Hagmann, D., 2025. I walk an ancient road: A straightforward methodology for analyzing intra- and inter-regional connectivity systems along Roman Frontier Zones (c. 1st—5th century AD). Journal of Archaeological Science 176, 106151. read more
We are pleased to announce the publication of the new research article “I Walk an Ancient Road: A Straightforward Methodology for Analyzing Intra- and Inter-Regional Connectivity Systems along Roman Frontier Zones (c. 1st–5th century AD)” by Dominik Hagmann in the Journal of Archaeological Science: This study presents an innovative methodology for reconstructing ancient road networks in Roman hinterlands, focusing on the Danube Limes in Northern Noricum (modern Austria). By integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Least-Cost Analysis (LCA), Spatial Social Network Analysis (SSNA), and Visibility Analysis (VA), the research uncovers patterns of movement and connectivity between military, economic, and civilian sites along the Roman frontier. Key findings include: A detailed reconstruction of potential Roman roads and transportation networks in the hinterland of the Danube frontier. Insights into how military logistics, trade, and settlement patterns were influenced by infrastructure. Methodological advancements for applying digital archaeology, computational modeling, and open data in Roman studies. This approach enhances our understanding of mobility in ancient borderlands and offers a scalable method for future research on historical transportation networks. For more details, read the full article here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2024.106151 [caption id="attachment_4311" align="alignnone" width="300"] Fig. A schematic workflow illustrating the methodology for analyzing connectivity in Roman frontier hinterlands using spatial, least-cost, visibility, and social network approaches.[/caption] https://www.heas.at/research/publications/i-walk-an-ancient-road-a-straightforward-methodology-for-analyzing-intra-and-inter-regional-connectivity-systems-along-roman-frontier-zones-c-1st-5th-century-ad/
In a new study in Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, HEAS member Philip R. Nigst together with an international team, presents on their fieldwork and laboratory research at Ollersdorf-Heidenberg, an Upper Palaeolithic open-air site in Lower Austria. The site was dated to the time leading up to the Last Glacial Maximum. The Middle Danube region is a key area for understanding Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherer behaviours in a climatic context due to its long loess–palaeosol sequences and rich archaeological record spanning from the onset of the Upper Palaeolithic to the Last Glacial Maximum and beyond. Recently, new approaches focusing on high-resolution studies of the stratigraphy, geoarchaeological studies at microscopic scale and investigations of organic matter at molecular scale (biomarker analyses) have shown great new insights in human behaviour. Many sites in the Middle Danube region have been excavated a long time ago without opportunity to apply such approaches. The aim of this paper is to introduce Ollersdorf-Heidenberg, a loess open-air site. The site is located ~ 26 km northeast of Vienna close to the Morava River valley and preserves several Upper Palaeolithic archaeological horizons. The site has been known since a pipeline construction in 1998. Here, we report the first results of new research at the site including new excavations in two trenches. We describe and analyse the stratigraphy, present a first radiocarbon date,…
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
A HEAS Team, led by Gerhard Weber, recently published a paper in Scientific Reports on a comprehensive analysis of a cranium found in Octagon in Ephesos. This was speculated to belong to Arsinoë IV, daughter of Ptolemy XII, and younger (half-)sister of Cleopatra VII. The analyses, however, show that these remains, stored in the collection of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, belong to a boy between the ages of 11 and 14 who suffered from pathological developmental disorders. This was one of the first true HEAS joint publications with an involvement of many members and workgroups through HEAS. More information: https://www.heas.at/research/publications/the-cranium-from-the-octagon-in-ephesos/ https://www.heas.at/press/cleopatras-sister-remains-missing/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbrYTEBBYwA https://medienportal.univie.ac.at/en/media/recent-press-releases/detailansicht-en/artikel/cleopatras-sister-remains-missing/
CSI methods show: Skull from the collection of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology is not from Arsinoë IV An interdisciplinary research team led by anthropologist Gerhard Weber from the University of Vienna, together with experts from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, has analysed a skull that was found in the ruins of Ephesos (Turkey) in 1929. It was long speculated that it could be the remains of Arsinoë IV, the sister of the famous Cleopatra. However, the latest anthropological analyses show that the remains are those of a boy between the ages of 11 and 14 who suffered from pathological developmental disorders. His genes point to an origin in Italy or Sardinia. The results are currently being published in Scientific Reports. In 1929, the Austrian archaeologist Josef Keil and his colleagues discovered a sarcophagus completely filled with water in the ruins of the once magnificent "Octagon", a splendid building on the main street of Ephesos (Turkey). No significant grave goods were found in it, but a complete skeleton. Josef Keil only took the skull with him before the researchers closed the tomb on the important "Curetes Street" (Kuretenstraße) again. After his initial analysis in Greifswald (Germany), he assumed that the burial was that of "a very distinguished person" and probably a 20-year-old woman. Keil was unable to provide any hard…
