Cora Leder
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bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Cora Leder
@bioarchaeology.bsky.social
3.2K followers 260 following 180 posts
PhD candidate in osteoarchaeology. Into Human Evolution and the Palaeolithic, currently studying the pinky finger.
🏳️‍🌈 she/they
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bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Visited a Paleolithic cave site in Switzerland recently that was only accessible via a giant (wobbly) ladder up a cliff face. They installed a tiny funicular to get the sediment down!
Photo taken in a pine forest. To the right hand side is a rough cliff face and in the foreground, a metal ladder descends down a steep slope. Overtop, a cable disappears into the trees. It's part of a funicular system to safely move bags of sediment down the mountain. A photo of the inside of a cave, looking towards a tiny entrance (seriously, we had to crawl in and it was pretty scary). A construction light is placed on a light brown gravel floor and illuminates a large stack of sediment bags which are piled along the wall towards the entrance. The top third of the image is taken up by the jagged rock ceiling.
September 23, 2025 at 4:06 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Find of the day is a gorgeous little blade made by a Neanderthal around 90'000 years ago using the Levallois technique. There is some retouching on the right side as well but the patina is very different, so we're a little unsure if that may just be damage. Once cleaned, we'll examine it! 🦣🏺
Photo of an elongated green stone tool that comes to a blunt point in the front, laying in my outstretched hand. The tool is quite dirty, so the distinctive negatives of the Levallois technique are a bit hard to make out.
August 11, 2025 at 12:50 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Quick snuggle break with Scott!
A photo of me squatting down on the ground. I'm wearing a pink oversized t-shirt, black work shorts and purple running shoes and have a gorgeous, fluffy australian shepherd dog snuggling into my chest. I've got my arm warpped around him ans am giving him head scritches. He lookes absolutely blissed out with his big ole tongue hanging out.
August 8, 2025 at 10:58 AM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Back to my square this morning!
The burnt layer seems to disappear, but I am curious to see what's hiding under the sand in the top right part. Will report back 😇🏺
The same square of red sand, the top right corner is elevated quite a bit as compared to the rest. There may be secrets there 👀
August 8, 2025 at 7:15 AM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Progress from this morning! It's a bit hard to see on the image but I've reached the top of my cultural layer. It disappears towards the top of the picture and the sediment completely changes. Will be interesting to see what happens there!
Photo of the same area as in the post above. It now shows the top of a cultural layer with the sediment darkened by ash. Fragments of partially burnt bones and a few small stone tools are emerging.
August 7, 2025 at 10:35 AM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Excavation is well under way! 🏺
My goal today is to lower about a square metre of soil down to a layer of burnt bone, ash, and stone tools that is visible in the profile in the second picture.
It's a Middle Palaeolithic cumtural layer left behind by Neanderthals around 90'000 years ago.
A photo of a patch of red-ish brown soil and a green painters brush. A photo os a small archaeological profile of mostly red soil with a small layer of blackened material visible around 3cm deep.
August 7, 2025 at 7:26 AM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Everything is horrible today, so I am fighting the terrors from the tub. Unfortunately, the landlady had scheduled a surprise tub inspection after an unfortunate incident last week. I don't think we passed.
A small tortie cat on the side of a bathtub. Her front paws are perched on an incline towards the water (which can be quite slippery). He little nose is bravely reaching down to touch the foamy water. The same small tortie cat, still perched on the side of the tub. She has pulled her head back up and is arching her back. Despite her face being angled low and barely visible, the disgust and disapproval is clearly readable. She has heard about the incident last week, where *someone* fell into a tub filled to about the height of the average cat underbelly, proceeded to scramble out of it and running around the entire appartment, leaving a soaking wet trail across every single piece of furniture. Clearly, it was all my fault and I shall be detained momentarily.
July 20, 2025 at 2:06 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Starting the year off slow.
Picture of an open firepit with a large fire burning. A mug and an e-reader are placed on a small shelf in front of the fire. In the background, windows look out onto a dark, snowy landscape
January 2, 2025 at 1:03 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Happy new year from me, my friends, and the aurora.
A photo of a group of people standing with their backs to the camera in a snowy landscape. They are looking towards a mointainpeak above which a green curtain of aurora borealis is visible.
December 31, 2024 at 11:46 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Feeling a bit under the weather currently, so while I'm spending the day napping please enjoy this picture of a baby mammoth humerus I excavated a few years ago. 🏺
A photo of a very large bone that sits in a grey box, protected by black foam. The bone has a reddish colouration from the sand it was embedded in before being found and has cracks running all over its surface. My hand rests on the edge of the box for scale.
November 26, 2024 at 12:02 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Going through some field work pictures from this summer and this gorgeous little flake made out of a semi-translucent brown flint was definitely one of the highlights. It was made by a Neanderthal around 100'000 years ago from raw materials that were transported at least a few dozen kilometers.
Picture of a small, light brown flake of flint being held up. The background is out of focus but the walls of a trench and some white buckets filled with red sediment can be made out.
