Univ.-Prof. Katharina Rebay-Salisbury is a prehistoric archaeologist specializing in European Bronze and Iron Ages, particularly focusing on the human body, social identities, and gender archaeology. She leads the Research Group 'Prehistoric Identities' at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAI) and holds a professorship in Prehistory of Humanity at the University of Vienna. Her work bridges archaeology with bioarchaeology, genetics, and proteomics. After earning her PhD from the University of Vienna (2005), she conducted postdoctoral research at Cambridge and Leicester, exploring cremation practices and Iron Age networks. She received the ERC Starting Grant (2015) for studying societal responses to motherhood and childbirth. Key projects include analyses of cremated remains, mobility patterns, and kinship structures in prehistoric communities. Education: PhD (2005, University of Vienna), Habilitation (2017, University of Vienna). Research interests include bioarchaeology, maternal status, and interdisciplinary methods. She is a member of the Young Academy of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (since 2016) and has published extensively on prehistoric burial practices, gender roles, and archaeological theory. Her research integrates osteological analysis, isotopic studies, and ancient DNA to reconstruct social dynamics. Notable contributions include studies on Bronze Age maternal health, mobility inferred from cremation burials, and leadership roles in Iberian megalithic societies. She chairs the ERC-funded project 'The Value of Mothers to Society' and collaborates internationally on bioarchaeological projects. Grants and awards include the ERC Starting Grant and multiple fellowships. Her team addresses questions of social inequality, kinship, and human-environment interactions in prehistory.









