) using high-resolution sonar technologies. In parallel, he is involved in several projects concerning the documentation of underwater archaeological sites in Austrian lakes – among others in close collaboration with and on behalf of the Kuratorium Pfahlbauten (Board of Pile Dwellings), within the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps.” Krojer is a certified scientific diver with decades of experience in technical diving. He also works as an instructor and examiner for diving instructors and technical divers, combining this practical expertise with academic research and teaching. He is the founder of a specialized company for underwater archaeological prospection and currently teaches at the Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology at the University of Vienna in the field of underwater archaeological surveying. His methodological focus lies in high-resolution, large-scale and minimally invasive prospection using sonar technology (including side-scan, multibeam, and sub-bottom systems) and underwater photogrammetry. In…
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members
Josef HACKL
I am currently a PhD student in the Computational Admixture Genomics group at the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna. Among others, I completed a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Genetics and Developmental Biology at the University of Vienna. My PhD project primarily deals with the application of Machine Learning techniques in population genetics, focusing on Deep Learning Architectures for detecting Ghost Admixture and Adaptive Introgression.
News
HEAS Publication Covered in PsyPost
A recent publication by HEAS member Berhard Fink et al. on 'Perceptions of female age, health and attractiveness vary with systematic hair manipulations' was covered in PsyPost. https://www.psypost.org/hair-shine-linked-to-perceptions-of-youth-and-health-in-women/ https://www.heas.at/research/publications/perceptions-of-female-age-health-and-attractiveness-vary-with-systematic-hair-manipulations/
News
Mining and Dining: Prehistoric Diets in the Salt Mines of Hallstatt
by HEAS Team Leader Kerstin Kowarik The FWF-funded project Mining and Dining investigates the dietary habits of Bronze and Iron Age miners through the analysis of exceptionally well-preserved human excrement recovered from the prehistoric salt mines of Hallstatt, Austria. The aim is to produce high-resolution, individual dietary profiles, offering new insights into nutrition, health, and everyday life in the Metal Ages. By combining archaeobotanical, parasitological, genetic, and proteomic analyses, the project examines 50 individual palaeofaeces to explore: • the diversity and complexity of prehistoric miners' diets, • long-term dietary patterns via gut microbiome composition, • the consumption of fermented and dairy products, • and possible correlations between diet and biological sex. This integrated, multi-method approach opens up a new perspective on prehistoric food culture – from cooking and consumption practices to health and social structures – and highlights the unique scientific potential of salt-preserved palaeofaeces. Project Details Mining and Dining is funded by the FWF Joint Projects Programme (Austria–South Tyrol) and carried out under the joint leadership of the Austrian Archaeological Institute (OeAI, Austrian Academy of Sciences) and the Institute for Mummy Studies (Eurac Research, Bolzano). Research partners include: • Natural History Museum Vienna • Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna • Geosphere Austria • Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle (USA) • MedUni Vienna • University of Trento…
Publications
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
Publications
Perceptions of female age, health and attractiveness vary with systematic hair manipulations
Will, S., Beckmann, M., Kunstmann, K., Kerschbaumer, J., Loh, Y.L., Stofel, S., Matts, P.J., Shackelford, T.K., Fink, B., Perceptions of female age, health and attractiveness vary with systematic hair manipulations. International Journal of Cosmetic Science n/a. read more
Publications
Long shared haplotypes identify the southern Urals as a primary source for the 10th-century Hungarians.
