YRA Seminar Series

New Seminar Series

We are happy to announce a new Seminar Series with monthly presentations highlighting exciting research of ECRs!
Each month, we will host an online 1-hour meeting, with about 30 minutes presentations followed by a discussion on the topic. ECRs from around the globe will be invited to present diverse topics, reflecting the multidisciplinary character of archaeological sciences. We aim to have these talks in a relaxed atmosphere, with discussions around a cup of morning coffee, a lunch break, or an afternoon tea depending on the time zone of the participants.
The time slots of each presentation will be accommodated to be the most comfortable for the presenter and listeners from their targeted research area.

The talks will be held online via Zoom. Click here to join the Zoom meeting. (Meeting-ID: 988 6914 5922; code: YRA-S2026).

Next presentation: March 5^th, at 3:00 pm (UTC)

Seminar Zoom link

Click here to join the Zoom meeting.
Meeting-ID: 988 6914 5922
Code: YRA-S2026

You can convert to your local time zone with, e.g., timeanddate.com.

Cooking vessels in Minoan Crete: an interdisciplinary study of their function and use

Evgenia Tsafou (University of Louvain, Belgium)

Keywords: Interdisciplinary approach, Organic residue analysis, Molecular, Microbotanical, Cooking vessels

Abstract:
This paper presents a holistic approach applied to the study of the function and use of Minoan cooking vessels, based on an interdisciplinary methodology developed for the purposes of this research. The methodology integrates morphological, technological, and use-wear analyses with organic residue analysis, alongside the contextualisation of the results. The ceramic cooking vessels analysed date to the Middle and Late Bronze Age Aegean (1750–1200 BC) and originate from two neighbouring Minoan settlements on the island of Crete, Sissi and Malia. A range of utilitarian vessel shapes and types was examined, enabling the identification of a wide spectrum of organic substances preserved within the ceramics. This paper presents the results obtained from the analytical methods and discusses the new insights gained into the function and use of cooking vessels, considered in combination with the other approaches applied, as well as into Minoan culinary practices more broadly. In addition, the methodological strategy behind the integration of the two analytical techniques, together with the challenges encountered during their implementation, are critically assessed.

Programme - 2026

January 30^th – Enrique Fernández-Palacios (University of Kiel, Germany)

Time: 1:00 pm (UTC)
Title: Hidden in the fumier: geoarchaeological insights into the herding practices of the Auaritas (La Palma, Canary Islands)
Keywords: Geoarchaeology, Island archaeology, Lipid biomarkers, Pastoralism, Phytoliths, Soil micromorphology
Abstract: Herding has been traditionally considered as a crucial activity among the indigenous societies of the Canary Islands. However, the archaeological data that contributes to our understanding of these pre-colonial herding practices remains limited. This presentation summarizes the investigation conducted at two Auarita rockshelter sites in the island of La Palma (Canary Islands), Belmaco (Villa de Mazo) and Buracas Cave A (Garafía), which aims at providing new insights into their occupation as places for sheltering livestock. This research has been carried out from a multiproxy geoarchaeological perspective, combining soil micromorphology, lipid biomarkers and phytolith analyses, and integrating previous knowledge from the sites’ excavations as well as other archaeological records including zooarchaeology and archaeobotany. Results indicate that the archaeosedimentary deposits at Belmaco and Buracas Cave A were formed as a consequence of ruminant dung and plant material accumulation related to the use of the sites for sheltering livestock. These accumulations were burned intermittently over time to sanitize and reuse the space, leading to the formation of fumier deposits. This research has also approached the use of plant resources associated with herding practices among La Palma indigenous communities, including fuel, bedding, and insect-repellent materials. This work generally contributes to advancing our knowledge on the interactions between Canarian indigenous societies and their insular settings under the dynamic environmental conditions of the pre-colonial period in the Canary Islands.

February 24^th – Magdalena T. Srienc-Ściesiek (Austrian Archaeological Institute & University of Vienna, Austria)

Time: 10:00 am (UTC)
Title: Health and diet change in the eastern Alps, late Antique–early Medieval period
Keywords: Eastern Alps, Diet reconstruction, Stable isotopes, Paleopathology, radiocarbon dating
Abstract: The eastern Alpine region was a connective zone between the 5^th – 11^th centuries CE and was repeatedly reshaped by political realignment, shifting settlement patterns, and changing economic ties. These transformations are examined through their expression in foodways and population health. Cemetery populations from the Jaun Valley (Podjuna) in southern Carinthia and comparative assemblages from the Kranj region south of the Karawanks provide the basis for a multi-proxy reconstruction of diet and health across the Late Antique–Early Medieval centuries.
Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of bone collagen (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N) is combined with macroscopic paleopathology and dental evidence to investigate subsistence practices and physiological stress. Particular attention is given to childhood vulnerability, assessed through skeletal and dental markers of developmental disruption and nutritional or infectious stress among non-adults. Diachronic change is explored at Jaunstein by linking isotopic signatures of dietary input with skeletal and oral health indicators, supported by direct radiocarbon dating. Broader regional patterning is evaluated by extending isotope analysis to additional Jaun Valley cemeteries and to comparative material from Kranj, allowing similarities and contrasts to be assessed across communities separated by the Karawanks but connected through movement and exchange.
Overall, the findings suggest broadly cereal-centered foodways within mixed farming economies, alongside persistent physiological strain. Non-adults show the clearest evidence of vulnerability, indicating that early life remained a key point at which nutritional and infectious stress was most strongly expressed. At the same time, the combined dietary and pathological signals emphasize variability rather than a single trajectory of change, pointing to locally contingent strategies shaped by environment, labor, and connectivity across the Karawanks.

March 5^th – Evgenia Tsafou (University of Louvain, Belgium)

Time: 3:00 pm (UTC)
Title: Cooking vessels in Minoan Crete: an interdisciplinary study of their function and use
Keywords: Interdisciplinary approach, Organic residue analysis, Molecular, Microbotanical, Cooking vessels
Abstract: This paper presents a holistic approach applied to the study of the function and use of Minoan cooking vessels, based on an interdisciplinary methodology developed for the purposes of this research. The methodology integrates morphological, technological, and use-wear analyses with organic residue analysis, alongside the contextualisation of the results. The ceramic cooking vessels analysed date to the Middle and Late Bronze Age Aegean (1750–1200 BC) and originate from two neighbouring Minoan settlements on the island of Crete, Sissi and Malia. A range of utilitarian vessel shapes and types was examined, enabling the identification of a wide spectrum of organic substances preserved within the ceramics. This paper presents the results obtained from the analytical methods and discusses the new insights gained into the function and use of cooking vessels, considered in combination with the other approaches applied, as well as into Minoan culinary practices more broadly. In addition, the methodological strategy behind the integration of the two analytical techniques, together with the challenges encountered during their implementation, are critically assessed.

Previous years’ programme

June 3^rd	Copper technologies in Taiwan and the Philippines during the Metal Age Mélissa Cadet
July 1^st	Tinos’ lost ancient serpentinite quarry (Cyclades, Greece): an interdisciplinary approach Alkiviadis Sideridis
Sept. 10^th	Plant and insect remains as indicators for waterlogged dung layers – The example of the Neolithic lakeshore settlement Mooswinkel in the Austrian Alps Thorsten Jakobitsch
Oct. 10^th	Biomolecular insights into Magdalenian ungulates from Petersfels (Hegau Jura, southwestern Germany) via ZooMS and stable isotope analysis Madison McCartin
Nov. 11^th	The technology of polychrome glazed ceramics in Ifriqiya: new data from the Medjerda Valley Veronica Occari, Heike Möller, Corisand Fenwick, Patrick Quinn, Ian C. Freestone, Moheddine Chaouali, Philipp von Rummel
Dec. 10^th	Chrysocolla at high temperatures: understanding Pre-Hispanic metallurgy through Collahuasi slag analysis (Tarapaca, Chile) Sibylle Manya, Benoît Mille, Valentina Figueroa Larre, Thierry Bataille, Laurent Le Pollès, Jean-Baptiste d’Espinose de Lacaillerie

Jan. 30^th	Archaeobotany and social change in the Neolithic and Bronze Age Aegean: perspectives from the eastern fringes Tom Maltas
Feb. 17^th	Life and death in Byzantine Ephesos (Turkey): contributions from the integration of archaeothanatological and biological data Caroline Partiot, Elise Baudoin, Martin Steskal
Mar. 6^th	Colored sculptures under study: archaeometrical and symbolic approaches to pigments in pre-Columbian Ecuador Alejandra Sánchez Polo
Apr. 1^st	Identifying Bronze Age alloying practices in the western and central Balkans Nicole Mittermair
Apr. 9^th	Discover STON: a practical tool to study petrographic images and beyond! Evgenia Dammer, Romain Thomas
May 16^th	Of landscape biographies and sediment archives: reconstructing the landscape history of the Kreuttal microregion in Lower Austria Doris Jetzinger
June 17^th	Tracing ancient practices through archaeo-metabolomics: a new window into the sensory and medicinal landscapes of the past Barbara Huber
July 1^st	Accelerated thermal and freeze-thaw cycling effects on the durability of Greek marble in built heritage Meilin Lyu
Sept. 16^th	Egyptian blue production: a diachronic perspective Ilia Kovalev
Oct. 29^th	Zooarchaeology and isotopic evidence for subsistence in Fuerteventura: the animals of the Majos (Canary Islands) Aitor Brito Mayor
Nov. 14^th	Worlds on a string. On beads and exchange in Merovingian northern Gaul Mette Langbroek
Dec. 2^nd	Investigating handmade pottery in Roman Thrace through an integrated analytical approach Petra Tušlová, Silvia Amicone, Noémie S. Müller, Richard Thér, Veronika Brychová, Karolína Králová, Martina Kohoutková, Evangelia Kiriatzi

New Seminar Series

Next presentation: March 5th, at 3:00 pm (UTC)

Programme - 2026

Previous years’ programme

Next presentation: March 5^th, at 3:00 pm (UTC)