About

Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Nicolás GONZÁLEZ RAPOSO

I am a psychologist, a PhD candidate in Social Complexity Sciences at Universidad del Desarrollo (Chile), and a Visiting PhD Candidate at the Vienna Doctoral School of Cognition, Behavior and Neuroscience (VDS CoBeNe) – Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna. My research focuses on the behavioral foundations of interpersonal conflict, integrating evolutionary game theory, causal inference, and computational social science methods. My PhD dissertation consists of two empirical articles. Drawing on sexual selection theory, the first examines how sex differences and socially aversive personality traits (the Dark Triad) shape aggressive dispositions, using latent variable models to analyze how individual differences relate to conflict escalation. The second examines how interpersonal conflict is dynamically inferred and regulated during real-time bargaining interactions, focusing on how emergent patterns of emotional coordination—such as affiliative signaling and mimicry—influence perceptions of conflict and negotiation outcomes.    

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Chen DUAN

I am a PhD student in paleogenomics focusing on the study of medical genetics and ancient genomic data. I am primarily interested in analyzing pathogenic variants from past populations to answer questions linked to health status assessment and the evolutionary history of cancer predisposition. I am currently working on projects related to ancient oncogenetics, specifically the identification of both germline and somatic mutations and investigating how population dynamics shaped the oncogenetic landscape in antiquity.  

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Audrey LIN

I am an APART-USA Fellow in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna. My research utilizes recovering ancient biomolecules from archaeological and museum specimens and objects to answer diverse questions on human-mediated evolutionary processes, including domestication, extinction, and mechanisms of zoonoses. My multidisciplinary approach integrates tools and theories from the life sciences (palaeogenomics, biology, zoology), the humanities (history), and social sciences (archaeology and cultural anthropology).    

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Members

Sabina CVEČEK

I am a socio-cultural anthropologist and archaeologist, currently a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Global Postdoctoral Fellow jointly appointed at the Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago) and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Vienna). I hold a PhD in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Vienna. My research explores kinship, households, and social organization in the eastern Mediterranean and southeastern Europe, with a particular focus on the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age. Bridging socio-cultural anthropology, archaeology, bioarchaeology, and ancient DNA research, my work critically examines how social relations were constituted beyond biological relatedness, including practices of care, co-residence, commensality, and non-biological kin-making. Through comparative and theoretically informed approaches, I seek to challenge genetic determinism in archaeogenetic interpretations and to foreground everyday practices as central to understanding past social worlds.  

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Francesc MARGINEDAS MIRÓ

I am an anthropologist and archaeologist specialising in the study of human remains from archaeological contexts. I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vienna, in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology. I hold a PhD in Quaternary and Prehistory from Rovira and Virgili University (Tarragona, Spain), as well as a Master’s degree in Quaternary Archaeology jointly awarded by the same institution and the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (Paris, France). My research focuses on mortuary practices involving the manipulation of human remains, alongside evidence for interpersonal violence and cannibalism in past societies. I work across a broad range of chrono-cultural contexts, from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age. This includes the analysis of human bone assemblages from sites such as Maszycka Cave (Kraków, Poland), Txispiri Cave (Gipuzkoa, Spain) and El Mirador Cave (Atapuerca, Spain), among others. I am also an active member of the Atapuerca Project, contributing both in the field and in the laboratory. My work combines a range of taphonomic and analytical approaches, including classical osteological methods, residue analysis, and detailed studies of bone surface modifications.  

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Team Leaders

Benjamin VERNOT

I am a population geneticist who specializes in the study of ancient human DNA, using this DNA to reconstruct the lives of people in the past. My current focus is on ancient DNA extracted from sediments, and we use these sediments to trace the presence of ancient people where they lived and worked, and in the absence of skeletal remains. My group is also heavily involved in the development of computational methods for the analysis of challenging aDNA datasets.  

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

Sofie-Kristin SCHENDZIELORZ

I am a bioarchaeologist and a PhD candidate in the Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology at the University of Vienna. I hold a master’s degree in Forensic Archaeology and Anthropology from the University of Dundee (UK). My research focuses on advanced imaging methods and biomechanical musculoskeletal modelling, as well as the study of commingled remains and ossuary archaeology. I am currently employed as a predoctoral researcher at the Austrian Archaeological Institute (Austrian Academy of Sciences) and am part of the “Prehistoric Identities” research group, led by Katharina Rebay-Salisbury. Within the framework of my dissertation project, “Muscle Synergies and Sexual Division of Labour in the Early Central European Bronze Age: A Multivariate Analysis of Body and Technology,” I investigate the health, lifestyle, and activities of individuals from Early Bronze Age cemeteries in Lower Austria. I apply innovative 3D surface modelling techniques for entheseal analysis to reconstruct sex-specific divisions of labour, as well as body–artifact relationships.    

