Sonja Kacar

Dr. Sonja Kacar is a Postdoctoral Researcher and JESH Fellow at the Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology (OeAI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna. Her current research examines social interactions between the Central Balkans and Eastern Adriatic during the Early Neolithic (6000-5500 cal BC) through lithic production systems, supervised by Prof. Barbara Horejs and Dr. Michael Brandl. Previously, she held an Irish Research Council Fellowship at University College Dublin (2021-2023) studying hunter-fisher-gatherer networks across Southeastern Europe.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Prehistoric Archaeology (2019) from University of Toulouse II/University of Zagreb
• MA in Prehistoric Archaeology (2012) from University of Toulouse II
• Degree in Philosophy and Archaeology (2008) from University of Zagreb

Dr. Kacar specializes in the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Southeast Europe, with expertise in stone tool analysis and technological innovations. Her research integrates social network theory, environmental change impacts, and long-term cultural processes from the Upper Paleolithic to Chalcolithic periods. She employs holistic approaches to understand neolithization through material culture studies and experimental archaeology.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Irish Research Council Fellowship (2021-2023)
• JESH Fellowship (current)

Fieldwork constitutes a core component of her methodology, having co-directed excavations at Konjevrate (Croatia, 2018) and Jakasova Cave (Croatia, 2023), while contributing as a lithology specialist to international projects across the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions.