Özdoğan, K.T., Gelabert, P., Hammers, N., Altınışık, N.E., de Groot, A., Plets, G., 2024. Archaeology meets environmental genomics: implementing sedaDNA in the study of the human past. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 16, 108. read more
Mylopotamitaki, D., Weiss, M., Fewlass, H., Zavala, E.I., Rougier, H., Sümer, A.P., Hajdinjak, M., Smith, G.M., Ruebens, K., Sinet-Mathiot, V., Pederzani, S., Essel, E., Harking, F.S., Xia, H., Hansen, J., Kirchner, A., Lauer, T., Stahlschmidt, M., Hein, M., Talamo, S., Wacker, L., Meller, H., Dietl, H., Orschiedt, J., Olsen, J.V., Zeberg, H., Prüfer, K., Krause, J., Meyer, M., Welker, F., McPherron, S.P., Schüler, T., Hublin, J.-J., 2024. Homo sapiens reached the higher latitudes of Europe by 45,000 years ago. Nature 626, 341-346. read more
Aldeias, V., Stahlschmidt, M.C., 2024. Sediment DNA can revolutionize archaeology—if it is used the right way. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121, e2317042121. read more
Hagmann, D., Ankerl, B., Kirchengast, N., Cheronet, O., Greisinger, M., Miglbauer, R., Kirchengast, S., 2024. Double feature: First genetic evidence of a mother-daughter double burial in Roman period Austria. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 55, 104479.read more
Schauer, M., Siegmund, F., Helfert, M., Drake, B.L., 2024. The Munich Procedure–Standardising linear regression documentation in p-XRF research.Software Impact s, 100660. read more
HEAS members Ron Pinhasi and Olivia Cheronet were recently featured on an arte documentary series 'Das Steinzeit Menu' in the second episode on 'Als Homo sapiens zum Bauern wurde' The documentary (in German) can be viewed on the link below until the 24th July 2024. https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/106261-000-A/das-steinzeit-menue/
It is with profound shock and sadness that we have learned of the passing of our esteemed and highly respected colleague, Sabine Ladstätter. As the head of the Austrian Archaeological Institute and the first female Director of the Ephesos excavations, Sabine was an outstanding archaeologist and a gifted science communicator. Sabine was integral to HEAS as one of the central team leaders in that she shared the HEAS approach of interdisciplinary research. She spearheaded the integration of archaeological sciences methods and approaches with Classical Archaeology. Her contributions have left an indelible mark on Austrian archaeology and touched the lives of everyone who had the pleasure of knowing her, both peers and the public alike. Sabine shared our vision for excellence in archaeological research in Vienna and beyond. We knew her as an enthusiastic, captivating, hardworking, devoted, caring, and down-to-earth colleague. Her passing creates a significant void in Austrian archaeology, both nationally and internationally. Sabine will be deeply missed. Additional Tributes: https://www.oeaw.ac.at/oeai/medien/newsarchiv/news-detail/das-oeai-trauert-um-sabine-ladstaetter
The prestigious excavations of the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Ephesos/Türkiye will be led by Martin Steskal from this year. For many years, Steskal has been committed to interdisciplinary research approaches and the establishment of archaeology as an interface between the humanities and sciences. His planned research includes questions on circular economy, resource management, human-environment relationships, production and consumption. He deals with the key question of how the living conditions of an ancient populations can be reconstructed.
Goude, G., Le Maître, A., Bertrand, B., Mounier, A., 2024. Analyses invasives, micro-invasives et non-invasives des vestiges anthropobiologiques: quelles évolutions des pratiques actuelles et recommandations? Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris. BMSAP 36. read more
HEAS Member, Bernhard Fink was recently awarded Fellow status at the recent 35th Annual Meeting of the Human Behaviour and Evolution Society (HBES). Fellow status is conferred to members of the Society for sustained outstanding contributions to the study/teaching of evolution and human behaviour, and to the service of the Society. There are currently 7 fellows (2 from Europe). https://www.hbes.com/awards/#toggle-id-3
Tejero, J.-M., Cheronet, O., Gelabert, P., Zagorc, B., Álvarez-Fernández, E., Arias, P., Averbouh, A., Bar-Oz, G., Barzilai, O., Belfer-Cohen, A., Bosch, M.D., Brück, F., Cueto, M., Dockner, M., Fullola, J.M., Gárate, D., Giannakoulis, M., González, C., Jakeli, N., Mangado, X., Meshveliani, T., Neruda, P., Nigst, P., Ontañón, R., Shemer, M., Šimková, P.G., Tapia, J., Sánchez de la Torre, M., Schwab, C., Weber, G., Pinhasi, R., 2024. Cervidae antlers exploited to manufacture prehistoric tools and hunting implements as a reliable source of ancient DNA. Heliyon 10, e31858. read more
The Call for Papers for the upcoming conference on Methodological Innovations in p-XRF Studies, hosted by the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS) and sponsored by HEAS, closes in just a couple of days on the 7th of June! The conference will provide a platform for presenting cutting-edge methods and strategies for p-XRF data acquisition, processing, and interpretation. We invite 20-minute presentations from all fields utilizing p-XRF, with a focus on practical and software innovations, handling techniques, and new applications across diverse materials. Key details: Abstract Submission Deadline: June 7th, 2024 (max. 250 words) Conference Registration Deadline: August 11th, 2024 Conference Date: September 24th, 2024 Ice-breaker Event: September 23rd, 2024 Location: VIAS and NHM Conference Proceedings: Will be published Participation: Free of charge For more information, please refer to the Conference_pXRF_CfP or visit the conference website: https://vias.univie.ac.at/projekte/conference-methodological-innovations-in-p-xrf-studies/ This conference is being organised by HEAS Member Michaela Schauer
Workshop on Explosive ordnance identification for archaeologists Archaeological fieldwork often takes place in areas that were the scene of historical conflicts. This increases the probability of encountering explosive ordnance during excavations. It can be assumed that on average 10% of all explosive devices fired in conflicts did not explode. These unexploded ordnance (UXO) pose a risk to the safety of excavating archaeologists. Currently, many lack the necessary awareness and training to identify and properly handle ordnance found during fieldwork. This workshop aims to raise risk awareness and to close knowledge gaps in order to increase safety. Participants should be able to recognise potentially dangerous explosive ordnance, ammunition and ammunition parts during field work and react appropriately. This workshop is funded by the HEAS research network and supported by the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science, the Institute for Prehistory and Historical Archaeology, and the Austrian Archaeological Institute. Date and location: Saturday June 8th 2024, 9:30 until ca. 15:00, Franz-Klein-Gasse 1, HS7, 1190 Vienna Speaker: Vice-Lieutenant Jürgen Zeitlhofer Workshop language: German For registrations please email immo.trinks@univie.ac.at Download flyer
Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that continues to sicken 200,000 people each year in many places around the world, according to the World Health Organization, spread through close contact over months with someone who has untreated leprosy. But new evidence from archaeological sites in the medieval English city of Winchester reported in Current Biology on May 3, 2024, shows that English red squirrels once served as an important host for the Mycobacterium leprae strains responsible for leprosy in people. The findings may have implications for understanding the spread of leprosy today, including why it has not been successfully eradicated, according to the researchers. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, they also highlight the importance of a collaborative One Health approach for understanding infectious diseases and health outcomes more broadly. One Health refers to an approach that recognizes that the health of people is closely linked to the health of animals and the environment. Read Press Release Link to article
Urban, C., Blom, A.A., Avanzi, C., Walker-Meikle, K., Warren, A.K., White-Iribhogbe, K., Turle, R., Marter, P., Dawson-Hobbis, H., Roffey, S., Inskip, S.A., Schuenemann, V.J., Ancient Mycobacterium leprae genome reveals medieval English red squirrels as animal leprosy host. Current Biology. read more
HEAS Members Magdalena T. Srienc-Ściesiek, Sabine Ladstätter and Sylvia Kirchengast recently published a paper on Evidence of non-adult vitamin C deficiency in three early medieval sites in the Jaun/Podjuna Valley, Carinthia, Austria. Read full article
Doneus, N., Doneus, M., 2024. Intensively Cultivated Roman Villae Estates: Case Study of Medulin Bay (Istria, Croatia). Archaeological Prospection. read more
HEAS Member Michelle Haemmerle recently won a poster prize for her work on the 'Monkeypox virus in museum samples of orangutans' at the VDSEE Symposium in the University of Vienna Biology Building (UBB). The publication the poster was based on was published earlier this month.
