Sven Isaksson

Sven Isaksson is a Professor of Archaeology at Stockholm University and leads the Archaeological Research Laboratory within the Department of Archaeology and Ancient Cultures. His research focuses on biomolecular archaeology, particularly through lipid and isotope analysis of prehistoric ceramic vessels and anthropogenic soils to reconstruct food culture and subsistence patterns from the Paleolithic to early modern periods.

• Current research projects include urban defense systems in Viking-age Birka (UNESCO World Heritage), environmental change impacts on coastal societies, and Nordic-Japanese collaborations on prehistoric responses to natural disasters through the CALDERA program.
• Methodologically, he specializes in organic residue analysis (GC-MS, GC-c-IRMS), MALDI-FT-ICR-MS techniques, and geometric morphometrics for artifact classification.

Selected recent publications highlight his comparative studies across Eurasia and Japan on pottery function in mobile vs. settled communities, disaster recovery patterns, and technological adoption dynamics. He has received multiple awards including the 2024 Ben Cullen Antiquity Prize and EU Framework 6 grants for interdisciplinary projects combining archaeological science with environmental and social analysis.