Michaela Ecker
@isotopesrule.bsky.social
Past Environments & Human Evolution. Emmy Noether Research Group Leader of "Kgalagadi Human Origins" Project (@khoproject.bsky.social) at @uni-kiel.de. She/her. Views my own.
Pinned
Michaela Ecker
@isotopesrule.bsky.social
· Nov 15
Hello new followers! I am a researcher based at Kiel University, Germany, interested in stable isotopes, palaeoecology, Palaeolithic archaeology & arid environments. PI of @khoproject.bsky.social (follow us!), leading fieldwork in the Kalahari. Very excited to see so many making the move from X 😃
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
Join us this summer at @au.dk!
@vivikathrine.bsky.social and I will be running our summer course, Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Climate Change, including bioscience, economy, consumer behavior, agroecology, public health and more!
☀️Apply by March 17th to join us from July 27th - August 9th☀️
@vivikathrine.bsky.social and I will be running our summer course, Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Climate Change, including bioscience, economy, consumer behavior, agroecology, public health and more!
☀️Apply by March 17th to join us from July 27th - August 9th☀️
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Climate Change
international.au.dk
January 16, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Join us this summer at @au.dk!
@vivikathrine.bsky.social and I will be running our summer course, Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Climate Change, including bioscience, economy, consumer behavior, agroecology, public health and more!
☀️Apply by March 17th to join us from July 27th - August 9th☀️
@vivikathrine.bsky.social and I will be running our summer course, Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Climate Change, including bioscience, economy, consumer behavior, agroecology, public health and more!
☀️Apply by March 17th to join us from July 27th - August 9th☀️
Makes me wish I could just be a student again and hang out at the pool in Florisbad... please share this opportunity for students based in sub-Saharan Africa to join the fully funded field school at Florisbad this year - a unique opportunity! 👇
We are accepting applications for the "James Brink Field School in Pleistocene Archaeology and Palaeontology", to be held at the Florisbad Quaternary Research Station (National Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa) from 22 June to 3 July 2026. Deadline: 6 February 2026. #archaeology #palaeontology
January 15, 2026 at 9:42 AM
Makes me wish I could just be a student again and hang out at the pool in Florisbad... please share this opportunity for students based in sub-Saharan Africa to join the fully funded field school at Florisbad this year - a unique opportunity! 👇
It is 10 years to this day that I handed in my PhD at @unioxarchaeology.bsky.social 👩🎓- and on Monday my first PhD student will defend their thesis at @uni-kiel.de. Coming full (academic) circle 🔄 #academiclife #proudsupervisor
January 14, 2026 at 9:27 AM
It is 10 years to this day that I handed in my PhD at @unioxarchaeology.bsky.social 👩🎓- and on Monday my first PhD student will defend their thesis at @uni-kiel.de. Coming full (academic) circle 🔄 #academiclife #proudsupervisor
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
🎓 FCT PhD Fellowships 2026
ICArEHB invites inquisitive and motivated candidates to pursue a PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology or Primatology through the national FCT Program.
📍See our poster & details: www.icarehb.com/fct-phd-fell...
#PhD #Archaeology #FCT #ICArEHB
ICArEHB invites inquisitive and motivated candidates to pursue a PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology or Primatology through the national FCT Program.
📍See our poster & details: www.icarehb.com/fct-phd-fell...
#PhD #Archaeology #FCT #ICArEHB
January 13, 2026 at 3:54 PM
🎓 FCT PhD Fellowships 2026
ICArEHB invites inquisitive and motivated candidates to pursue a PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology or Primatology through the national FCT Program.
📍See our poster & details: www.icarehb.com/fct-phd-fell...
#PhD #Archaeology #FCT #ICArEHB
ICArEHB invites inquisitive and motivated candidates to pursue a PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology or Primatology through the national FCT Program.
📍See our poster & details: www.icarehb.com/fct-phd-fell...
#PhD #Archaeology #FCT #ICArEHB
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
My lab has a PhD position open! www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Doctoral Research Fellowship in Archaeological and Palaeoenvironmental Geochemistry (293027) | University of Oslo
Job title: Doctoral Research Fellowship in Archaeological and Palaeoenvironmental Geochemistry (293027), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Sunday, March 1, 2026
www.jobbnorge.no
January 12, 2026 at 1:37 PM
My lab has a PhD position open! www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
✨I have a vacant 3-yr postdoc position in biogeochemical Earth system model development. If you're interested in geochemical isotopes and their use as paleoceanographic proxies, please consider applying. For any questions on the position, just get in touch✨
ohws.prospective.ch/public/v1/jo...
ohws.prospective.ch/public/v1/jo...
