News 2018

In December 2018, Corentin Bochaton was awarded the second-annual Roger Heim Prize by the Society of Friends of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, France. more

Stone handaxes, similar to those made by early humans as much as 1.5 million years ago, have been dated for the first time in the Arabian Peninsula, to less than 190,000 years old, where their production may have endured until the arrival of Homo sapiens. more

The project “Horses and Human Societies in New World Australia” will explore the impact that horses have had on the people and environments of Australia since their introduction. more

Date & Time: Nov. 7, 2018, 15:00
Speaker: Prof. Amy Bogaard
Room: Villa V14
Host: Department of Archaeology more

Long before the formal creation of the Silk Road, pastoral herders living in the mountains of Central Asia helped form new cultural and biological links across the region. more

New study provides earliest evidence for hominins in ‘Green Arabia’ between 500,000 and 300,000 years ago alongside direct environmental data indicating productive, relatively humid grasslands. more

Patrick Roberts was awarded the prize for the best up-and-coming researcher by the Beutenberg Canpus e.V. as part of the "Noble Gespräche" event series. A Laudatio was held by Michael Petraglia. more

Analysis of proteins preserved in bowls and jars from this prehistoric site in central Anatolia shows the foodstuffs inside its inhabitants’ pottery vessels in unprecedented spectrum and resolution. more

The project “Dating and conservation of ancient camel sculptures in northern Saudi Arabia” will last approximately one year. more

The Stable Isotope Research Group of the Department of Archaeology is hosting a workshop on recent developments and future avenues of isotope research in archaeology.
Date: Sep 17, 2018
Room: Villa V14
Host: Department of Archaeology more

New post in TrowelBlazers profiling Department of Archaeology Director Nicole Boivin, written by Alicia Ventresca Miller. more

Nomadic herders enriched savannah landscapes over three millennia, study finds. more

The 5,000-year-old cemetery is the earliest and largest monumental cemetery in eastern Africa and was built by an egalitarian society of mobile pastoralists. more

New research reveals that many of the most familiar fruits in our kitchens today were cultivated in Central Asia over a millennium ago. These arboreal crops appear to have been an important part of the diet, and likely the commerce, along the Eurasian trade routes. more

New study argues that the greatest defining feature of our species is not ‘symbolism’ or dramatic cognitive change but rather its unique ecological position as a global ‘generalist specialist’. more

Researchers from the Department of Archaeology, MPI-SHH argue that archaeology and the study of past environments are crucial for defining the point at which our species began to dominate Earth systems. more

A systematic study of dental calculus from the Iron Age to the present proves the potential of proteomic analysis to reveal information about individual diets, including plants, animals and dairy products consumption. more

Humans did not stem from a single ancestral population in one region of Africa, as is often claimed. Instead, our African ancestors were diverse in form and culture, and scattered across the entire continent. more

Patrick Roberts is a co-lead investigator of the joint UK German project LOMVIA. Together with Norman Ratcliffe he uses biochemical and ecological studies of indigenous and invasive Arctic seabirds to study the local impacts of climate change and resource stress on species composition and competition in this increasingly changeable environment. more

New research reveals that the practice of veterinary dentistry was innovated on the open steppes of Mongolia and eastern Eurasia – and dates back more than 3000 years. more

Differences in carbon and nitrogen isotope values between ancient livestock indicate that horses were grazed extensively, while ruminants were grazed intensively. more

The Federal Foreign Office's Foreign Service Academy brings together young diplomats from around the world in its 9th International Diplomat Programme. The aim of this training initiative is to perceive foreign policy as an opportunity for cooperation and as a basis upon which to build the foundation for a working partnership on global matters. The programme offers a broad selection of seminars, informative visits and study tours, such as a visit at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. more

A group of pre-school children from the Dualingo Kindergarten visited the MPI for the Science of Human History at the beginning of June. Jana Zech and her colleagues have explained to the children how and what archaeologists research. Picture: skull models of various primitive human beings called Hominins.

Rats were carried on ships as humans settled the remote islands of the Pacific - analysis of the rats’ remains reveals changes humans made to the island ecosystems. more

Verónica Zuccarelli presented data from her DAAD-funded research stay at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History to the VIIth Argentinian Congress on Archaeometrics, 17-20 April 2018. more

The president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, Prince Sultan bin Salman, announced the find, made by Michael Petraglia, Huw Groucutt and colleagues. more

The first substantial cave record from coastal Kenya ranges from the Middle Stone Age to the Iron Age, showing gradual changes in cultural, technological and symbolic innovations beginning at 67,000 years ago. more

An international team of researchers has discovered the oldest evidence for the peopling of the Philippines by hominins. Their findings at the archaeological site of Kalinga (Rizal Municipality, Kalinga Province, Luzon Island) were dated to 709,000 years old. more

Congratulations to Patrick Roberts from the Department of Archaology for winning the Beutenberg-Campus Jena e.V's award for outstanding achievement by a young researcher. Patricks work has uncovered new insights into the relationship between humans and tropical forests in the past.

The first Homo sapiens fossil discovery from Saudi Arabia dates to 90,000 years ago during a time when the region’s deserts were replaced by grasslands. more

Date & Time: April 5, 2018, 9:00 - 18:00
Room: Villa V14
Hosts: Alision Crowther, Department of Archaeology more

The new field of palaeoproteomics, harnessing cutting-edge techniques to analyze ancient proteins, is growing quickly. Researchers set out standards and precautions that aim to provide it with a firm foundation. more

Prof. Petraglia’s talk at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge “Following in Bridget Allchin’s Footsteps: the Current State of Stone Age Archaeology” reflected on Dr. Allchin’s pioneering work and contributions to the field throughout her career. more

• Date & Time: Mar 21, 2018, 13:15-14:45
  
• Speaker: Africa Pitarch
• Room: Villa V14

more

This month we will be highlighting female employees and their work, beginning with Director Nicole Boivin of the Department of Archaeology. Check back here throughout the month for updates! more

Speaker: Dr. María Martinón-Torres, Director, Centro National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
Date & Time: March 14, 2018, 15:30
Room: Villa V14
Hosts: Michael Petraglia and Nicole Boivin, Department of Archaeology more

Stable isotope research group of the MPI-SHH provides recommendations on terminology, methodology, data handling, and reporting when developing and reviewing stable isotope applications in archaeology. more

Mr. Rajachandran Madhan and researchers discussed ongoing projects in India and possibilities for future collaborations. more

Dr. Yang, whose research areas include Paleolithic East Asia, lithic techniques and raw material sourcing, is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. more