A recent publication by HEAS member Berhard Fink et al. on 'Perceptions of female age, health and attractiveness vary with systematic hair manipulations' was covered in PsyPost. https://www.psypost.org/hair-shine-linked-to-perceptions-of-youth-and-health-in-women/ https://www.heas.at/research/publications/perceptions-of-female-age-health-and-attractiveness-vary-with-systematic-hair-manipulations/
The recipients of the February 2023 HEAS Seed Grants are: Applicant Round Project Amount Granted Victoria Oberreiter and Florian Exler February 2023 Analyzing Altamira: The first aDNA analyses of the renowned cave paintings from northern Spain €3.000,00 Annette Oertle, Katerina Douka, Frank Zachos February 2023 Using museum collections for ZooMS marker development of New Guinea taxa €3.000,00 Dominik Hagmann, Sylvia Kirchengast February 2023 Undiscovered Ancient Deathscapes“: Archaeothanatological Analysis Of Roman and Early Medieval Inhumations from Cemeteries in the Southeastern Upper Danube River Basin (sUDRB) during the Roman Climate Optimum (RCO) and Late Antique Little Ice Age (LALIA) €3.000,00 Olivia Cheronet, Maria Teschler-Nicola, Daniel Fernandes, Adrian Daly February 2023 Confirmation of the presence of Mucopolysaccharidosis in the Medieval population of Pottenbrunn (Lower Austria) €3.000,00 Richard Kimber, Susanna Sawyer,Florian Exler February 2023 A density separation approach for improved ancient DNA yields from sediments €3.000,00 Due to due to the positive development in terms of quality and available budget, we were able to grant 5 proposals in this round For more information about the HEAS Seed Grants please see here
We are delighted to announce the results of the HEAS Seed Grants February 2025 round. They are: AI-Assisted Full-Spectrum p-XRF Analysis: A New Approach to Decoding Graphite Provenance Michaela Schauer and Georg Tiefengraber Refining dentine extraction methods for detecting metabolites indicative of tobacco use in archaeological teeth Leslie Quade, Laura van der Sluis , Manasij Pal Chowdhury, Thomas Köcher Genetic Excavation of Pathogens: Insights from the Bürgerspital Cesspit (17th-18th Century Vienna) Sojung Han, Ron Pinhasi, Andreas G. Heiss More information on the HEAS Seed Grants can be found here: https://www.heas.at/research/seed-grants/
HEAS Head Gerhard Weber today announced funding for three grants for HEAS member under the HEAS Seed Grant scheme. The successful applicants were: Applicant Project Amount Granted Susanna Sawyer, Pere Gelabert, Mareike Stahlschmidt Tissue source determination of ancient DNA in sediment €3.000,00 Laura van der Sluis, Georg Tiefengraber Early Bronze Age clothing bone pins from the Natural History Museum archive €3.000,00 Tom Higham, Emese Végh HUMEVCOL – Human Evolution Beyond Collagen €2.955,47 For more information about the HEAS Seed Grant scheme see here
We are delighted to announce the results of the June 2025 Seed Grants: They are: Time is of the essence Establishing combined (p)OSL profiling and dating of archaeological features with unclear chronological contexts in Austria Doris Jetzinger and Martin Fera Dental calculus as a palaeodietary tool: application to the Early Neolithic of Greece Anastasia Papadogianni, Katerina Douka and Barbara Horejs Tracing Lead Provenance in Inland Basilicata: First Isotope Analysis of Lucanian Lead Objects from the Agri Valley Alexandra Rodler-Rørbo, Mathias Mehofer and Matthias Hoernes A Flexible Open-Access In-Solution Capture Design for Paleogenomics Pere Gelabert, Viola Schmid and Susanna Sawyer You can learn more about the HEAS Seed Grants here: https://www.heas.at/research/seed-grants/
The Team at HEAS are delighted to announce the speakers for the 2025-2026 Seminar Series. Covering Human Evolution and the Palaeolithic, Ancient Genomics, and Archaeological Science the series weclomes from speakers from all over Europe, the US and Canada, and South America. All talks are hybrid while some will be online only. Registration is now open here. To look back on previous seminars, have a look at our YouTube channel for recording from the talks and podcast interviews with the speakers.