Caroline Posch is a post-doctoral researcher and curator of the Stone Age Collection at the Prehistoric Department of the Natural History Museum Vienna (NHMW). She is specialised on the material culture and settlement strategies of the Alpine Mesolithic, with focus on landscape usage, raw material procurement strategies and lithic technology. Since 2022 she is a staff member of the NHMW. In her work, she focusses on the one hand on the curational practice as well as the scientific evaluation and study of various artefact types from the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Early Neolithic, including objects such as the Venus of Willendorf. One the other hand she is involved in several research projects centred on the first use and settlement of the Austrian Alps during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene.
I am a PhD candidate at the University of Vienna and an ancient DNA bioinformatician specializing in the study of ancient plants, particularly maize, and their role in human history. My work focuses on maize varieties from the Andes, where I collaborate with local communities to learn about their unique agricultural traditions and crop diversity. Combining advanced computational genomics with hands-on ancient DNA laboratory techniques, I uncover the genetic secrets of ancient crops. I am passionate about exploring ancient food systems, investigating how plants like maize were domesticated, diversified, and adapted to different environments. My research also delves into the co-evolution of plants and animals, examining the complex interplay between human societies, agriculture, and the ecosystems they shaped. Collaborating with Iowa State University in the United States and the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Peru, I integrate bioinformatics with a deep appreciation for the cultural and ecological significance of ancient food systems. Through my work, I aim to illuminate the intricate relationships that have sustained human and non-human life for millennia.
Gelabert P., Pinhasi R., 2025. First farmers of Central Europe do not show family-related inequality. Nature Human Behaviour. read more
Schmid, V.C., Wadley, L., Brandl, M., Guillemard, I., Rhodes, S.E., Taipale, N., Witelson, D.M., Börner, M., Cnuts, D., Hodgskiss, T., Murungi, M., Nigst, P.R., Porraz, G., Puech, E., Rots, V., Stahlschmidt, M.C., Stelzer, S., Teyssandier, N., Tribolo, C., Val, A., van Schalkwyk, L., Archer, W., 2024. Renewed impetus for Stone Age research in the eastern Free State (South Africa) centred on Rose Cottage Cave. South African Archaeological Bulletin 79, 105. read more
The Global p-XRF Network (GopXRF.net) initiated by HEAS-member Michaela Schauer (VIAS) and the European Academy of Sciences & Arts/STEMAC Expert Group represented by Ioannis Liritzis, are organising a series of online colloquia to explore the use of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) in archaeology and cultural heritage. Since its introduction in the 1950s, pXRF has evolved from bulky, radioactive instruments to compact, handheld devices, now widely used across multiple industries. Despite these advancements, challenges remain in defining standards for accuracy, precision, and guidelines for archaeological and cultural heritage applications. The colloquia aim to provide a platform for knowledge exchange, offering expert presentations from both natural sciences and humanities. Each session includes 30-minute talks by specialists from archaeology and natural sciences, followed by a 30-minute discussion. The first lecture of the series is scheduled for 12th of February 2025 from 06:00–07:30 pm CET. Sofia Soares (with Teresa Pena and Patrícia Jodão) will present on the topic Which Rock is This? - Challenges for pXRF Studies in Raw Material Provenance Michelle Richards will be discussing pXRF for Geochemical Rock Classification in Archaeometry: A Pacific Case Study Interested participants are invited to join the lecture and share this information with their peers! The Zoom room can be accessed here. More information about the colloquium series is available on the networks website and the EASA website.…
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
Waldhoer, T., Kirchengast, S., Yang, L., 2024. Effect of Month of Birth on Mean Birth Length in Austrian Newborns Born Between 1984 and 2021. American Journal of Human Biology 36, e24146. read more
Constanze Schattke is a bioarchaeologist who studied biology and evolutionary anthropology in Kiel, Mainz, and Vienna. Her professional expertise includes ancient DNA and paleopathologies as well as the history of anthropology. Her current research focus is on the interconnection of different fields such as history and bioarchaeology to study the provenance of human remains in osteological collections. Here, she has worked together closely with communities from New Zealand and Tierra del Fuego, Chile. One of her main objectives is to help strengthen Indigenous’ identities through the careful study and analysis of ancestral human remains. Since 2021, Constanze is a PhD student in the Vienna Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution. Her interdisciplinary dissertation focuses on different contexts of violence found in osteological museum collections at the Natural History Museum Vienna, Department of Anthropology. Here she will combine bioarchaeological and forensic methods with historical approaches to create a comprehensive picture of collections with diverse provenance. To that end, she also looks at what constitutes a museum object, how human remains fall into that category, and how to deal with such legacies in a conscious and responsible manner.
