Dr. Jana Ilgner

Lab Manager
Department of Archaeology
+49 3641 646-993
009

Main Focus

As the Lab Manager of the Department of Archaeology Jana is responsible for the maintenance of the Department's laboratories. She supervises PhD students and postdocs in their laboratory work and is the department's health and safety officer. She is also responsible for maintaining the equipment in the department's laboratories that is needed in the measurement and preparation of archaeological samples. In addition to the routine application of established isotope methods, Jana is involved in the development of novel stable isotope methods (such as compound specific isotope analyses of dD and 13C) in the study of the human past. In particular, Jana facilitates the use of isotope methodologies in the study of intra- and inter- societal differences in prehistoric and historical human diets, the development of detailed human stable isotope ecologies, and the development of new, detailed palaeoenvironmental proxies of immediate relevance to studies of past human responses to climatic and environmental change.


Curriculum Vitae

Jana received her Master in Geography at the Technical University Dresden, Germany, where she applied U/Pb dating of zircons using Laser-ICP-MS. She received her PhD from the University of Bern, Switzerland in palaeogeoecology. For her PhD she focused on landscape and climate reconstruction applying 10Be surface exposure dating. As a visiting scientist at Brown University, USA, she focused on alkenone-paleotemperature determination and foraminifera determination for estimating past ocean productivity in the eastern equatorial Pacific. At the University of Bern she ran the stable isotope laboratory as well as the cosmogenic nuclide laboratory of the biogeochemistry and palaeoclimate research group of the Department of Geography. She has supervised BSc, MSc and PhD students in lab work and research with the research focus on climate and landscape change since the last ice age applying biomarker and stable isotope analyses (compound specific dD, 13C), as well as 10Be surface exposure dating. 

 

Research Projects



Publication List

Journal Article (37)