Schwall, C., Brandl, M., Börner, M., Lindauer, S., Deckers, K., David-Cuny, H., Yousif, E., Jasim, S.A., Horejs, B., 2024. Kalba: research on trade networks of a prehistoric coastal community on the Gulf of Oman, United Arab Emirates. Antiquity, 1-8. read more
Sandoval-Castellanos, E., Hare, A.J., Lin, A.T., Dimopoulos, E.A., Daly, K.G., Geiger, S., Mullin, V.E., Wiechmann, I., Mattiangeli, V., Lühken, G., Zinovieva, N.A., Zidarov, P., Çakırlar, C., Stoddart, S., Orton, D., Bulatović, J., Mashkour, M., Sauer, E.W., Horwitz, L.K., Horejs, B., Atici, L., Özkaya, V., Mullville, J., Parker Pearson, M., Mainland, I., Card, N., Brown, L., Sharples, N., Griffiths, D., Allen, D., Arbuckle, B., Abell, J.T., Duru, G., Mentzer, S.M., Munro, N.D., Uzdurum, M., Gülçur, S., Buitenhuis, H., Gladyr, E., Stiner, M.C., Pöllath, N., Özbaşaran, M., Krebs, S., Burger, J., Frantz, L., Medugorac, I., Bradley, D.G., Peters, J., 2024. Ancient mitogenomes from Pre-Pottery Neolithic Central Anatolia and the effects of a Late Neolithic bottleneck in sheep (Ovis aries). Science Advances 10, eadj0954. read more
Šimková, P.G., Wurm, L., Fornai, C., Krenn, V.A., Weber, G.W., 2024. Shape variation in modern human upper premolars. PloS one 19, e0301482. read more
On the 6th February 2024 HEAS hosted a group of children from children from around Vienna for a workshop on 'Archaeology for Kids' at the HEAS partner the Natural History Museum. The children learnt about the main prehistoric and historical eras with interactive examples of representative sites, monuments, and objects. We hope this hands on experience sparked an interest for the children in ancient cultures and the modern scientific methods used to study them. To learn more about the workshop and other work by Dr. Alexandra Dolea please see her blog post below: https://www.ilovearchaeology.com/post/archaeology-for-kids-workshop
Hagmann, D., Ankerl, B., Kirchengast, N., Cheronet, O., Greisinger, M., Miglbauer, R., Kirchengast, S., 2024. Double feature: First genetic evidence of a mother-daughter double burial in Roman period Austria. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 55, 104479. read more
Hämmerle, M., Rymbekova, A., Gelabert, P., Sawyer, S., Cheronet, O., Bernardi, P., Calvignac-Spencer, S., Kuhlwilm, M., Guellil, M., Pinhasi, R., 2024. Link between Monkeypox Virus Genomes from Museum Specimens and 1965 Zoo Outbreak. Emerging Infectious Disease journal 30, 815. read more
HEAS Member Martin Fieder has published a new US textbook on social status, number of children in modern societies, confirming evolutionary assumptions on social status and reproduction. This is the first book to fully examine, from an evolutionary perspective, the relationship between social status and fertility in human societies before, during, and after the demographic transition. In most non-human social species, social status or relative rank in a social group is positively associated with the number of offspring, with high-status individuals typically having more offspring than low-status individuals. Humans, however, appear to be different. As societies have become richer, fertility has fallen to unprecedented lows, with some developed societies now at or below replacement fertility. Within rich societies, women in higher-income families often have fewer children than women in lower-income families. Evolutionary theory suggests that