Weber, G.W., Šimková, P.G., Fernandes, D.M., Cheronet, O., Úry, E., Wilfing, H., Matiasek, K., Llano-Lizcano, A., Gelabert, P., Trinks, I., Douka, K., Ladstätter, S., Higham, T., Steskal, M., Pinhasi, R., 2025. The cranium from the Octagon in Ephesos. Scientific Reports 15, 943. read more
Aydık, F., Ertuğrul, B., Windhager, S., Özener, B., 2024. Associations of Facial Shape With Physical Strength and 2D:4D in a Turkish Male and Female Sample. American Journal of Human Biology 36, e24155. read more
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
Llanos-Lizcano, A., Hämmerle, M., Sperduti, A., Sawyer, S., Zagorc, B., Özdoğan, K. T., Guellil, M., Cheronet, O., Kuhlwilm, M., Pinhasi, R., & Gelabert, P. (2025). Intra-individual variability in ancient plasmodium DNA recovery highlights need for enhanced sampling. Scientific Reports, 15(1), read more
HEAS Team Leader Katerina Douka was recently awarded a Consolidator ERC grant. ERC Consolidator Grants are awarded to exceptional mid-career researchers who have established themselves as independent investigators and are ready to further solidify their role as research leaders. These grants support groundbreaking projects with the potential to significantly advance their field. New fossils expected to reveal more about how humans evolved Modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved in Africa, dispersed into Eurasia, and by ~60,000 years ago they reached Sahul, the supercontinent that connected present-day Australia, Papua New Guinea and Tasmania. This remarkable human migration, from the East African Rift to the Pacific Rim, enabled the genetic admixture of Homo sapiens with other hominin species, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans, who evolved and lived outside Africa for millennia. The genetic exchanges between archaic hominins and Homo sapiens contributed to the diversity, resilience, and adaptive capacities of modern humans today. However, our knowledge of the human groups that inhabited Africa 100,000 years ago, and those who migrated and subsequently reached Sahul, remains limited due to the lack of fossil and molecular data. RIFT-to-RIM, the new ERC CoG project led by Assoc. Prof. Douka, aims to fill this gap. The project's principal objective is the discovery and analysis of new early modern human fossils from under-researched parts of the world. State-of-the-art paleoproteomic…
HEAS member Michaela Schauer was awarded the International Philippika Prize for her PhD on the 25th October 2024. More information on the prize and Michaela's work: https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/aktuell.ahtml https://www.archaeologie42.de/auszeichnung-award/internationaler-philippika-preis-2024-vergeben/5499/ https://www.uni-trier.de/universitaet/fachbereiche-faecher/fachbereich-iii/faecher/klassische-und-provinzialroemische-archaeologie/forschung-und-projekte/philippika-preis
Hackl, J. and X. Huang (2024). "Revisiting adaptive introgression at the HLA genes in Lithuanian genomes with machine learning." Infection, Genetics and Evolution: 105708. read more
I am a doctoral student at the Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology at the University of Vienna investigating the variability of Early Upper Palaeolithic assemblages in the Iberian Peninsula. My research project seeks to understand the drivers of this stone tool assemblage variability and its relationship to the idiosyncratic pattern of modern human settlement in the region. I am particularly interested in the connection between, on the one hand, mobility and lithic technological strategies and, on the other hand, the character and composition of these lithic artefact assemblages. As a corollary of this, I am exploring whether expedient technology was a feature of human occupation during this time and if this has any bearing on the “indeterminate” nature of some Early Upper Palaeolithic assemblages.