1.
Journal Article
Orfanou, E.; Zach, B.; Rohrlach, A. B.; Schneider, F. N.; Paust, E.; Lucas, M.; Hermes, T.; Ilgner, J.; Scott, E.; Ettel, P. et al.; Haak, W.; Spengler, R.; Roberts, P.: Biomolecular evidence for changing millet reliance in Late Bronze Age central Germany. Scientific Reports 14 (1), 4382 (2024)
2.
Journal Article
Jha, D.; Patalano, R.; Ilgner, J.; Achyuthan, H.; Alsharekh, A. M.; Armitage, S.; Blinkhorn, J.; Boivin, N.; Breeze, P. S.; Devra, R. et al.; Drake, N.; Groucutt, H. S.; Guagnin, M.; Roberts, P.; Petraglia, M.: Preservation of plant-wax biomarkers in deserts: implications for Quaternary environment and human evolutionary studies. Journal of Quaternary Science, 3597 (2024)
3.
Journal Article
Roberts, P.; Hixon, S.; Hamilton, R. J.; Lucas, M.; Ilgner, J.; Marzo, S.; Hawkins, S.; Luu, S.; Gosden, C.; Spriggs, M. et al.; Summerhayes, G.: Assessing Pleistocene–Holocene climatic and environmental change in insular Near Oceania using stable isotope analysis of archaeological fauna. Journal of Quaternary Science 38 (8), 3555, pp. 1267 - 1278 (2023)
4.
Journal Article
Wang, X.; Zhang, B.; Sun, Y.; Ingman, T.; Eisenmann, S.; Lucas, M.; Scott, E.; Ilgner, J.; Wu, G.; le Roux, P. et al.; Wu, X.; Zhang, X.; Fan, A.; Roberts, P.; Stockhammer, P. W.: Isotopic and proteomic evidence for communal stability at Pre-Pottery Neolithic Jericho in the Southern Levant. Scientific Reports 13 (1), 16360 (2023)
5.
Journal Article
King, C. L.; Buckley, H. R.; Petchey, P.; Kinaston, R.; Millard, A. R.; Nowell, G.; Roberts, P.; Ilgner, J.; Gröcke, D. R.: Seeking their fortunes on the Otago goldfields, New Zealand: constructing isotopic biographies of colonial goldminers. Journal of Archaeological Science 157, 105836, pp. 1 - 12 (2023)
6.
Journal Article
Amano, N.; Wedage, O.; Ilgner, J.; Boivin, N.; Petraglia, M.; Roberts, P.: Of forests and grasslands: human, primate, and ungulate palaeoecology in Late Pleistocene-Holocene Sri Lanka. Frontiers in Earth Science 11, 1133281 (2023)
7.
Journal Article
Patalano, R.; Arthur, C.; Carleton, W. C.; Challis, S.; Dewar, G.; Gayantha, K.; Gleixner, G.; Ilgner, J.; Lucas, M.; Marzo, S. et al.; Mokhachane, R.; Pazan, K.; Spurite, D.; Morley, M. W.; Parker, A.; Mitchell, P.; Stewart, B. A.; Roberts, P.: Ecological stability of Late Pleistocene-to-Holocene Lesotho, southern Africa, facilitated human upland habitation. Communications Earth & Environment 4 (1), 129 (2023)
8.
Journal Article
Pérez-Ramallo, P.; Ignacio Lorenzo-Lizalde, J.; Staniewska, A.; Aiestaran, M.; Aguirre, J.; Semas Sesma, J.; Marzo, S.; Lucas, M.; Ilgner, J.; Chivall, D. et al.; Higham, T.; Rodríguez-Varela, R.; Götherström, A.; Etxeberria, F.; Grandal-d'Anglade, A.; Alexander, M.; Roberts, P.: To the field of stars: stable isotope analysis of medieval pilgrims and populations along the Camino de Santiago in Navarre and Aragon, Spain. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 48, 103847, pp. 1 - 16 (2023)
9.
Journal Article
Willis, A.; Roberts, P.; Kyaw, M. M.; Win, T. T.; Pradier, B.; King, C.; Ilgner, J.; Lucas, M.; Cook, A.; Piper, P. et al.; Pryce, T.O.: Living in the dry zone: stable isotope insights into palaeodiet in ancient Myanmar. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 48, 103900, pp. 1 - 14 (2023)
10.
Journal Article
Wang, X.; Skourtanioti, E.; Benz, M.; Gresky, J.; Ilgner, J.; Lucas, M.; Morsch, M.; Peters, J.; Pöllath, N.; Ringbauer, H. et al.; le Roux, P.; Schultz, M.; Krause, J.; Roberts, P.; Stockhammer, P. W.: Isotopic and DNA analyses reveal multiscale PPNB mobility and migration across Southeastern Anatolia and the Southern Levant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 120 (4), e2210611120, pp. 1 - 12 (2023)
11.
Journal Article
Pérez-Ramallo, P.; Grandal-d´Anglade, A.; Organista, E.; Santos, E.; Chivall, D.; Rodríguez-Varela, R.; Götherström, A.; Etxeberria, F.; Ilgner, J.; Fernandes, R. et al.; Arsuaga, J. L.; Le Roux, P.; Higham, T.; Beaumont, J.; Koon, H.; Roberts, P.: Multi-isotopic study of the earliest mediaeval inhabitants of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain). Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 14 (11), 214, pp. 1 - 28 (2022)
12.
Journal Article
Müller, L. M.; Kipnis, R.; Ferreira, M. P.; Marzo, S.; Fiedler, B.; Lucas, M.; Ilgner, J.; Silva, H. P.; Roberts, P.: Late Holocene dietary and cultural variability on the Xingu River, Amazon Basin: a stable isotopic approach. PLoS One 17 (8), 0271545 (2022)
