Alissa Mittnik

Alissa Mittnik is a Group Leader at the Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. She leads the 'MySocialBeIng' group, focusing on integrating archaeoscience to reconstruct social systems like kinship, gender roles, and mobility patterns in ancient societies. Her work bridges genetics, archaeology, and cultural studies to understand prehistoric populations.

Education:

• PhD in 2016: University of Tübingen (Investigating Social Dynamics via Ancient DNA)
• Studies in Biology at Washington University (USA), University of Rostock, and University of Tübingen

Research Interests:

• Genetic correlates of cultural transitions and social hierarchies
• Mobility in the ancient Mediterranean
• Archaeogenetic analysis of prehistoric populations
• Applications of ancient DNA to reconstruct migration and kinship networks

Key Projects:

• Co-led the 'Times of Upheaval' project (2016-2018) on Bronze Age societal changes
• Published extensively on European, Mediterranean, and African prehistoric populations

Lab/Team: Her group combines genomic, isotopic, and archaeological data to address questions about human migration, social organization, and cultural evolution.