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
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
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.
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…
Lipson, M., Ringbauer, H., Lucarini, G., Aouadi, N., Aoudia, L., Belhouchet, L., Cheronet, O., Dahmani, A.-R., Genchi, F., La Pastina, F., Lucci, M., de Lumley, H., Mansouri, N., Nava, A., Touj, F., Mallick, S., Rohland, N., Coppa, A., Pinhasi, R., Reich, D., 2025. High continuity of forager ancestry in the Neolithic period of the eastern Maghreb. Nature. read more
Filzwieser, R., Ruß, D., Kucera, M., Doneus, M., Hasenhündl, G., Verhoeven, G.J., Zotti, G., Lenzhofer, A., Stüttler, G., Pisz, M., Neubauer, W., 2022. History and Archaeology in Discourse on the Dernberg–Reconstructing the Historical Landscape of a Medieval Motte-and-Bailey Castle and Deserted Village. Heritage 5 (3), 2123–2141. doi:10.3390/heritage5030111. read more
Hagmann, D., 2025. Home is where my villa is: a machine learning-based predictive suitability map for Roman features in Northern Noricum (ca. 50–500 CE/Lower Austria/AUT). Journal of Maps 21, 2487444. 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
Bühler, B, Kirchengast, S., 2022. Horse-riding as a habitual activity among the early medieval Avar population of the cemetery of Csokorgasse (Vienna): Sex and chronological differences. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology read more
Gaffney, D., Tanudirjo, D.A., Djami, E.N.I., Mas'ud, Z., Macap, A.R., Russell, T., Dailom, M., Ray, Y., Higham, T., Bradshaw, F., Petchey, F., Florin, S.A., Roberts, P., Lucas, M., Tromp, M., Greig, K., Xhauflair, H., Montenegro, A., Hall, R., Boulanger, C., Ono, R., Oertle, A., Scholz, D., Spitzer, M., Szabo, K., Bertelli, I., Ribechini, E., Haberle, S., 2024. Human dispersal and plant processing in the Pacific 55 000–50 000 years ago. Antiquity, 1-20. read more
Doneus, M., Höfle, B., Kempf, D., Daskalakis, G, Shinoto, M . (2022). "Human‐in‐the‐loop development of spatially adaptive ground point filtering pipelines—An archaeological case study." Archaeological Prospection. read more
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
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
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
Kuderna, L.F.K., Ulirsch, J.C., Rashid, S., Ameen, M., Sundaram, L., Hickey, G., Cox, A.J., Gao, H., Kumar, A., Aguet, F., Christmas, M.J., Clawson, H., Haeussler, M., Janiak, M.C., Kuhlwilm, M., Orkin, J.D., Bataillon, T., Manu, S., Valenzuela, A., Bergman, J., Rouselle, M., Silva, F.E., Agueda, L., Blanc, J., Gut, M., de Vries, D., Goodhead, I., Harris, R.A., Raveendran, M., Jensen, A., Chuma, I.S., Horvath, J.E., Hvilsom, C., Juan, D., Frandsen, P., Schraiber, J.G., de Melo, F.R., Bertuol, F., Byrne, H., Sampaio, I., Farias, I., Valsecchi, J., Messias, M., da Silva, M.N.F., Trivedi, M., Rossi, R., Hrbek, T., Andriaholinirina, N., Rabarivola, C.J., Zaramody, A., Jolly, C.J., Phillips-Conroy, J., Wilkerson, G., Abee, C., Simmons, J.H., Fernandez-Duque, E., Kanthaswamy, S., Shiferaw, F., Wu, D., Zhou, L., Shao, Y., Zhang, G., Keyyu, J.D., Knauf, S., Le, M.D., Lizano, E., Merker, S., Navarro, A., Nadler, T., Khor, C.C., Lee, J., Tan, P., Lim, W.K., Kitchener, A.C., Zinner, D., Gut, I., Melin, A.D., Guschanski, K., Schierup, M.H., Beck, R.M.D., Karakikes, I., Wang, K.C., Umapathy, G., Roos, C., Boubli, J.P., Siepel, A., Kundaje, A., Paten, B., Lindblad-Toh, K., Rogers, J., Marques Bonet, T., Farh, K.K.-H., 2023. Identification of constrained sequence elements across 239 primate genomes. Nature. read more
