RGZM (Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum) - Forschungsinstitut für Vor- und Frühgeschichte / Roman-Germanic Central Museum - Institute for Prehistoric and Early Historical Archaeology

Graduate Student, Department of Palaeolithic Studies (Forschungsbereich Altsteinzeit)

Other Affiliations: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Institut für Vor- und Frühgeschichte
Universität zu Köln, Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte

Thesis Title: Lateglacial north-western Europe - chronology, environment, and human behaviour

About

I am a graduate student working on the transition from the late Upper Palaeolithic to the Final Palaeolithic in north-western Europe with a particular focus on the associated behavioural changes occurring in the context of global climate and local environmental change. My PhD-thesis is supervised by Sabine-Gaudzinski-Windheuser and, furthermore, Olaf Jöris and Martin Street provide it with additional expertise. My work was originally part of the research focus on "Early hominid expansions and colonisation of western Eurasia" and is now attributed to the new research theme on "Implementation and organisation of social units in the Upper Palaeolithic, Final Palaeolithic, and Mesolithic".
Trained originally as lithic and spatial analyst my research focused on a transitional period brought me to also examine the foundations for the Lateglacial chronology in particular and chronological issues concerning archaeological sites in general.
My M.A.-thesis on the Final Palaeolithic site at Bad Breisig was accomplished in prehistoric archaeology at the university of Cologne (Köln), under the supervision of Gerhard Bosinski and additional advice of Michael Baales and Olaf Jöris. The study indicated general continuity in spatial and technical behaviour despite the catastrophic Laacher See volcanic eruption (LSE, c. 11,000 cal. BC) in the German Central Rhineland.