13.
Journal Article
Roberts, P.; Douka, K.; Tromp, M.; Bedford, S.; Hawkins, S.; Bouffandeau, L.; Ilgner, J.; Lucas, M.; Marzo, S.; Hamilton, R. J. et al.; Ambrose, W.; Bulbeck, D.; Luu, S.; Shing, R.; Gosden, C.; Summerhayes, G.; Spriggs, M.: Fossils, fish and tropical forests: prehistoric human adaptations on the island frontiers of Oceania. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences 377 (1849), 20200495, pp. 1 - 13 (2022)
14.
Journal Article
Perez Ramallo, P.; Lorenzo-Lizalde, J. I.; Staniewska, A.; Lopez, B.; Alexander, M.; Marzo, S.; Lucas, M.; Ilgner, J.; Chivall, D.; Grandal-d́Anglade, A. et al.; Roberts, P.: Stable isotope analysis and differences in diet and social status in northern Medieval Christian Spain (9th–13th centuries CE). Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 41, 103325, pp. 1 - 12 (2022)
15.
Journal Article
Blinkhorn, J.; Achyuthan, H.; Durcan, J.; Roberts, P.; Ilgner, J.: Constraining the chronology and ecology of Late Acheulean and Middle Palaeolithic occupations at the margins of the monsoon. Scientific Reports 11 (1), 19665 (2021)
16.
Journal Article
Han, B.; Chong, J.; Sun, Z.; Jiang, X.; Xiao, Q.; Zech, J.; Roberts, P.; Rao, H.; Yang, Y.: The rise of the cosmetic industry in ancient China: insights from a 2,700‐year‐old face cream. Archaeometry 63 (5), 12659, pp. 1042 - 1058 (2021)
17.
Journal Article
Swift, J. A.; Kirch, P. V.; Ilgner, J.; Brown, S.; Lucas, M.; Marzo, S.; Roberts, P.: Stable isotopic evidence for nutrient rejuvenation and long-term resilience on Tikopia Island (Southeast Solomon Islands). Sustainability 13 (15), 8567 (2021)
18.
Journal Article
Ingman, T.; Eisenmann, S.; Skourtanioti, E.; Akar, M.; Ilgner, J.; Gnecchi Ruscone, G. A.; le Roux, P.; Shafiq, R.; Neumann, G. U.; Keller, M. et al.; Freund, C.; Marzo, S.; Lucas, M.; Krause, J.; Roberts, P.; Yener, K. A.; Stockhammer, P. W.: Human mobility at Tell Atchana (Alalakh), Hatay, Turkey during the 2nd millennium BC: integration of isotopic and genomic evidence. PLoS One 16 (6), 0241883, p. e0241883 (2021)
19.
Journal Article
King, C. L.; Buckley, H. R.; Petchey, P.; Roberts, P.; Zech, J.; Kinaston, R.; Collins, C.; Kardailsky, O.; Matisoo-Smith, E.; Nowell, G.: An isotopic and genetic study of multi-cultural colonial New Zealand. Journal of Archaeological Science 128, 105337, pp. 1 - 12 (2021)
20.
Journal Article
Bleasdale, M.; Richter, K. K.; Janzen, A.; Brown, S.; Scott, A.; Zech, J.; Wilkin, S.; Wang, K.; Schiffels, S.; Desideri, J. et al.; Besse, M.; Reinold, J.; Saad, M.; Babiker, H.; Power, R. C.; Ndiema, E.; Ogola, C.; Manthi, F. K.; Zahir, M.; Petraglia, M. D.; Trachsel, C.; Nanni, P.; Grossmann, J.; Hendy, J.; Crowther, A.; Roberts, P.; Goldstein, S. T.; Boivin, N. L.: Ancient proteins provide evidence of dairy consumption in eastern Africa. Nature Communications 12, 632 (2021)
21.
Journal Article
Bleasdale, M.; Wotzka, H.-P.; Eichhorn, B.; Mercader, J.; Styring, A.; Zech, J.; Soto, M.; Inwood, J.; Clarke, S.; Marzo, S. et al.; Fiedler, B.; Linseele, V.; Boivin, N. L.; Roberts, P.: Isotopic and microbotanical insights into Iron Age agricultural reliance in the Central African rainforest. Communications Biology 3, 619 (2020)
22.
Journal Article
Riccomi, G.; Minozzi, S.; Zech, J.; Cantini, F.; Giuffra, V.; Roberts, P.: Stable isotopic reconstruction of dietary changes across Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages in Tuscany. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 33, 102546, pp. 1 - 17 (2020)
23.
Journal Article
Patalano, R.; Zech, J.; Roberts, P.: Leaf wax lipid extraction for archaeological applications. Current Protocols in Plant Biology 5 (3), e20114, pp. 1 - 38 (2020)
24.
Journal Article
King, C. L.; Buckley, H. R.; Petchey, P.; Kinaston, R.; Millard, A.; Zech, J.; Roberts, P.; Matisoo-Smith, E.; Nowell, G.; Gröcke, D. R.: A multi-isotope, multi-tissue study of colonial origins and diet in New Zealand. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 172 (4), e24077, pp. 605 - 620 (2020)
25.
Journal Article
Bliedtner, M.; Zech, R.; Zech, J.; Schäfer, I.; von Suchodoletz, H.: A first Holocene leaf wax isotope-based paleoclimate record from the semi-humid to semi-arid south-eastern Caucasian lowlands. Journal of Quaternary Science 35 (5), 3210, pp. 625 - 633 (2020)
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