November 17, 2024 at 11:51 AM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
LAP CAT!
Selfie of me in an off-white sweater dress with a small tortie kitten on my lap
November 17, 2024 at 9:42 AM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Oh to be a small kitten napping on top of a warm oven.
Photo of a tiny tortie kitten with her head resting on a pile of clean kitchen towels on top of a free standing oven. Her little head is framed by a potted plant and she is sleeping deeply.
November 15, 2024 at 1:23 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Not entirely sure what to do with 800+ of you reading my thoughts. This is like when you're handed the aux cable and you briefly forget the very concept of music.
Anyway, here's some ~100'000 year old wolf phalanges from our Middle Palaeolithic dig tvis summer!
Close up picture of two wolf phalanges embedded in sandy red sediment.
November 12, 2024 at 10:30 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Lilith would like you all to know that when times are tough,it's always a good idea to hold on to your emotional support blanket.
A very small tortie kitten is lying on a bed. Her front paws are stretched out and clasping a corner of a soft, green blanket. Her eyes are almost closed as she tries really hard not to fall asleep.
November 12, 2024 at 8:09 AM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
For the past 8 years, I've been part of an incredible Middle Palaeolithic excavation in France. I will share more about it here soon, but for now please look at this beautiful picture I took during this year's campaign as the resident photographer (among other roles).
Photograph of a person's hands as they are busy excavating animal bones on an archaeological site. They are holding a small dentist's tool in one hand a a soft painter's brush in the other. The sediment is made of bright red sand and there is a very fragmented but otherwise well-preserved rib of a large mammal running through the center of the image.
November 11, 2024 at 7:22 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
I specialize in human osteology and palaeopathology. I’m into Neanderthals, the Palaeolithic, human evolution and am currently trying to get my PhD research funded.
Here I am in my happy place: just after a nap next to a trench on a Middle Palaeolithic rockshelter site.
Selfie of me, a white femme-presenting person with blue eyes. My blonde hair pulled up, earbuds in, wearing a dark blue shirt that has a little cartoon skull getting hit with a pickaxe on it. I'm reclined against a bright red sand stone looking sweaty and a bit exhausted, but very happy!
November 11, 2024 at 3:03 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Not the biggest fan of Halloween events to be honest, as I find dressing up as *something* kind of stressful. But, one of my closest friends asked me to attend Halloween drag bingo with her and I'm willing to do a lot for the people I love so this is my best attempt at a costume.
#HappyHalloween!
A full length mirror selfie of a femme presenting person in their bedroom. They are wearing a black velvet dress, black tights and a black velvet choker and "undead" makeup with trickles of fake blood coming from underneath the choker.
October 31, 2024 at 5:01 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
I have a big grant deadline coming up that will make or break my PhD, so I haven't had the time to jump into posting more on here yet. Can't wait to get around to that, but in the meantime please enjoy this picture of my partner's kitten.
A tortoiseshell kitten is sleeping on her side on a cream coloured blanket. She is holding a very small blue stuffie between her front legs and resting her head on it.
October 27, 2024 at 12:07 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Officially graduated with a (research) Master's degree in Archaeology today! 🥳
Picture of me in a pink jumpsuit next to some statues of old white dudes. I'm holding flowers and my degree. Picture of me in a pink jumpsuit as I'm standing half-way up a ladder and write my name on the wall of the "sweatroom" at Leiden University. The walls of the room are covered in the signatures of previous graduates.
October 12, 2023 at 4:52 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Happened to walk past a giant Waterstones bookstore next to University College London during my conference there and figured I'd start on the PhD library. Very happy with these two finds 🥰
September 18, 2023 at 3:23 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
BABAO's 24th annual conference is in full swing (and I had to go lie down already because I need to pace myself at events like this).
My poster is up all weekend, though, and it's looking pretty good as well!
September 15, 2023 at 3:25 PM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
Headed to London to present my research at a conference. I'll try to share interesting stuff over the next few days!
September 15, 2023 at 6:56 AM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
This absolutely spectacular site has been excavated for over 30 years now and I have been part of the team for the past 7 years. Current analyses date it at around 100'000 years old. It was occupied by generation after generation of Neanderthals.
Environmentsl reconstruction painting showing a river valley during the Middle Palaeolithic. Soft hills rise to both sides of the river, pleistocene animals graze in the distance. Two adult Neanderthals stand in the foreground to the right side. They are wearing their long hair up and have furs around their shoulders. One of the is carrying an infant on their back.
September 14, 2023 at 8:30 AM
bioarchaeology.bsky.social
I'm having one of those days where my brain struggles to kick into gear. So, while I'm slowly getting booted up, I want to share my favourite place in the world with you:
The Middle Palaeolithic rockshelter site "Rain" in Mutzig, France.
Overview photo of an archaeological site with trenches of different size and depths. The sediment is a deep red sand and bits of poorly preserved animal bone can be seen when looking closely.
September 14, 2023 at 8:19 AM