the relationship between social status and fertility is likely to be somewhat different for men and women, so it is important to examine this relationship for men and women separately. When this is done, the positive association between individual SES and fertility is often clear in less developed, pre-transition societies, especially for men. Once the demographic transition begins, it is elite families, and especially the women of elite families, who lead the way in fertility decline. Post-transition, the evidence from a wide range of developed…
Schauer, M., 2024. Coefficient corrections for portable X-ray fluorescence data of the Niton XL3t No. 97390 (coefcor I-IV) developed according to the Munich procedure. Data in Brief 53, 109914. read more
HEAS member, Günther Karl Kunst, had his publication on 'The 10,000-year biocultural history of fallow deer and its implications for conservation policy' featured on Science ORF, the national public broadcaster for Austria. https://science.orf.at/stories/3223579/ Link to publication
Třebický, V., Delplanque, S., Ferdenzi, C., Fink, B., Jelínková, L., Pátková, Ž., Roberts, S.C., Röder, S., Saxton, T.K., Schwambergová, D., Štěrbová, Z., Fialová, J.T., Havlíček, J., 2023. Cross-modal associations of human body odour attractiveness with facial and vocal attractiveness provide little support for the backup signals hypothesis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Evolution and Human Behavior 44, 19-29. read more
Voegeli, R., Campiche, R., Biassin, R., Rawlings, A.V., Shackelford, T.K., Fink, B., 2023. Predictors of female age, health and attractiveness perception from skin feature analysis of digital portraits in five ethnic groups. International Journal of Cosmetic Science 45, 672-687. read more
Yeshurun, R., Doyon, L., Tejero, J.-M., Walter, R., Huber, H., Andrews, R., Kitagawa, K., 2024. Identification and quantification of projectile impact marks on bone: new experimental insights using osseous points. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 16, 43. read more
Baker, K.H., Miller, H., Doherty, S., Gray, H.W.I., Daujat, J., Çakırlar, C., Spassov, N., Trantalidou, K., Madgwick, R., Lamb, A.L., Ameen, C., Atici, L., Baker, P., Beglane, F., Benkert, H., Bendrey, R., Binois-Roman, A., Carden, R.F., Curci, A., De Cupere, B., Detry, C., Gál, E., Genies, C., Kunst, G.K., Liddiard, R., Nicholson, R., Perdikaris, S., Peters, J., Pigière, F., Pluskowski, A.G., Sadler, P., Sicard, S., Strid, L., Sudds, J., Symmons, R., Tardio, K., Valenzuela, A., van Veen, M., Vuković, S., Weinstock, J., Wilkens, B., Wilson, R.J.A., Evans, J.A., Hoelzel, A.R., Sykes, N., 2024. The 10,000-year biocultural history of fallow deer and its implications for conservation policy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121, e2310051121. read more
Margaret L Antonio, Clemens L Weiß, Ziyue Gao, Susanna Sawyer, Victoria Oberreiter, Hannah M Moots, Jeffrey P Spence, Olivia Cheronet, Brina Zagorc, Elisa Praxmarer, Kadir Toykan Özdoğan, Lea Demetz, Pere Gelabert, Daniel Fernandes, Michaela Lucci, Timka Alihodžić, Selma Amrani, Pavel Avetisyan, Christèle Baillif-Ducros, Željka Bedić, Audrey Bertrand, Maja Bilić, Luca Bondioli, Paulina Borówka, Emmanuel Botte, Josip Burmaz, Domagoj Bužanić, Francesca Candilio, Mirna Cvetko, Daniela De Angelis, Ivan Drnić, Kristián Elschek, Mounir Fantar, Andrej Gaspari, Gabriella