Gyuris, B., Vyazov, L., Türk, A., Flegontov, P., Szeifert, B., Langó, P., Mende, B.G., Csáky, V., Chizhevskiy, A.A., Gazimzyanov, I.R., Khokhlov, A.A., Kolonskikh, A.G., Matveeva, N.P., Ruslanova, R.R., Rykun, M.P., Sitdikov, A., Volkova, E.V., Botalov, S.G., Bugrov, D.G., Grudochko, I.V., Komar, O., Krasnoperov, A.A., Poshekhonova, O.E., Chikunova, I., Sungatov, F., Stashenkov, D.A., Zubov, S., Zelenkov, A.S., Ringbauer, H., Cheronet, O., Pinhasi, R., Akbari, A., Rohland, N., Mallick, S., Reich, D., Szécsényi-Nagy, A., 2025. Long shared haplotypes identify the southern Urals as a primary source for the 10th-century Hungarians. Cell 188, 6064-6078.e6011. read more
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members
Carla GÓMEZ MONTES
I am a PhD candidate jointly enrolled in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna and the History and Geography PhD program at the University of Cantabria. My supervisors are Pere Gelabert (University of Vienna) and Ana B. Marín Arroyo (University of Cantabria). I hold a Bachelor’s degree in History and a Master’s degree in Prehistory and Archaeology, both from the University of Cantabria. My master’s thesis aimed to try refine the chronology of the Gravettian occupation at Altamira and to investigate the subsistence strategies of the earliest human groups in the site through the study of bioarchaeological remains. I am currently part of the BEAM Lab and the ERC project SHADOWS. Specifically, my field of research during the development of this project will be archaeozoology, a discipline in which I will focus mainly on two aspects: the taphonomic study of bone remains and the application of the ZooMS technique for proteomic analysis in bioarchaeological materials from sites in northern Spain and South-East France. I am also part of the EvoAdapta research group at the University of Cantabria. By combining proteomic approaches (ZooMS) with archaeozoological and taphonomic analyses, the project improves taxonomic identification of non-diagnostic faunal remains. This integrative framework enables a refined reconstruction of human-animal relationship seeking to widen the knowledge about human–carnivore dynamics, offering new…
Blog Posts
HEAS Members Travel to See the Lucy Skeleton – In Europe for the First Time
by Prof. Tom Higham, head of HEAS. The visit of the world-famous Lucy skeleton to Prague in October 2025 led to the idea of a HEAS fieldtrip to the Czech Republic. “Lucy” is the remarkably complete Australopithecus afarensis skeleton discovered in 1974 at Hadar, Ethiopia, and dated to about 3.2 million years ago. Her partial skeleton, 25% preserved, provided clear evidence of habitual bipedalism—walking upright long before the evolution of large brains. She is a cornerstone discovery in understanding human evolution. In October, her remains were loaned to the National Museum in Prague; the first time she has been to Europe. In addition, the remains of the famous Dikika child “Selam” were also loaned. These are the remains of another A. afarensis hominin, this time a 3 year old child, slightly older than Lucy. Twenty-one HEAS members made the trip. We divided into two groups; the first went for the day to see Lucy and the National Museum. The second group went for two days, to visit the scientific laboratories at the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences (NPI), where the Czech Radiocarbon Lab is based, and then the National Museum the following day. The science labs are located outside Prague on a very picturesque site along the river Vitava. It was a…
News
HEAS Member Michael Doneus Receives Award For Contribution to Archaeology
HEAS member Michael Doneus received an award from the municipality of Mazara del Vallo in Sicily in recognition of his many years of archaeological research, which began in 2003. His former colleagues, Dr Erich Draganits (University of Vienna), Dr Christopher Severa (Newcastle University) and Cipriano Frazzetta (MA), were also honoured, as was Prof. Sebastiano Tusa, the former Sicilian Councillor for Cultural Heritage, posthumously. Links to some research results: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00934690.2020.1734898 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10816-017-9348-9
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members
Corentin DEPPE
I am currently a PhD student in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna. My academic background is in Ecology and Evolution, with a focus on palaeoecology. For my master’s thesis, I applied ancient DNA approaches to study population genomics in mussels. As a member of Pere Gelabert’s team within the ERC project, SHADOWS, which investigates human-carnivore interactions during the Upper Palaeolithic in several sites across Cantabria. My research focuses on the paleogenomics of the last megafaunal carnivore populations of the region, aiming to better understand their genetic diversity, evolutionary history, and relationship with humans.
News
Call for Papers: Calling all Palaeolithic and prehistoric researchers using GIS!
