Mette Løvschal

Mette Løvschal is a Professor at Aarhus University's School of Culture and Society, Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, with a joint affiliation at Moesgaard Museum. She serves as Principal Investigator of the ERC Starting Grant project 'Anthropogenic Heathlands: The Social Organization of Super-Resilient Past Human Ecosystems' (ANTHEA, 2020-2027). Recognized in Krak's Blue Book (2023) and elected to the Royal Danish Academy of Science and Letters (2024), she holds editorial roles at NAR and PPS and serves on the EAA Scientific Advisory Committee and ODM Research Council.

Her research explores three primary domains:

• The resilience of prehistoric land-use systems, particularly heathland management as collaborative commons
• Land tenure boundary emergence in Northwestern Europe and Kenya's Maasai Mara
• Ontology of Early Iron Age sacrificial practices, including human sacrifice and ritual depositions

Recent publications demonstrate interdisciplinary approaches to long-term human-environment dynamics, with dominant themes including resilience theory translation, Bronze Age pastoral commons, and satellite-mapped land tenure changes in East Africa. Her work integrates archaeological, anthropological, and philosophical frameworks to examine sustainability across deep-time perspectives.

Awarded honors include:

• Dronning Margrethe II's videnskabspris (2023)
• Victor Albeck-prisen (2023)
• Sapere Aude 1 Forskningstalent (2015)
• Aarhus Universitets Forskningsfonds ph.d.-pris (2015)

She leads major grants including the ERC-funded ANTHEA project (€1.5M) and 'Rewilding Later Prehistory' (2023-2027), advising interdisciplinary teams across archaeology, anthropology, and environmental science. She coordinates the Maasai Mara Science and Development Initiative and contributes to the upcoming 'Celts' exhibition at Moesgaard Museum (2025).