Gasperetti, Francesco Genchi, Snežana Golubović, Zuzana Hukeľová, Rimantas Jankauskas, Kristina Jelinčić Vučković, Gordana Jeremić, Iva Kaić, Kevin Kazek, Hamazasp Khachatryan, Anahit Khudaverdyan, Sylvia Kirchengast, Miomir Korać, Valérie Kozlowski, Mária Krošláková, Dora Kušan Špalj, Francesco La Pastina, Marie Laguardia, Sandra Legrand, Tino Leleković, Tamara Leskovar, Wiesław Lorkiewicz, Dženi Los, Ana Maria Silva, Rene Masaryk, Vinka Matijević, Yahia Mehdi Seddik Cherifi, Nicolas Meyer, Ilija Mikić, Nataša Miladinović-Radmilović, Branka Milošević Zakić, Lina Nacouzi, Magdalena Natuniewicz-Sekuła, Alessia Nava, Christine Neugebauer-Maresch, Jan Nováček, Anna Osterholtz, Julianne Paige, Lujana Paraman, Dominique Pieri, Karol Pieta, Stefan Pop-Lazić, Matej Ruttkay, Mirjana Sanader, Arkadiusz Sołtysiak, Alessandra Sperduti, Tijana Stankovic Pesterac, Maria Teschler-Nicola, Iwona Teul, Domagoj Tončinić, Julien Trapp, Dragana Vulović, Tomasz Waliszewski, Diethard Walter, Miloš Živanović, Mohamed el Mostefa Filah, Morana Čaušević-Bully, Mario Šlaus, Dušan Borić, Mario Novak, Alfredo Coppa, Ron Pinhasi, Jonathan K Pritchard (2024) Stable population structure in Europe since the Iron…
Hagmann, D. ( 2024). "Adopt, Adapt, and Share! FAIR Archeological Data for Studying Roman Rural Landscapes in Northern Noricum." Journal of Open Humanities Data 10 (1):13. read more
The landscape of present-day Austria was shaped by the ice ages, the last of which ended around 10,000 years ago. Modern scientific methods allow us to gain an insight into these processes long before historical records exist. One controversial question to date has been how long Lake Neusiedl has existed. Because there was no reliable evidence, estimates ranged from thousands to millions of years. In a joint endeavour, scientists from four Austrian universities have now succeeded in narrowing down the age of Lake Neusiedl to around 25,000 years. Stephanie Neuhuber from the Institute of Applied Geology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) Vienna, under whose leadership the study was carried out, is surprised by this age, which coincides with the peak of the last ice age, as it was actually particularly dry at that time. The age was determined by radiocarbon dating of carbonate minerals formed in the lake water and deposited in mud on the lake bed. Read more here Read full paper
Kerttu Majander, Marta Pla-Díaz, Louis du Plessis, Natasha Arora, Jose Filippini, Luis Pezo-Lanfranco, Sabine Eggers, Fernando González-Candelas, Verena J. Schuenemann, (2024). Redefining the treponemal history throughpre-Columbian genomes from Brazil, Nature read more
Blanz, Magdalena, Marie Balasse, Delphine Frémondeau, Erika Gál, Anett Osztás, Anna Zs Biller, Éva Á. Nyerges, Denis Fiorillo, Eszter Bánffy, and Maria Ivanova (2023). "Early Neolithic pastoral land use at Alsónyék-Bátaszék, Hungary (Starčevo culture): New insights from stable isotope ratios." PloS one 18(12): e0295769. read more