Calling all Palaeolithic and prehistoric researchers using GIS! The Call for Papers for Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) 2026 in Vienna is now open, with an October 26th deadline. We are running the second iteration of our Palaeo-GIS session (Session 39). The Palaeo-GIS session is intended to encourage contributions from authors applying GIS in Palaeolithic or later prehistoric contexts and research topics. We particularly encourage authors to submit papers that reflect on the unique characteristics and challenges of their prehistoric research context, and engage reflectively with those challenges. You can read the full session abstract here: https://2026.caaconference.org/conference-sessions/
News
HEAS Deputy Head Ron Pinhasi and MINERVA Team Publishes on Polymer Length
HEAS Deputy Head Ron Pinhasi along with the Minerva team have recently published a paper on 'Polymer Length Governs DNA Adsorption Dynamics on Mineral Surfaces'. This paper also included HEAS Members Veer Vikram Singh, Richard Kimber and Stephan M. Kraemer. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acs.est.5c08180
News Allgemein
HEAS Members Publish a Cambridge Elements booklet on Ceramic Analysis : Laboratory Methods
HEAS Team leaders Michaela Schauer and Irmgard Hein et al. have recently published a Cambridge Elements booklet on Ceramic Analysis: Laboratory Methods. Link to the publication is here. This Element, authored by a team of specialist researchers, provides an overview of the various analytical techniques employed in the laboratory for the examination of archaeological ceramic materials. Pottery represents one of the earliest technical materials used by humans and is arguably the most frequently encountered object in archaeological sites. The original plastic raw material, which is solidified by firing, exhibits a wide range of variations in terms of production methods, material, form, decoration, and function. This frequently presents significant challenges for archaeologists. In modern laboratories, a variety of archaeometric measurement methods are available for addressing a wide range of archaeological questions. Examples of these include determining the composition of archaeological materials, elucidating the processes involved in manufacturing and decoration, estimating the age of archaeological material, and much more. The sections present available methods for analysing pottery, along with an exploration of their potential application.
News
HEAS Seminar Series Speakers Announced
The Team at HEAS are delighted to announce the speakers for the 2025-2026 Seminar Series. Covering Human Evolution and the Palaeolithic, Ancient Genomics, and Archaeological Science the series weclomes from speakers from all over Europe, the US and Canada, and South America. All talks are hybrid while some will be online only. Registration is now open here. To look back on previous seminars, have a look at our YouTube channel for recording from the talks and podcast interviews with the speakers.
Publications
Sediment talks, or: what interdisciplinary archaeological prospection of the Kreuttal microregion’s sediment archive can tell us about the landscape history
Jetzinger, D., Gallistl, J., Kinnaird, T., Truntschnig, T., Kasemann, S., Schwaiger, A., Salisbury, R.B., Doneus, M., Kucera, M., Stahlschmidt, M., Fera, M., Neubauer, W., 2025. Sediment talks, or: what interdisciplinary archaeological prospection of the Kreuttal microregion’s sediment archive can tell us about the landscape history. ArcheoSciences n° 49-1, 359-362. read more
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
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members
Ginevra DI BERNARDO
I am a PhD candidate at the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, with an interest in the study of human remains through Virtual Anthropology and Geometric Morphometrics. Presently, my research focuses in particular on dental anthropology, combining 3D virtual imaging techniques with geometric morphometrics. I hold a Master’s degree in Archaeology, Art and Landscape Heritage from the University of Bologna and I am currently completing an MSc in Geoarchaeological, Anthropological and Forensic Sciences at the University of Ferrara.
