Alice Mathea Choyke

Alice Mathea Choyke is an Associate Professor in the Department of Historical Studies at Central European University (CEU), Budapest, affiliated with the Doctoral School of History. She has over three decades of experience in bioarchaeology, with a focus on archaeozoology and the study of worked animal hard tissues such as bone, antler, and ivory. She serves as chief faunal analyst at the Aquincum Museum (Budapest History Museum), leads the archaeozoology/archaeobotany laboratory, and is co-director of bio-archaeology studies for all archaeological departments at the museum.

Her research explores how animal-derived materials were used in social discourse in the medieval and earlier periods, particularly examining human attitudes toward animals. She is deeply involved in interdisciplinary initiatives such as the Medieval Animal Data-networks (MAD), a wiki-based project integrating textual, visual, and zooarchaeological data to enrich understanding of animal use in the medieval past.

She is internationally recognized for her expertise in worked bone artifacts from the Bronze Age, Roman, and medieval contexts. As co-founder and liaison officer of the Worked Bone Research Group (WBRG) under ICAZ, she fosters global collaboration in the study of bone working, technology, and cognitive aspects. She has published extensively and edited two volumes on the subject.

Dr. Choyke earned her PhD and MA in Anthropology from SUNY Binghamton and her BA in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh. She teaches research methodologies and bioarchaeology to PhD students and contributes to the environmental and landscape specialization at CEU.

She is actively engaged in international scholarly networks, including organizing and participating in workshops such as the upcoming UISPP Commission 'Modified Bone and Shell' event on engraved bones in Berlin 2026. Her work bridges archaeology, anthropology, and history, promoting a multidisciplinary understanding of human-animal relationships in the past.