Understanding the migrations of prehistoric populations through direct dating and isotopic tracking of their mobility patterns

This project will apply state-of-the-art geochemistry to key questions in archaeology and palaeoanthropology. Systematic in situ analyses of oxygen, uranium, lead and strontium isotopic distributions in human bones and teeth will provide a thorough understanding of their geochemistry and identification of domains that have preserved original isotopic compositions. New, virtually non-destructive sampling strategies will give us access to hitherto unobtainable human remains. The dating results for a range of human fossils will lead to a better understanding for the complexity of human evolution. The reconstruction of their origins will give insights about the mobility of prehistoric humans in Central Europe and the Pacific.