News
HEAS Member awarded FWF grant for project “Residential Mobility in Upper Palaeolithic Europe”
HEAS Team Leader Philip R. Nigst has been awarded an FWF Principal Investigator grant for his project REMO (Residential Mobility in Upper Palaeolithic Europe) along with collaborators Marjolein D. Bosch, Andrea Manica, Andrew Kandel, Paloma de la Peña, Cristina Cordoş and Michael Brandl. They will investigate the degree of residential mobility and landscape use strategies in Upper Palaeolithic Europe through an analysis of lithic and faunal datasets. REMO's approach is routed in human behavioural ecology and quantifies variation in lithic and faunal datasets as indicators for mobility to compare with environmental and climatic proxies. More information: https://www.fwf.ac.at/en/research-radar/10.55776/PAT4701725
News
HEAS Member Marjolein Bosch Announces New ERC Funded Project: COPE
The project is called COPE. Full title: "The role of climate change on past human living conditions: Resource acquisition strategies and landscape use in eastern Central Europe from the Gravettian Golden Age to the Last Glacial Maximum”. COPE investigates the influence of climatic changes on human behaviour at the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (30.000-25.000 years ago). This period was marked by extreme climate fluctuations in Europe. Nevertheless, people lived near glaciers and adapted their behaviour to the harsh living conditions. COPE explores the challenges faced by Ice Age hunter-gatherer groups. For example, which animals and plants humans used when resources became more and more scarce and what strategies they developed to survive in such an extreme climate. Artwork credits: COPE project, artist: Tansy Branscombe Picture credits: Philip Nigst ; Marjolein Bosch https://www.heas.at/press/what-impact-did-extreme-climate-change-have-on-life-during-the-last-ice-age/
Press
What impact did extreme climate change have on life during the last Ice Age?
We warmly congratulate our colleague Marjolein D. Bosch on her newly acquired ERC Starting Grant. Her COPE project will investigate the influence of climatic changes on human behaviour during the last Ice Age. The onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) 30–25,000 years ago was marked by extreme climate fluctuations in Europe. Nevertheless, people lived near glaciers and adapted their behaviour to the harsh living conditions. As part of the ERC Starting Grant project entitled »The role of climate change on past human living conditions: Resource acquisition strategies and landscape use in eastern Central Europe from the Gravettian Golden Age to the Last Glacial Maximum« (COPE), Marjolein D. Bosch will now investigate the challenges faced by Ice Age hunter-gatherer groups. For example, which animals and plants humans used when resources became more and more scarce and what strategies they developed to survive in such an extreme climate. Material for the planned analyses comes from the Grub-Kranawetberg I and II sites in Lower Austria. These sites offer exceptionally well-preserved organic remains from the period leading up to the Last Glacial Maximum. Using the latest methods in the fields of sediment biomarkers, stable isotope analysis and palaeogenetics, COPE will reconstruct the local environmental conditions in terms of palaeotemperatures, plant vegetation and prey availability in the landscape. A new focus is on water…
Publications
Late Iron Age and Roman equine breeding north of the Alps: Genetic insights and cultural implications
Sharif, M.B., Mohaseb, A.F., Orlando, L., Saliari, K., Kunst, G.K., Czeika, S., Mashkour, M., Cucchi, T., Peters, J., Trixl, S., Mohandesan, E., 2025. Late Iron Age and Roman equine breeding north of the Alps: Genetic insights and cultural implications. iScience 28. read more
Blog Posts
You, Robot: Experiencing Robotics First-Hand at General Laser
