Autor: Maeve Nic Samhradáin

We are very happy to celebrate the achievements of our HEAS PhD candidates. In the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology alone we have had three defenses in the past few months with one more due to take place in the coming months. Constanze Schattke is currently in the last stages and wrapping up her PhD, aiming for her defense to take place later this year/ summer. It is about violence in osteological human remains collections in museums.  Supervisors are Sabine Eggers (NHM Wien) and Harald Wilfing (Uni Wien). Victoria Oberreiter's defense was on Dec 18th and the title of her thesis is „Mineralogical Preservation of the Human Biome from the Depth of Time“, supervised by Ron Pinhasi and Thomas Rattei. Dr Oberreiter is currently working at the Genetics Lab at VetMed having previously hosted and produced the HEAS Podcast. Petra Šimková defended her theis on the 21st October 2024. The title of her thesis was Morphological variation and covariation in the human postcanine dentition. Her supervisor was Gerhard Weber. Dr Šimková is now working on an FWF Project on 3D morphology of human permanent and deciduous dentition Brina Zagorc 's defense was on the 7th January 2025 and her thesis title was: Tracing Life in Antiquity and Early Medieval Times: Paleogenomics, Dietary Stable Isotopes and Bioarchaeological Approaches in Central European Populations …

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/

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.…

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