Katharina Rebay-Salisbury

Katharina Rebay-Salisbury is a Professor of Human Prehistory at the University of Vienna and heads the Prehistoric Identities research group at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Her work bridges interdisciplinary bioarchaeology with European Bronze and Iron Age studies, focusing on gender, motherhood, kinship, and mobility.

Her research integrates

• Biological and social sex analysis
• Isotopic and proteomic studies
• Funerary context interpretation

to reconstruct prehistoric social dynamics. Recent projects include ERC-funded studies on maternal roles and FWF grants for kinship frameworks.

Key publications explore:

• Sex determination in Copper Age Iberia
• Dental wear patterns in Bronze Age children
• Yersinia pestis evidence in Austria
• Megalithic monument symbolism in Antequera

She also contributes to methodological advancements in cremation analysis and palaeopathology.

Scientific contributions include

• ERC Starting Grant (2015)
• FWF 1000 Ideas Project (2022)
• Co-editor, Oxford Handbook of the European Iron Age

Teaching spans courses on prehistoric concepts, archaeological discourse, and bioarchaeological methods. Her supervision extends to 76 master's theses and 1 doctoral dissertation, reflecting her mentorship in prehistoric and historical archaeology.