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Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology (IUHA) Members

Hannah SKERJANZ

I am a prehistoric archaeologist and PhD candidate at the Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology at the University of Vienna, where I am currently also involved in teaching as Katharina Rebay-Salisbury's University Assistant. I am affiliated with the Prehistoric Identities group at the Austrian Archaeological Institute, where I have been involved in past projects and have gained laboratory experience in osteological analysis, peptide-based analysis, and strontium isotope analysis. My research focuses on funerary archaeology, material culture and chronology of the Central European Metal Ages. In the framework of my dissertation project “In the midst of change” I investigate the transformation from inhumation to cremation and changes in funerary behaviour during the Middle Bronze Age (c. 1600-1300/1200 BCE) in Upper and Lower Austria. I follow an interdisciplinary approach by combining archaeological and bioarchaeological data in order to gain insights into past communities and their lives.

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Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology (IUHA) Members

Domnika VERDIANU

I am a bioarchaeologist and currently a university assistant (predoctoral researcher) in the Department of Prehistory and Historical Archaeology at the University of Vienna. Since 2021, I have also been part of the “Prehistoric Identities” research group, led by Katharina Rebay-Salisbury at the Austrian Archaeological Institute (Austrian Academy of Sciences). I hold a Master's degree in Prehistory and Historical Archaeology from the University of Vienna. My research focuses on mortuary practices during the Bronze Age in Central Europe, as well as osteology, palaeopathology, and archaeothanatology. My PhD project investigates the bioarchaeology of children and adolescents, with a particular emphasis on sex-specific burial practices during the Early Bronze Age.  

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Members

Caroline PARTIOT

I am a biological anthropologist and archaeo-anthropologist, currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. I hold a PhD in Biological Anthropology from the University of Bordeaux (France), as well as a Master’s degree in Biological Anthropology from the University of Bordeaux and a Master’s degree in Egyptology from Sorbonne University (Paris IV). My research focuses particularly on the life course (vitality at birth, paleopathology, stress) and the social status of children in the past through osteobiographical analysis, as well as on the study of burial practices through archaeothanatology. I work on a wide range of chrono-cultural contexts, from the Upper Paleolithic to the Modern period, both in the laboratory and in the field. This includes the Byzantine period in Ephesos (Turkey), Late Antiquity in Carinthia, Punic Carthage, the medieval period in southwestern France, pre-contact Amerindian Caribbean populations in Guadeloupe, and the Kerma period in Sudan. I am the founder of the ARTHA network, which focuses on developing archaeothanatology in Central Europe.    

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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…

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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.    

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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…

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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.

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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.

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Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology (IUHA) 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.

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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.

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Members

Jessica Mendes CARDOSO

She holds a doctorate in Archaeology from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, and a doctorate in Geosciences from the University of Toulouse, France. Her research focused on the geochemical applications of isotope analysis in archaeological materials, primarily human and faunal bones and teeth, to reconstruct diet and determine the geological provenance of pre-colonial coastal Brazilian populations. She has extensive experience in zooarchaeology, particularly in South American Brazilian shellmounds, which was the focus of her bachelor's and master's research. She has worked as an archaeologist in several preventive archaeology projects, gaining experience in both field and laboratory work, as well as cultural heritage education. She was also one of the creators of Sambaquis: A History Before Brazil, the first Brazilian archaeology-themed game. Currently, she is a postdoctoral researcher in the ERC Starting Grant HUE project, working in the new geochemical laboratory with mass spectrometry and isotope analysis of ancient pigments.

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Florian EXLER

I am a PhD student working on a cooperative project between the Department of Environmental Geosciences and the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology. With a background in chemistry, my research focuses on enhancing lab methods to refine and improve the recovery rates and quality of ancient DNA (aDNA) data. In this context, I also investigate the sources of aDNA and the factors that may influence its preservation. While my work is primarily focused on sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA), my approach also contributes to the study of aDNA from a variety of sources, broadening its potential applications in environmental and archaeological research.  

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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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Marjolein D. BOSCH

I am a Palaeolithic zooarchaeologist investigating a range of hominin behaviours through the lens of zooarchaeology including, organic technology, habitat exploitation, mobility and subsistence strategies. I am a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology at the University of Vienna and an associated scientist at the Austrian Archaeological Institute and the NHM Vienna. After formal training in zooarchaeology at Leiden University, I have specialised in human-animal interactions and dietary adaptation across East Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe throughout the Pleistocene. My research further focusses on innovative ways to study organic technology including beads and personal ornaments, domestic tools and projectile technology. I obtained my PhD at the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and Leiden University and held post-doc positions at Cambridge University and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.  

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Members

Andrea MEJIA ACEVEDO

I am a PhD student at the University of Vienna, and I currently work for my project at the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the OeAW. I have a Bachelors degree in Chemistry from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and an Erasmus Mundus Masters in Archaeological Material Sciences. My PhD research focuses on the study of ancient pigment provenance and production in the Mediterranean during the Hellenistic and Roman periods.

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Natural History Museum Vienna (NHM) Members

Caroline POSCH

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.    

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Heather CHAMBERLAIN IRWIN

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.    

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Constanze SCHATTKE

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.    