Barzilai, O., Marder, O., Tejero, J.-M., Ayalon, A., Bar-Matthews, M., Abulafia, T., Lavi, R., Goder-Goldberger, M., Shemer, M., Edeltin, L., Wiegmann, A., Frumkin, A., Karasik, A., Yasur, G., Yeshurun, R., Zohar, I., Berna, F., Hans, M., Goldberg, J.S., McDermott, Y., Spurlock, L., Pokhojaev, A., Habashi, W., May, H., Sarig, R., Hershkovitz, I., 2024. Early human collective practices and symbolism in the Early Upper Paleolithic of Southwest Asia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121, e2404632121. read more
I am a palaeolithic archaeologist specialised on human-environment interactions and lithic technology. My primary regions of study are the Levant and lately also central Europe, where I focus on homo sapiens settlement patterns, mobility, lithic technology and raw material use. I have studied at Cologne University in Germany until my PhD in 2019 on Levantine Upper Palaeolithic settlement patterns. From there I spend two years at the Rhenish Heritage Management focusing on copy editing and public relations. Then I moved to Israel for a Postdoc at the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeology in Jerusalem, where I studied Levantine Aurignacian Carinated cores before spending another two years at the Department of Bible Studies, Archaeology and the Ancient Near East at Ben Gurion University in Beer Sheva. There I had a number of projects on Upper Palaeolithic flint raw material use. Since 2022 I am at the Austrian Academy of Science in the research group Quaternary Archaeology. Lately my projects focus on Lower Austria, the well-known site of Kammern-Grubgraben and my new site of Gobelsburg-Rossgraben, where we found a mammoth-killsite in a wine cellar.
Hämmerle, M., Guellil, M., Trgovec-Greif, L., Cheronet, O., Sawyer, S., Ruiz-Gartzia, I., Lizano, E., Rymbekova, A., Gelabert, P., Bernardi, P., Han, S., Rattei, T., Schuenemann, V.J., Marques-Bonet, T., Guschanski, K., Calvignac-Spencer, S., Pinhasi, R., Kuhlwilm, M., 2024. Screening great ape museum specimens for DNA viruses. Scientific Reports 14, 29806. read more
Gelabert, P., Bickle, P., Hofmann, D., Teschler-Nicola, M., Anders, A., Huang, X., Hämmerle, M., Olalde, I., Fournier, R., Ringbauer, H., Akbari, A., Cheronet, O., Lazaridis, I., Broomandkhoshbacht, N., Fernandes, D.M., Buttinger, K., Callan, K., Candilio, F., Bravo Morante, G., Curtis, E., Ferry, M., Keating, D., Freilich, S., Kearns, A., Harney, É., Lawson, A.M., Mandl, K., Michel, M., Oberreiter, V., Zagorc, B., Oppenheimer, J., Sawyer, S., Schattke, C., Özdoğan, K.T., Qiu, L., Workman, J.N., Zalzala, F., Mallick, S., Mah, M., Micco, A., Pieler, F., Pavuk, J., Šefčáková, A., Lazar, C., Starović, A., Djuric, M., Krznarić Škrivanko, M., Šlaus, M., Bedić, Ž., Novotny, F., D. Szabó, L., Cserpák-Laczi, O., Hága, T., Szolnoki, L., Hajdú, Z., Mirea, P., Nagy, E.G., Virág, Z.M., Horváth M, A., Horváth, L.A., T. Biró, K., Domboróczki, L., Szeniczey, T., Jakucs, J., Szelekovszky, M., Zoltán, F., Sztáncsuj, S.J., Tóth, K., Csengeri, P., Pap, I., Patay, R., Putica, A., Vasov, B., Havasi, B., Sebők, K., Raczky, P., Lovász, G., Tvrdý, Z., Rohland, N., Novak, M., Ruttkay, M., Krošláková, M., Bátora, J., Paluch, T., Borić, D., Dani, J., Kuhlwilm, M., Palamara, P.F., Hajdu, T., Pinhasi, R., Reich, D., 2024. Social and genetic diversity in first farmers of central Europe. Nature Human Behaviour. read more
Blanz, M., Gröcke, D.R., Martin, P., Church, M., 2024. The effect of seaweed fertilisation on sulfur isotope ratios (δ³⁴S) and grain size in barley: Implications for agronomy and archaeological research. Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology 3, 1465082. read more
