Dragana Filipović

Dr. Dragana Filipović is a research associate and archaeobotanist affiliated with the Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology at the University of Kiel, Germany, and currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena. She has held research and teaching positions at the University of Belgrade, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and contributed extensively to international collaborative projects such as the CRC 1266, ROOTS Cluster of Excellence, and the ERC-funded BIRTH project.

• PhD in Archaeology/Archaeobotany, University of Oxford
• MPhil in Archaeobotany, University of Nottingham
• MA and BA in Archaeology, University of Belgrade

Her research centers on the economic, social, and symbolic roles of plants in prehistoric societies, particularly in Neolithic and Bronze Age Europe and central Anatolia. She investigates early farming practices, plant domestication, storage, consumption, and ritual use through archaeobotanical analysis, stable isotope studies, and ethnoarchaeological insights. Her work emphasizes human-environment interactions, land use, and agricultural resilience in long-lived settlements such as Vinča and Çatalhöyük.

The 15 most recent publications highlight a strong trend in archaeobotanical and isotopic analysis of prehistoric crop systems, especially millet diffusion, cereal processing, and plant use in ritual and domestic contexts across Europe. Her work frequently integrates multidisciplinary data from pollen, charcoal, and food residues to reconstruct past environments and subsistence strategies. Key regions include the Balkans, northern Germany, and central Anatolia.

She has contributed to major academic events as a co-organizer and speaker, including sessions at the European Association of Archaeologists and workshops on millet cultivation. Her invited lectures span institutions such as Oxford, Kiel, Gothenburg, and Umeå, reflecting her international recognition in environmental archaeology.

Dr. Filipović actively mentors through teaching assistantships and has supervised student projects. She has secured research funding from DAAD, Max Planck Society, and the European Science Foundation. Her involvement in public outreach includes exhibitions, science festivals, documentaries, and educational workshops for children and the public, demonstrating a strong commitment to science communication.

She is involved in laboratory and field research, particularly through the Dynamics of Plant Economies project at Kiel and the FEDD project at the Max Planck Institute. Her collaborations span the Çatalhöyük Research Project, Vinča Project, and numerous Balkan-focused excavations, forming a broad network of interdisciplinary teams across Europe.