By: Dominik Hagmann As part of the University of Vienna's course “AI and Interdisciplinary Research” held at the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology in the summer term of 2025, students from diverse academic fields participated in a hands-on robotics workshop and explored cutting-edge robotics at General Laser in Vienna. From humanoid robotic agents to agile robot dogs, the hands-on workshop illustrated vividly how artificial intelligence (AI) and automation shape both tomorrow’s industry and future research. Setting the Scene: From Myth to Machine Long before AI emerged as a formal scientific discipline, the idea of creating artificial beings fascinated the human imagination. For instance, Greek mythology introduced automata—self-moving devices—already during the first half of the 1st millennium BCE. According to some myths, the smithing god Hephaistos, for example, provided King Alcinoos with “robotic watchdogs” crafted from gold and silver. Furthermore, the deity created Talos, a humanoid “lethal autonomous weapon system” made from bronze, for King Midas to guard the island of Crete. Aside from several further examples, these two cases already comprehensively illustrate how deeply rooted complex visions of intelligent, artificial beings are in human thought. The term robot itself originates from the Czech word robota ("forced labor"), first coined in Karel Čapek’s 1920 play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots), foreseeing a world where artificial workers ultimately rise against their human creators. Today,…
News
Apéro Musette at the Musette Shop with Katharina Rebay-Salisbury
As part of the current focus on "Pioneers from the Neolithic," a conversation with Professor of Prehistory at the University of Vienna and researcher at the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Deputy head of HEAS will take place on Friday the 12th September at 18:00. KATHARINA REBAY-SALISBURY The prehistoric archaeologist discusses her research findings on the social coexistence of humans in prehistory and dispels some prejudices about gender equality, family policy, and migration in prehistoric times. Registration is here https://www.musetteshop.com/events/apero-musette-mit-katharinarebaysalisbury Please note this event will take place in German. More information here https://musetteshop.substack.com/p/einladung-zum-apero-musette-nr-36?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=5k6nq5&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
News
NHM Vienna Archaeologists Discover Earlier Traces of Settlements of Early Farming Communities in Hallstatt
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 results will be presented to the public on the 12th August 2025 at the NHM Wien. More information in the press release here. Press Release [gallery ids="4676,4677,4678,4675"]
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…
Publications
Self-Compassion Around the World: Measurement Invariance of the Short Form of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-SF) Across 65 Nations, 40 Languages, Gender Identities, and Age Groups.
Swami, V., Tran, U.S., Voracek, M., Aavik, T., Ranjbar, H.A., Adebayo, S.O., Afhami, R., Ahmed, O., Aimé, A., Akel, M., Al Halbusi, H., Alexias, G., Ali, K.F., Alp-Dal, N., Alsalhani, A.B., Álvarez-Solas, S., Amaral, A.C.S., Andrianto, S., Aspden, T., Argyrides, M., Aruta, J.J.B.R., Atkin, S., Ayandele, O., Baceviciene, M., Bahbouh, R., Ballesio, A., Barron, D., Bellard, A., Bender, S.S., Beydaǧ, K.D., Birovljević, G., Blackburn, M.-È., Borja-Alvarez, T., Borowiec, J., Bozogáňová, M., Bratland-Sanda, S., Browning, M.H.E.M., Brytek-Matera, A., Burakova, M., Çakır-Koçak, Y., Camacho, P., Camilleri, V.E., Cazzato, V., Cerea, S., Chaiwutikornwanich, A., Chaleeraktrakoon, T., Chambers, T., Chen, Q.-W., Chen, X., Chien, C.-L., Chobthamkit, P., Choompunuch, B., Compte, E.J., Corrigan, J., Cosmas, G., Cowden, R.G., Czepczor-Bernat, K., Czub, M., da Silva, W.R., Dadfar, M., Dalley, S.E., Dany, L., Datu, J.A.D., de Carvalho, P.H.B., de Holanda Coelho, G.L., De Jesus, A.O.S., Debbabi, S.H., Dhakal, S., Di Bernardo, F., Dimitrova, D.D., Dion, J., Dixson, B., Donofrio, S.M., Drysch, M., Du, H., Dzhambov, A.M., El-Jor, C., Enea, V., Eskin, M., Farbod, F., Farrugia, L., Fian, L., Fisher, M.L., Folwarczny, M., Frederick, D.A., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Furnham, A., García, A.A., Geller, S., Ghisi, M., Ghorbani, A., Martinez, M.A.G., Gradidge, S., Graf, S., Grano, C., Gyene, G., Hallit, S., Hamdan, M., Handelzalts, J.E., Hanel, P.H.P., Hawks, S.R., Hekmati, I., Helmy, M., Hill, T., Hina, F., Holenweger, G., Hřebíčková,…
News
HEAS Member Discusses Tischoferhöhle on Austrian National Television
