Network Associates

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

Read More
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Jana Naomi PFNEISZL

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.

Read More
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Cinzia FORNAI

I am an evolutionary anthropologist and morphometrician by training, with consolidated experience in Dental Anthropology. Over the course of my PhD program in Biology through the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna (concluded in 2015), I have specialized in the use of virtual image techniques and geometric morphometrics for the exploration of hominin dental variation (http://othes.univie.ac.at/38865/1/2015-07-11_0963308.pdf). My postdoctoral research through the within the Evolutionary Morphology group of the Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, focused on the evolutionary aspects of human birth and the investigation of the pelvis in hominoids. Currently affiliated with the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, I continue research in Dental Anthropology, while being the scientific coordinator of the Vienna School of Interdisciplinary Dentistry www.viesid.com, where I focus on topics relevant to oral medicine such as functional morphology of the stomatognathic system and its clinical implications.

Read More
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Members

Petra ŠIMKOVÁ

I am an evolutionary anthropologist and trained morphometrician. I obtained my PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology from the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna, where I specialized in the use of 3D virtual imaging techniques combined with geometric morphometrics to study modern human dental variation. My research interests include hominin evolution, dental and functional morphology, and paleopathology. Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Vienna, continuing my research in dental anthropology. I focus on examining morphological variation within and between the dentitions of modern human populations, as well as those of prehistoric populations and other hominins.

Read More
Core Facility for Micro-Computed Tomography (Vienna Micro-CT Lab) Department of Evolutionary Anthropology (DEA) Team Leaders

Gerhard WEBER

Management Board

  I’m the head of the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, the Vienna µCT Lab, and the research network “HEAS”. My interest is to get as much information as possible about functional morphology from fossils and osteological material. I contributed especially to the development of Virtual Anthropology and evolutionary research regarding modern humans and Neanderthals. Recently, I’m also concerned with applications in archaeology or orthodontics.

Read More