Thorsten Jakobitsch

Thorsten Jakobitsch is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Bioarchaeology Lab at the Austrian Archaeological Institute (ÖAI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (2023), supported by a DOC Fellowship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences. His research focuses on Neolithic agricultural practices, woodland management strategies, and archaeological plant remains analysis, particularly in Alpine lake dwellings and Bronze Age copper mining sites. He has conducted extensive studies on plant macroremains, wood charcoal, and animal dung to reconstruct ancient environments and subsistence strategies.

Education: Studied Crop Science at BOKU Vienna (Dipl.-Ing. Dr. BSc). Key projects include analyzing Neolithic pile dwellings at Mondsee/Attersee, Bronze Age copper mining at Prigglitz-Gasteil, and Hellenistic-Roman burial practices on Tinos Island. His work bridges archaeology and environmental science, emphasizing human-environment interactions across prehistoric societies.

Research interests: Paleoethnobotany, agricultural history, vegetation dynamics, and burial ritual analysis. His findings contribute to understanding prehistoric resource management and cultural practices.

Publications include over 15 peer-reviewed articles and reports on topics like Neolithic woodland use, Bronze Age mining diets, and Hellenistic cremation rituals. He actively collaborates in interdisciplinary projects funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and international partners.

Labs/Teams: Bioarchaeology Lab (ÖAI), contributing to UNESCO World Heritage projects on Alpine lake dwellings. His work is disseminated through academic journals, conference presentations, and public outreach initiatives like radio programs explaining plant use in historical contexts.