Mareike Stahlschmidt, Susanna Sawyer and Omaima Zaki from the working group microarchaeology visited the Tischoferhöhle to sample for ancient sedaDNA analysis. SedaDNA could shed new light on homo sapiens and Neanderthal occupations of the cave. Recent excavation revealed lithics typically associated with homo sapiens, but also Neanderthals while no human fossil remains were discovered so far. A news sections by the ORF reports on these sensational new finds, including an interview with Sawyer on the potential of sedaDNA for identifying the makers of the lithic industries. Interview (in German) https://on.orf.at/video/14285067/15919671/tischofer-hoehle-sensationsf
News
HEAS Seed Grants June 2025 Round
We are delighted to announce the results of the June 2025 Seed Grants: They are: Time is of the essence Establishing combined (p)OSL profiling and dating of archaeological features with unclear chronological contexts in Austria Doris Jetzinger and Martin Fera Dental calculus as a palaeodietary tool: application to the Early Neolithic of Greece Anastasia Papadogianni, Katerina Douka and Barbara Horejs Tracing Lead Provenance in Inland Basilicata: First Isotope Analysis of Lucanian Lead Objects from the Agri Valley Alexandra Rodler-Rørbo, Mathias Mehofer and Matthias Hoernes A Flexible Open-Access In-Solution Capture Design for Paleogenomics Pere Gelabert, Viola Schmid and Susanna Sawyer You can learn more about the HEAS Seed Grants here: https://www.heas.at/research/seed-grants/
Publications
Decoding genomic landscapes of introgression.
Huang, X., Hackl, J., Kuhlwilm, M., 2025. Decoding genomic landscapes of introgression. Trends in Genetics. read more
Allgemein Publications
New insights from the application of ZooMS to Late Pleistocene fauna from Grotta di Castelcivita, southern Italy
Oertle, A., Crezzini, J., Moroni, A., Ronchitelli, A., Benazzi, S., Falcucci, A., Marciani, G., Rossini, M., Martini, I., Arrighi, S., Higham, T., Boschin, F., Douka, K., 2025. New insights from the application of ZooMS to Late Pleistocene fauna from Grotta di Castelcivita, southern Italy. Scientific Reports 15, 25906. read more
Blog Posts
Exploring Ancient Foodways – An archaeological journey into Roman dietary habits at Kinderuni Wien 2025
By: Dominik Hagmann and Nisa Kirchengast On Monday, July 7th, we had the delightful opportunity to dive into the fascinating world of Roman cuisine with a group of 50 young explorers at Kinderuni Wien. The session, titled „Römisches Essen: Alles bio und vegan? Mit der Archäologie der antiken Ernährung auf der Spur“ (Roman Food: All Organic and Vegan? Tracing Ancient Diet with Archaeology), brought together curious minds aged 7 to 12 eager to learn about what the Romans ate and how we uncover their culinary secrets. We ventured into the depths of Roman gastronomy, not only discussing the food the Romans ate but also uncovering how archaeology helps us reveal their meals, even after nearly two millennia. From archaeological finds to ancient cookbooks, we explored the rich flavors of the past and discussed how these dishes could be recreated today with a modern twist. Our research areas, especially zooarchaeology and experimental archaeology, were crucial in revealing the diet of the Romans. For instance, through zooarchaeological analysis, we explored animal bones to uncover the types of meat consumed by the Romans, and through experimental archaeology, we demonstrated how ancient food production techniques, like cooking the Roman puls, contributed to the Roman diet. The children’s enthusiasm was truly inspiring. They asked insightful questions, eager to learn everything from the Romans’ favorite foods…
Members
Doralice KLAINSCEK
I am an archaeologist and PhD candidate at the Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology, University of Vienna, where I am a project collaborator in Marta Luciani’s team for the FWF-funded project I6562 “ANAPAN: A New Approach to Pottery of Arabia and its Neighbors” (ANAPAN - FWF). My dissertation project “Tracing Socio-Economic Dynamics through Pottery Manufacture and Distribution: a Diachronic and Interregional Perspective from NW Arabia” investigates the socio-economic dynamics associated with the manufacture, use and distribution of pottery. The focus is on vessels from the Bronze and Iron Age site of Qurayyah –a 300ha walled multi-phase oasis-settlement in the Hejaz region of NW Arabia. Results are further contextualized in the broader NW Arabian and Southern Levantine region. I am employing an interdisciplinary chaîne-opératoire-oriented approach, studying the material through macroscopic and microscopic (petrographic) analyses and combining archaeological, technological and archaeometric perspectives.