Uni Bern: Postdoc position: Earth system model development
(3 years)
ohws.prospective.ch
January 12, 2026 at 8:53 AM
✨I have a vacant 3-yr postdoc position in biogeochemical Earth system model development. If you're interested in geochemical isotopes and their use as paleoceanographic proxies, please consider applying. For any questions on the position, just get in touch✨
ohws.prospective.ch/public/v1/jo...
ohws.prospective.ch/public/v1/jo...
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
#GEOMARJobs
🌊 Technical Assistant (f/m/d)
Application deadline: 12 January 2026
🔗 www.geomar.de/en/karriere/...
🌊 Technical Assistant (f/m/d)
Application deadline: 12 January 2026
🔗 www.geomar.de/en/karriere/...
January 8, 2026 at 3:48 PM
#GEOMARJobs
🌊 Technical Assistant (f/m/d)
Application deadline: 12 January 2026
🔗 www.geomar.de/en/karriere/...
🌊 Technical Assistant (f/m/d)
Application deadline: 12 January 2026
🔗 www.geomar.de/en/karriere/...
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
In Dec 2025, I published a short comment on whether the emergence of AI has been as revolutionary as other moments of innovation in our species' history (e.g., emergence of technology or agriculture). On balance, current evidence suggests to me that it isn't.
www.isita-org.com/jass/Content...
www.isita-org.com/jass/Content...
January 6, 2026 at 7:46 PM
In Dec 2025, I published a short comment on whether the emergence of AI has been as revolutionary as other moments of innovation in our species' history (e.g., emergence of technology or agriculture). On balance, current evidence suggests to me that it isn't.
www.isita-org.com/jass/Content...
www.isita-org.com/jass/Content...
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
Congratulations Marc!! 👋👋🦣 @marcdickinson.bsky.social for winning the Lewis Penny Medal for his fab tooth enamel dating work from @quaternaryra.bsky.social. @chemistryatyork.bsky.social
January 6, 2026 at 5:57 PM
Congratulations Marc!! 👋👋🦣 @marcdickinson.bsky.social for winning the Lewis Penny Medal for his fab tooth enamel dating work from @quaternaryra.bsky.social. @chemistryatyork.bsky.social
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
Good morning, @lornalinch.bsky.social and the rest of us are here in Brighton ready to welcome you to the Quaternary Research Association conference.
Follow the hashtag #QRA2026ADM for Ice Age and recent environments and people. @quaternaryra.bsky.social
🏺🦣❄️
Follow the hashtag #QRA2026ADM for Ice Age and recent environments and people. @quaternaryra.bsky.social
🏺🦣❄️
January 5, 2026 at 11:04 AM
Good morning, @lornalinch.bsky.social and the rest of us are here in Brighton ready to welcome you to the Quaternary Research Association conference.
Follow the hashtag #QRA2026ADM for Ice Age and recent environments and people. @quaternaryra.bsky.social
🏺🦣❄️
Follow the hashtag #QRA2026ADM for Ice Age and recent environments and people. @quaternaryra.bsky.social
🏺🦣❄️
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
2025 was a year with many milestones for us, from the first PhD submitted to our international workshop. We look forward to 2026! Expect more papers, new surveys and student projects, and our special issue! We wish everyone in the Kalahari and beyond happy holidays🎄(Picture of Rappels Pan 2024).
December 17, 2025 at 1:32 PM
2025 was a year with many milestones for us, from the first PhD submitted to our international workshop. We look forward to 2026! Expect more papers, new surveys and student projects, and our special issue! We wish everyone in the Kalahari and beyond happy holidays🎄(Picture of Rappels Pan 2024).
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
"Earliest evidence of making fire" - full-text view-only version of the Nature paper, using the link below.
rdcu.be/eT4WI
rdcu.be/eT4WI
Earliest evidence of making fire
Nature - Baked sediment, heat-shattered artefacts and introduced pyrite in a 400,000-year-old Palaeolithic occupation site in Suffolk, UK provide evidence of intentional fire-making, marking a...
rdcu.be
December 11, 2025 at 2:28 PM
"Earliest evidence of making fire" - full-text view-only version of the Nature paper, using the link below.
rdcu.be/eT4WI
rdcu.be/eT4WI
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
Hey 🏺colleagues working in SW Asia: I am searching for contacts to museums with prehistory on display in the region, and struggle to find some online.
