Elke Kaiser

Elke Kaiser is a Professor of Western Eurasian Archaeology at Freie Universität Berlin (since 2014). She previously held positions as a Visiting Professor (2013-2014), Junior Research Group Leader in the Excellence Cluster Topoi (2008-2012), and Scientific Assistant (2001-2007) at the same university. Her research focuses on prehistoric mobility, steppe archaeology, and interdisciplinary approaches combining stable isotopes, genetics, and material analysis to study Eurasian Bronze/Iron Age societies.

Her recent publications (2024-2017) demonstrate expertise in:

• Subsistence economies of steppe communities
• Isotopic analysis of animal exploitation
• Wheeled transport origins in Eurasia
• Ceramic technology in nomadic contexts
• Funerary practices and social structures
• Chronological frameworks for Bronze-Iron Age transitions

Key projects include:

• Landscape archaeology in Kazakhstan
• Prehistoric settlements with ashmounds in Moldova
• Mounted nomad studies (Volkswagen Foundation Project #90216)

Scientific recognition:

• Feodor-Lynen Fellowship (2001)
• Humboldt Scholarship (2000)

Teaching commitments include courses on prehistoric fundamentals, Transylvanian archaeology, and prehistoric transport systems in the 2024 summer semester.