Stahlschmidt, M.C., Mentzer, S.M., Heinrich, S., Cooper, A., Grote, M.N., McNeill, P.J., Wilder, J.C.B., Steele, T.E., 2023. Impact of a recent wildfire on tortoises at Cape Point, South Africa, and implications for the interpretation of heated bones in the archaeological record. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 15, 126. read more
Gallo, G., Ushakov, S.V., Navrotsky, A., Stahlschmidt, M.C., 2023. Impact of prolonged heating on the color and crystallinity of bone. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 15, 143. read more
Sawyer, S., Gelabert, P., Yakir, B., Lizcano, A.L., Sperduti, A., Bondioli, L., Cheronet, O., Neugebauer-Maresch, C., Teschler-Nicola, M., Novak, M., Pap, I., Szikossy, I., Hajdu, T., Meshorer, E., Carmel, L., Pinhasi, R., 2023. Improved detection of methylation in ancient DNA. bioRxiv, 2023.2010.2031.564722. read more
Sawyer, S., Gelabert, P., Yakir, B., Llanos-Lizcano, A., Sperduti, A., Bondioli, L., Cheronet, O., Neugebauer-Maresch, C., Teschler-Nicola, M., Novak, M., Pap, I., Szikossy, I., Hajdu, T., Moiseyev, V., Gromov, A., Zariņa, G., Meshorer, E., Carmel, L., Pinhasi, R., 2024. Improved detection of methylation in ancient DNA. Genome Biology 25, 261. read more
Fieder, M., Huber, S., 2023. Increasing pressure on US men for income in order to find a spouse. Biodemography and Social Biology, 1-19. read more
Doneus, N., Doneus, M., 2024. Intensively Cultivated Roman Villae Estates: Case Study of Medulin Bay (Istria, Croatia). Archaeological Prospection. read more
Wallner, M., Doneus, M., Kowatschek, I., Hinterleitner, A., Köstelbauer, F., Neubauer, W., 2022. Interdisciplinary Investigations of the Neolithic Circular Ditch Enclosure of Velm (Lower Austria). Remote Sensing 14, 2657. 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
Abrams, G., Devièse, T., Pirson, S., De Groote, I., Flas, D., Jungels, C., Jadin, I., Cattelain, P., Bonjean, D., Mathys, A., Semal, P., Higham, T., Di Modica, K., 2024. Investigating the co-occurrence of Neanderthals and modern humans in Belgium through direct radiocarbon dating of bone implements. Journal of Human Evolution 186, 103471. read more
Horn, L., Windhager, S., Juricka, N., Bugnyar, T., Massen, J.J., Markova, G., 2024. Investigating the effects of prenatal testosterone exposure (via 2D: 4D) and socio-relational factors on 3–6-year-old preschoolers' prosocial choices. Early Human Development, 106055. read more
Jetzinger, D., Krenn-Leeb, A., Lindinger, V., Weßling, R., Peresson, M., Supper, R., Roetzel, R., Peticzka, R., 2023. Is this settlement intersected by a ditch? A comparison between magnetic prospection data, ALS data, and archaeological and geological excavation results from the Early Bronze Age fortified hilltop settlement of Ratzersdorf, Lower Austria, Advances in On-and Offshore Archaeological Prospection: Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Archaeological Prospection, pp. 143-147. read more
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