Who could help me with contacts to the Iraq National Museum, Lebanon National Museum, and/or National Museums in Syria?
Who could help me with contacts to the Iraq National Museum, Lebanon National Museum, and/or National Museums in Syria?
December 13, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Hey 🏺colleagues working in SW Asia: I am searching for contacts to museums with prehistory on display in the region, and struggle to find some online.
Who could help me with contacts to the Iraq National Museum, Lebanon National Museum, and/or National Museums in Syria?
Who could help me with contacts to the Iraq National Museum, Lebanon National Museum, and/or National Museums in Syria?
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
I'll be on sabbatical starting January 1, 2026, and if anyone is looking for a guest speaker for department seminars, I'm happy to discuss possible dates. Reskeet widely! 🧪⚒️
August 1, 2025 at 7:22 PM
I'll be on sabbatical starting January 1, 2026, and if anyone is looking for a guest speaker for department seminars, I'm happy to discuss possible dates. Reskeet widely! 🧪⚒️
Winter time is lab time 👩🔬 new plant wax biomarker samples for @people-erc-stg.bsky.social project are currently running on the GC - we try to characterise the past environment at donga sites in 🇿🇦
December 4, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Winter time is lab time 👩🔬 new plant wax biomarker samples for @people-erc-stg.bsky.social project are currently running on the GC - we try to characterise the past environment at donga sites in 🇿🇦
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
Interested in applying for this funded PhD with me
at UCL Institute of Archaeology? Get in touch to discuss this project or to develop your own idea!
Human or Animal? Biomolecular Analysis of Upper Palaeolithic Bone Artefacts to Explore Raw Material Selection.
www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/hum...
at UCL Institute of Archaeology? Get in touch to discuss this project or to develop your own idea!
Human or Animal? Biomolecular Analysis of Upper Palaeolithic Bone Artefacts to Explore Raw Material Selection.
www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/hum...
December 3, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Interested in applying for this funded PhD with me
at UCL Institute of Archaeology? Get in touch to discuss this project or to develop your own idea!
Human or Animal? Biomolecular Analysis of Upper Palaeolithic Bone Artefacts to Explore Raw Material Selection.
www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/hum...
at UCL Institute of Archaeology? Get in touch to discuss this project or to develop your own idea!
Human or Animal? Biomolecular Analysis of Upper Palaeolithic Bone Artefacts to Explore Raw Material Selection.
www.trees-dla.ac.uk/projects/hum...
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
Our new ancient DNA paper has just been published!
We present 28 new genomes from southern Africa - several of them high-coverage whole genomes.
Exciting to be moving towards population-level representation of ancient southern African genetic diversity!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We present 28 new genomes from southern Africa - several of them high-coverage whole genomes.
Exciting to be moving towards population-level representation of ancient southern African genetic diversity!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Homo sapiens-specific evolution unveiled by ancient southern African genomes - Nature
The genomes of 28 ancient southern African individuals dated to between 10,200 and 150 years before present offer insights into the evolution of Homo sapiens.
www.nature.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Our new ancient DNA paper has just been published!
We present 28 new genomes from southern Africa - several of them high-coverage whole genomes.
Exciting to be moving towards population-level representation of ancient southern African genetic diversity!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We present 28 new genomes from southern Africa - several of them high-coverage whole genomes.
Exciting to be moving towards population-level representation of ancient southern African genetic diversity!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
Nun online: Die erste #Podcast-Folge mit Fiona Walker-Friedrichs, Doktorandin im @clusterroots.bsky.social. Die Folge gibt einen Einblick in die interdisziplinäre Welt von Archäologie und Biologie – und in die Leidenschaft von Fiona, die kleinste Getreidekörner zum Sprechen bringt.🎙️
@uni-kiel.de
@uni-kiel.de
December 2, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Nun online: Die erste #Podcast-Folge mit Fiona Walker-Friedrichs, Doktorandin im @clusterroots.bsky.social. Die Folge gibt einen Einblick in die interdisziplinäre Welt von Archäologie und Biologie – und in die Leidenschaft von Fiona, die kleinste Getreidekörner zum Sprechen bringt.🎙️
@uni-kiel.de
@uni-kiel.de
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
PhD studentship in geoarchaeology at University of Reading, focusing on agro pastoralist systems during the Middle Ages: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPP800/p...
PhD Studentship in Archaeology at University of Reading
jobs.ac.uk now advertising a PhD Studentship in Archaeology Visit jobs.ac.uk to apply and to browse more PhD opportunities.
www.jobs.ac.uk
December 2, 2025 at 9:21 AM
PhD studentship in geoarchaeology at University of Reading, focusing on agro pastoralist systems during the Middle Ages: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPP800/p...