Allgemein
Watering the desert: Oasis hydroarchaeology, geochronology and functionality in Northern Arabia.
Lüthgens, C., Luciani, M., Prochazka, S., Firla, G., Hoelzmann, P., Abualhassan, A.M., 2023. Watering the desert: Oasis hydroarchaeology, geochronology and functionality in Northern Arabia. The Holocene 33, 562-580. read more
Publications
Metabolic profiling reveals first evidence of fumigating drug plant Peganum harmala in Iron Age Arabia
Huber, B., Luciani, M., Abualhassan, A.M., Giddings Vassão, D., Fernandes, R., Devièse, T., 2025. Metabolic profiling reveals first evidence of fumigating drug plant Peganum harmala in Iron Age Arabia. Communications Biology 8, 1-8. read more
Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology (IUHA) Team Leaders
Marta LUCIANI
Marta Luciani is associate professor of Archaeology and History of Western Asia, spokesperson of the Cluster “Archaeology and Material Culture” of the Vienna Doctoral School of Historical and Cultural Studies and UNESCO world heritage list consultant. After heading excavations and surveys in Syria, Turkey and Italy, since the 2010s she directs the Joint Archaeological Project at Qurayyah in Saudi Arabia, the Northwest Sulaimaniyah Survey and excavations at Chemchemal in Iraqi Kurdistan and investigations on finds holdings of the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East (Tell el-Kheleifeh, Nuzi). As specialist of the Bronze and Iron Ages, passionate about human (as opposed to artificial) intelligence, she focuses her current research on investigating the formation of complex societies and urbanism in desert environments; through an FWF-funded interdisciplinary project (with OeAI/OeAW, TU Wien and University of Innsbruck) establishing with a multi-site approach ceramic production, use and circulation in NW Arabia and the Greater Levant; through metabolic analysis of ancient residues (with the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology) reconstructing ancient smellscapes and uses of medicinal and aromatic plants in the past; with BOKU, Wien, FU Berlin, DAI and OeAI/OeAW understanding human-nature (ancient fauna and flora) interplay in the genesis of anthropic landscapes, geomorphology and water resources in arid environments.
News
International Mountain Conference (IMC) taking place in Innsbruck in September 2025
The program for the International Mountain Conference (IMC), taking place in Innsbruck from September 14–18, 2025, is now available online. We would like to highlight the following (geo)archaeological focus sessions (4 in total), workshops (1), and keynote lectures (1) that may be of particular interest. In addition to these, the conference features over 150 sessions covering a wide range of topics related to mountain research across the world’s high-altitude regions. We encourage you to explore the program and discover the diverse opportunities for engagement and collaboration. Focus Sessions on Mountain Archaeology https://imc2025.info/imc25/sessions-n-workshops/focus-sessions/?filter_thematic-focus=archaeology Synthesis workshop: People and Mountains: Stories from an Archaeological Perspective: https://imc2025.info/imc25/sessions-n-workshops/synthesis-workshop/sw-3-103-people-and-mountains-stories-from-an-archaeological-perspective/ Key Note: AI, Extra Credit, and the Andes: Discovering World’s Highest Communal Hunting Traps https://imc2025.info/imc25/keynotes/ai-extra-credit-and-the-andes-discovering-worlds-highest-communal-hunting-traps/ Michael Meyer (Univ. Innsbruck, Austria) Bonnie Pitblado (U. Oklahoma, USA)
Publications
The bioarchaeology of tobacco use: An exploratory study of nicotine and cotinine detection in tooth dentine.
Strang, S., Köcher, T., van der Sluis, L., Chowdhury, M.P., Grabmayer, H., Douka, K., Binder, M., 2025. The bioarchaeology of tobacco use: An exploratory study of nicotine and cotinine detection in tooth dentine. Journal of Archaeological Science 180, 106301. read more