Wang Naihui, Xu Yang, Tang Zhuowei, He Cunding, Hu Xin, Cui Yinqiu and Douka Katerina 2023 Large-scale application of palaeoproteomics (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry; ZooMS) in two Palaeolithic faunal assemblages from ChinaProc. R. Soc. B.2902023112920231129 read more
Sharif, M.B., Mohaseb, A.F., Orlando, L., Saliari, K., Kunst, G.K., Czeika, S., Mashkour, M., Cucchi, T., Peters, J., Trixl, S., Mohandesan, E., 2025. Late Iron Age and Roman equine breeding north of the Alps: Genetic insights and cultural implications. iScience 28. read more
Mas, B., Mangado, X., de la Torre, M.S., Tejero, J.-M., Fullola, J.M., Allué, E., 2023. Late Paleolithic hunter-gatherers’ resilience in the face of the transformation of the vegetation landscape and climate change in the Pre-Pyrenees. Quaternary Science Reviews 317, 108276. read more
McGrath, K., van der Sluis, L.G., Lefebvre, A., Charpentier, A., Rodrigues, A.S.L., Álvarez-Fernández, E., Baleux, F., Berganza, E., Chauvière, F.-X., Dachary, M., Duarte Matías, E., Houmard, C., Marín-Arroyo, A.B., de la Rasilla Vives, M., Tapia, J., Thil, F., Tombret, O., Torres-Iglesias, L., Speller, C., Zazzo, A., Pétillon, J.-M., 2025. Late Paleolithic whale bone tools reveal human and whale ecology in the Bay of Biscay. Nature Communications 16, 4646. read more
Swami, V., Stieger, S., Voracek, M., Aavik, T., Abdollahpour Ranjbar, H., Adebayo, S.O., Afhami, R., Ahmed, O., Aimé, A., Akel, M., Al Halbusi, H., Alexias, G., Ali, K.F., Alp-Dal, N., Alsalhani, A.B., Álvarez-Solas, S., Amaral, A.C.S., Andrianto, S., Aspden, T., Argyrides, M., Aruta, J.J.B.R., Atkin, S., Ayandele, O., Baceviciene, M., Bahbouh, R., Ballesio, A., Barron, D., Bellard, A., Bender, S.S., Beydaǧ, K.D., Birovljević, G., Blackburn, M.-È., Borja-Alvarez, T., Borowiec, J., Bozogáňová, M., Bratland-Sanda, S., Browning, M.H.E.M., Brytek-Matera, A., Burakova, M., Çakır-Koçak, Y., Camacho, P., Camilleri, V.E., Cazzato, V., Cerea, S., Chaiwutikornwanich, A., Chaleeraktrakoon, T., Chambers, T., Chen, Q.-W., Chen, X., Chien, C.-L., Chobthamkit, P., Choompunuch, B., Compte, E.J., Corrigan, J., Cosmas, G., Cowden, R.G., Czepczor-Bernat, K., Czub, M., da Silva, W.R., Dadfar, M., Dalley, S.E., Dany, L., Datu, J.A.D., de Carvalho, P.H.B., Coelho, G.L.d.H., De Jesus, A.O.S., Debbabi, S.H., Dhakal, S., Di Bernardo, F., Dimitrova, D.D., Dion, J., Dixson, B., Donofrio, S.M., Drysch, M., Du, H., Dzhambov, A.M., El-Jor, C., Enea, V., Eskin, M., Farbod, F., Farrugia, L., Fian, L., Fisher, M.L., Folwarczny, M., Frederick, D.A., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Furnham, A., García, A.A., Geller, S., Ghisi, M., Ghorbani, A., Gomez Martinez, M.A., Gradidge, S., Graf, S., Grano, C., Gyene, G., Hallit, S., Hamdan, M., Handelzalts, J.E., Hanel, P.H.P., Hawks, S.R., Hekmati, I., Helmy, M., Hill, T., Hina, F., Holenweger, G., Hřebíčková,…
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
Slimak, L., Vimala, T., Seguin-Orlando, A., Metz, L., Zanolli, C., Joannes-Boyau, R., Frouin, M., Arnold, L.J., Demuro, M., Devièse, T., Comeskey, D., Buckley, M., Camus, H., Muth, X., Lewis, J.E., Bocherens, H., Yvorra, P., Tenailleau, C., Duployer, B., Coqueugniot, H., Dutour, O., Higham, T., Sikora, M., 2024. Long genetic and social isolation in Neanderthals before their extinction. Cell Genomics 4. read more