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
OUT NOW!
Bernstein in der Bronzezeit.
Netzwerke und Interaktion in Europa
by Benjamin Serbe
#ROOTS
📚 Read online for free or purchase your own volume at www.sidestone.com/books/bernst...
#amber #prehistory
Bernstein in der Bronzezeit.
Netzwerke und Interaktion in Europa
by Benjamin Serbe
#ROOTS
📚 Read online for free or purchase your own volume at www.sidestone.com/books/bernst...
#amber #prehistory
November 27, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
A fascinating article by @andrewcurry.com @science.org!
🔬....we hope to find out soon whether 'killings/massacres' actually happened in Vráble or whether ritual practices took place here–skull removal and decapitation are different procedures... 💀👀 stay tuned!
@uni-kiel.de @clusterroots.bsky.social
🔬....we hope to find out soon whether 'killings/massacres' actually happened in Vráble or whether ritual practices took place here–skull removal and decapitation are different procedures... 💀👀 stay tuned!
@uni-kiel.de @clusterroots.bsky.social
November 26, 2025 at 12:29 PM
A fascinating article by @andrewcurry.com @science.org!
🔬....we hope to find out soon whether 'killings/massacres' actually happened in Vráble or whether ritual practices took place here–skull removal and decapitation are different procedures... 💀👀 stay tuned!
@uni-kiel.de @clusterroots.bsky.social
🔬....we hope to find out soon whether 'killings/massacres' actually happened in Vráble or whether ritual practices took place here–skull removal and decapitation are different procedures... 💀👀 stay tuned!
@uni-kiel.de @clusterroots.bsky.social
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
New publication alert!‼️ Wrapping up 2025 with my fifth paper of the year in the SAJS!
The paper reviews how stone tools reveal social connections, noting similar patterns can also arise independently and suggesting ways to better distinguish the two. 💫
🔗 doi.org/10.17159/saj...
The paper reviews how stone tools reveal social connections, noting similar patterns can also arise independently and suggesting ways to better distinguish the two. 💫
🔗 doi.org/10.17159/saj...
November 26, 2025 at 12:32 PM
New publication alert!‼️ Wrapping up 2025 with my fifth paper of the year in the SAJS!
The paper reviews how stone tools reveal social connections, noting similar patterns can also arise independently and suggesting ways to better distinguish the two. 💫
🔗 doi.org/10.17159/saj...
The paper reviews how stone tools reveal social connections, noting similar patterns can also arise independently and suggesting ways to better distinguish the two. 💫
🔗 doi.org/10.17159/saj...
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
If you have time for a long read this weekend, make it this excellent article. It considers the nature of the internet, i.e. dominance of white, Western commercial content, which underpins GenAI output production & the impact of excluding local & Indigenous language & knowledge from this.
November 21, 2025 at 1:05 PM
If you have time for a long read this weekend, make it this excellent article. It considers the nature of the internet, i.e. dominance of white, Western commercial content, which underpins GenAI output production & the impact of excluding local & Indigenous language & knowledge from this.
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
On Monday, Lucy Kubiak-Martens (Zandaam, NL) will be guest at the #ArchäologischesKolloquium @uni-kiel.de She will speak on "Culinary Practices in 3rd Millennium BC Hunte 1, Lower Saxony (and Beyond): through Integrated Organic Residue Analysis". All information can be found at the link below
🏺
🏺
Vorträge Kolloquien
Vorträge Kolloquien
www.ufg.uni-kiel.de
November 21, 2025 at 10:47 AM
On Monday, Lucy Kubiak-Martens (Zandaam, NL) will be guest at the #ArchäologischesKolloquium @uni-kiel.de She will speak on "Culinary Practices in 3rd Millennium BC Hunte 1, Lower Saxony (and Beyond): through Integrated Organic Residue Analysis". All information can be found at the link below
🏺
🏺
Reposted by Michaela Ecker
This is a important read on the challenges many African ECRs continue to face when doing archaeology or paleontology at home. Note that the authors are from Ethiopia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
🏺🧪
🏺🧪
View of Against All Odds: An Archaeologist's Journey in Africa
archaeopresspublishing.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:57 PM
This is a important read on the challenges many African ECRs continue to face when doing archaeology or paleontology at home. Note that the authors are from Ethiopia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and South Africa.
🏺🧪
🏺🧪