Bhavna Ahlawat is our first Junior Intern and is visiting HEAS currently working on exciting new research concerned with biomolecules from ancient Indian sites. I am a molecular biologist specializing in ancient DNA and population genetics, focusing on different archaeological sites in India. During my doctoral research at Panjab University and BSIP, India, I honed my skills in ancient DNA protocols while working in India's first dedicated aDNA facility, which specializes in analyzing degraded DNA from tropical samples. My expertise in diverse extraction and library preparation protocols was significant in generating high-quality data from critical human skeletal remains, including samples from the Vadnagar archaeological complex and the Indus Valley Civilization site at Lothal (∼2200 BCE). Currently, as a research intern with HEAS at the University of Vienna, I am exploring the application of Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) on a variety of bone remains of different species from South Asia—an under-researched region in this context. My work focuses on: 1. Species Identification: Utilizing peptide mass fingerprinting through MALDI-ToF-MS for South Asian samples. 2. Degraded Collagen Analysis: Investigating the potential of ZooMS for analyzing fragile and degraded bone collagen from this region. Through this research, I aim to bridge gaps in South Asian archaeogenetics and develop methodologies for studying ancient remains in challenging environments and understand the hman animal interaction. I…
I am a palaeoanthropologist with a research focus on hominin dental morphology. Using a variety of methods, my research investigates the evolution of the hominin dentition, and explores the implications for important transitions in the course of human evolutionary history. I am particularly interested in the origins and evolution of the genus Homo, and have ongoing projects investigating internal dental structures in Homo habilis, Homo naledi, Homo floresiensis and Australopithecus sediba. My research uses microtomography to image internal tooth structures such as the enamel-dentine junction in fossil hominins, which can allow us to address questions that may not be possible from the outer surface of teeth. I also use geometric morphometrics to quantify the shape of teeth and bones. Currently I am a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow working on the project ‘TOOTHROW’ – which aims to develop a novel methodological framework for the analysis of whole tooth rows using geometric morphometrics
I am currently a PhD student at the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna. After completing my bachelor’s degree in biology with focus on physical anthropology, I obtained my master’s degree at the University of Vienna, specializing in dental anthropology combined with 3D imaging and geometric morphometrics. During my master’s studies, I spent four years working for an excavation company and took part in various archaeological excavations across multiple time periods. In my PhD project, I am focusing on dental morphology using virtual anthropology techniques and geometric morphometric methods, with a particular emphasis on tooth shape types and their relationship to sex and origin.
I am a bioarchaeologist and palaeopathologist, specialising in interdisciplinary analyses of stress and health from human skeletal remains. My research is focused on the ‘stress’ hormone cortisol in living and past populations, and the impact of cultural, sociopolitical and environmental disparities on child and adult health. I am further interested in trauma, health and living conditions in 18th-20th century military settings. I have a BA from Columbia University, an MSc and PhD from Durham University, and I completed a postdoc at Masaryk University in 2023. I have also worked as a contract osteologist in Austria, Czechia, France, Italy, the UK and USA. I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the department of Prehistory and WANA Archaeology in the Austrian Archaeological Institute, where I am investigating stress markers and cortisol in teeth. This research is supported by a FWF & OeAW “Disruptive Innovation - Early Career Seed Money” grant. In early 2025, I will begin a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship also focusing on dental cortisol methods.