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Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology (IUHA) Members

Timothy CANESSA

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.    

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Members

Hannah Stephanie ROHRINGER

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.  

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Thomas DAVIES

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

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Jana Naomi VOGLMAYR

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.

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Members

Leslie QUADE

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.  

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Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS) Members

Martin FERA

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.

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Natural History Museum Vienna (NHM) Members

Kayleigh SAUNDERSON

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.

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Konstantina CHESHMEDZHIEVA

I am currently a PhD student in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Biotechnology Engineering from the University of Food Technologies in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Driven by my interests in anthropology and genetics, I earned my MSc in Molecular Biology (Bioinformatics track) from the University of Padua in 2023. My master’s thesis centered on developing a novel method for estimating and detecting statistically significant levels of genetic assortative mating in contemporary European populations, utilizing large-scale data from the UK and Estonian biobanks.   Under the supervision of Katerina Douka and Martin Kuhlwilm, my current research focuses on identifying Denisovan presence in Island Southeast Asia and Oceania, generating ancient DNA data from the region and conducting bioinformatic analyses.

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Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology (IUHA) Team Leaders

Peter C. RAMSL

Peter C. Ramsl (Priv. Doz., Mag. Dr.) is university assistant specialising in the European Iron Age and is currently leading the FWF project ‘Celts Across The Alps’ (CATA). His research on the European Iron Ages focusses on the identities and social relationships of people, their mobility and possible migrations as well as dietary habits. This is achieved through a combination of interdisciplinary methodological approaches. Current research is also focussing on insights into social and biological gender and the effects of violence and war on societies. As part of the current FWF project, he and his research team are analysing the relationships between La Tène cemeteries from the Traisen valley in Lower Austria and those from northern Italy near Bologna and Mantova. Another interest is landscape archaeology, focussing on the use of the various landscapes of the Iron Age.  

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Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Manasij Pal CHOWDHURY

I am an archaeological scientist specialising in paleoproteomics, primarily focusing on the recovery and analysis of proteins from archaeological bones and ceramic remains. I am interested in the use of proteomics to understand a range of archaeological questions, including faunal identification, the exploitation of various natural resources, ancient diet and diseases, and how ancient diet and patterns in resource consumption can be used to study socio-economic stratification and various forms of inequality and social structure in antiquity. I am also interested in the various post-translational modifications in proteins as a result of the various diagenetic processes involved, and the study of the fundamental processes involved in the preservation of proteins in archaeological substrates. A chemist by training, I graduated from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi with a BSc Hons. degree in Chemistry and was awarded a MSc in Chemistry from The University of Manchester. In 2023, I completed my PhD in Bioarchaeology from the University of Manchester, and am currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Douka Paleoproteomics and ZooMS laboratory in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna.

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Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology (IUHA) Members

Maximilian PINIEL

Maximilian Piniel is a university assistant (Praedoc) at the University of Vienna. As a prehistorian and archaeobotanist, his research focuses on the material culture of the European metal ages and on the human-environment relationships of prehistoric societies. He completed his Bachelor and Master studies at the University of Vienna. In his doctorate, he is currently working on agriculture and plant-based diet during the Early and Middle Bronze Age on the Upper and Middle Danube.    

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Team Leaders

Martin STESKAL

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Martin Steskal is Head of the Department of Historical Archaeology at the Austrian Archaeological Institute of the OeAW and Director of the excavations of Ephesos. He is a trained classical archaeologist with a research focus on Mediterranean archaeology. He has been studying the mortuary landscape and practices in Ephesos for many years and is trying to reconstruct the living environment of the inhabitants of one of the great ancient metropolises. His research includes archaeological, historical and scientific methods. In addition to his work at the OeAW, he is also a lecturer at the University of Vienna.  

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The Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) Team Leaders

Lyndelle WEBSTER

Based at the Department of Prehistory and WANA Archaeology at the Austrian Archaeological Institute, my research focuses on radiocarbon dating and soil micromorphology. Developing radiocarbon-based chronologies for Neolithic through Iron Age sites across a wide geographic area, from the Levant and Near East to Europe and the Balkans, has enabled me to contribute to key chronological debates. My current FWF ESPRIT project employs an integrated approach using soil micromorphology and other micro-scale techniques, as well as radiocarbon dating, to study earliest settlements along a major corridor for Neolithisation in the central Balkans.  

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Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology (IUHA) Members

Lukas WALTENBERGER

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Prehistoric and Historical Archaeology and at the Department of Prehistory and WANA Archaeology, of the Austrian Archaeological Institute. I am a biological and forensic anthropologist with a research focus on cremated human remains, trauma analyses, and palaeopathology. I have a master's degree in Forensic Osteology (Bournemouth University, UK) and a PhD in Life Sciences (University of Vienna) performed in the framework of the ERC-project »VAMOS – The value of mothers to society« (ÖAW, PI: Katharina Rebay-Salisbury). Currently, I am spokesman of the working group »Palaeoanthropology and Prehistoric Anthropology« of the Anthropological Society (GfA).

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