The oldest known genome of a bacterium from a family that causes diseases such as syphilis has been identified in prehistoric human remains from Brazil, a Nature paper reveals. The finding helps to shed light on the origins of this disease group. Closely related but distinct subspecies of Treponema pallidum bacteria cause different types of treponemal disease, such as venereal syphilis and a non-sexually transmitted disease known as bejel. The origins of these diseases are debated: some argue that the syphilis epidemic in late 15th century Europe arose after Columbus’ expeditions introduced the bacteria from the Americas. Previous theories of the emergence of these diseases have been based on studies of ancient bone pathology but definitive evidence to identify the causative subspecies has eluded researchers. Verena Schuenemann and colleagues extracted DNA from four individuals from a nearly 2,000-year-old Brazilian burial site and were able to reconstruct the genomes of T. pallidum bacteria that had infected them. Their analysis revealed that the pathogen responsible was most closely related to the modern species that causes bejel. The finding adds strength to previous suggestions that civilizations in the Americas experienced treponemal infections in pre-Columbian times, and that treponemal disease was already present in the New World at least 500 years before Columbus set sail. The study does not shed light on the emergence…
The virtual reconstruction of the Ethiopian Australopithecus afarensis specimen A.L. 444-2 from Hadar was now released for free use in the digital@rchive of fossil hominoids https://www.virtual-anthropology.com/3d-data/free-data/ The reconstruction was made in the Virtual Anthropology Lab at University of Vienna by Sascha Senck, Stefano Benazzi, Gerhard Weber, and others. It is described in detail in the supplement of “Ledogar, J. A., Senck, S., Villmoare, B. A., Smith, A. L., Weber, G. W., Richmond, B. G., Dechow, P. C., Ross, C. F., Grosse, I. R., Wright, B. W., Wang, Q., Byron, C., Benazzi, S., Carlson, K. J., Carlson, K. B., McIntosh, L. C., Van Casteren, A., & Strait, D. S. (2022). Mechanical compensation in the evolution of the early hominin feeding apparatus [Article]. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 289(1977), Article 20220711. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0711 The surface file of the reconstructed cranium and the endocast are available.
van der Sluis, L.G., McGrath, K., Thil, F., Cersoy, S., Pétillon, J.M., Zazzo, A., 2023. Identification and tentative removal of collagen glue in Palaeolithic worked bone objects: implications for ZooMS and radiocarbon dating. Scientific Reports 13, 22119. read more
Olalde, I., Carrión, P., Mikić, I., Rohland, N., Mallick, S., Lazaridis, I., Mah, M., Korać, M., Golubović, S., Petković, S., Miladinović-Radmilović, N., Vulović, D., Alihodžić, T., Ash, A., Baeta, M., Bartík, J., Bedić, Ž., Bilić, M., Bonsall, C., Bunčić, M., Bužanić, D., Carić, M., Čataj, L., Cvetko, M., Drnić, I., Dugonjić, A., Đukić, A., Đukić, K., Farkaš, Z., Jelínek, P., Jovanovic, M., Kaić, I., Kalafatić, H., Krmpotić, M., Krznar, S., Leleković, T., M. de Pancorbo, M., Matijević, V., Milošević Zakić, B., Osterholtz, A.J., Paige, J.M., Tresić Pavičić, D., Premužić, Z., Rajić Šikanjić, P., Rapan Papeša, A., Paraman, L., Sanader, M., Radovanović, I., Roksandic, M., Šefčáková, A., Stefanović, S., Teschler-Nicola, M., Tončinić, D., Zagorc, B., Callan, K., Candilio, F., Cheronet, O., Fernandes, D., Kearns, A., Lawson, A.M., Mandl, K., Wagner, A., Zalzala, F., Zettl, A., Tomanović, Ž., Keckarević, D., Novak, M., Harper, K., McCormick, M., Pinhasi, R., Grbić, M., Lalueza-Fox, C., Reich, D., 2023. A genetic history of the Balkans from Roman frontier to Slavic migrations. Cell 186, 5472-5485.e5479. read more