Végh, E.I., Douka, K., 2024. SpecieScan: semi-automated taxonomic identification of bone collagen peptides from MALDI-ToF-MS. Bioinformatics 40. read more
HEAS member Gerhard Weber starts a new FWF Project to study the 3D morphology of human postcanine teeth. Petra Simkova will be employed as PostDoc, Jana Pfneiszl will start a PhD in the project. In this project we undertake the first comprehensive 3D study of human teeth, more precisely of the tooth crowns of canines, premolars, and molars from the upper and lower dentition. We will also include milk teeth. Despite the long history of dental research in anthropology and medicine, progress in studying the three-dimensional geometry of teeth has only been made recently. How the 3D shape and size of individual tooth types are related to each other, how they vary between different human populations, and which individual regions of these teeth show more or less variation remains largely unknown. This project fills the gaps in our knowledge on human dental anatomy, provides comparable data, and lays the foundations for future work to unravel the associations between teeth and genes. We have defined four major aims: 1) Investigate the 3D shape and size variation of the upper and lower dentition in a geographically diverse sample of modern humans, 2) study the shape variation in different tooth regions, namely those regions that touch each other during chewing and those which do not touch, 3) examine the 3D shape relationships between…
Webb, N.M., Fornai, C., Krenn, V.A., Watson, L.M., Herbst, E.C., Haeusler, M., 2024. Gradual exacerbation of obstetric constraints during hominoid evolution implied by re-evaluation of cephalopelvic fit in chimpanzees. Nature Ecology & Evolution. read more
I specialize in archaeological prospection and cultural heritage documentation, with extensive experience in interdisciplinary projects across Europe and North Africa. My roles include serving as technical field director for the long-term VIAS project at the Bronze and Iron Age settlement in Schwarzenbach and overseeing fieldwork at a New Kingdom pharaonic town and cemetery on Sai Island, Sudan. In international collaborations, I have contributed to pioneering new methods in landscape archaeology, focusing on remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS). I aim to integrate geoarchaeological methods, bridging the micro and macro scales from landscape analysis to detailed excavation work. As a lecturer at the University of Vienna, I teach courses in geomatics and data management, equipping students with essential skills for modern archaeological research.
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_
Schauer, Michaela: Datenkontrolle, -aufbereitung und -auswertung portabler Röntgenfluoreszenzanalysen (p-RFA) mit dem Bruker Tracer 5i No 900F398 an silikatischem Material des Brandopferplatzes bei Farchant, Lkr. Garmisch-Partenkirchen. 31. Juli 2024. Open Data LMU. 10.5282/ubm/data.536 read more
I am a textile archaeologist primarily conducting research at the Archaeological Textiles Lab at the Natural History Museum Vienna from a wide variety of periods and regions. My focus ranges from fibres to reconstructions, meaning that I investigate raw materials of fibres and using scanning electron microscopy as well as possible trace elements of mordants for dyes. By researching thousands of textiles up to now in the Lab, we have been able to create massive datasets on the technological data of textiles, which allow for relevant statistical analyses. Furthermore, I work with experimental and public archaeology, reconstructing textiles/clothing and presenting our research and our knowledge of past identities to the public, whereby communicating current topics of the textile industry with its environmental and social impacts are of importance.
In a new study in Current Biology, HEAS members So Jung Han and Martin Kuhlwilm together with an international team, improve our understanding of bonobos. Bonobos are, together with chimpanzees, our closest living relatives, but the genetic structure of their population was so far not well understood. They show that three genetically distinct bonobo groups of inferred Central, Western and Far-Western geographic origin exist within the bonobo range. Their split times are up to ~145,000 years ago, which similar to that of some chimpanzee subspecies. This highlights the need of attention to bonobo substructure, which is fundamental both to understand their evolutionary past and preserve their future. https://www.heas.at/research/publications/deep-genetic-substructure-within-bonobos/ Press Release (In German) More information
Han, S., de Filippo, C., Parra, G., Meneu, J.R., Laurent, R., Frandsen, P., Hvilsom, C., Gronau, I., Marques-Bonet, T., Kuhlwilm, M., Andrés, A.M., Deep genetic substructure within bonobos. Current Biology. read more
