News from the isoTROPIC Research Group

A new study led by authors from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, published in the first edition of the new journal Nature Cities, shows how state-of-the-art methods and perspectives from archaeology, history, and palaeoecology are shedding new light on 5,500 years of urban life. more

The project will bring an interdisciplinary approach to understanding how natural environments impact urban development in the Amazon more

A novel study combines analysis of wear marks and biochemistry of fossil animal teeth at the site of Ahl al Oughlam (dating to 2.5 million years ago) to study past Moroccan ecosystems in deep time. more

A new study, led by researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, the University of Otago, and the Australian National University uses chemical information from excavated animal teeth to study the impact of climate change on human-occupied island environments in the Bismarck Archipelago. more

Dr. Patrick Roberts of the Department of Archaeology and isoTROPIC Research Group at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, and Dr. Oshan Wedage of the University of Sri Jayawardenepura, were presented with this prestigious honour during a recent trip to Sri Lanka for their work on the repatriation of human remains and cultural artefacts. more

A new paper in Nature Ecology & Evolution shows how interdisciplinary research into human-environment interactions can be used to understand the origins of the Anthropocene and address its contemporary challenges more

A new thematic special issue of the Brazilian Journal for Anthropological Linguistics focuses on isolated and recently contacted Tupi-speaking Indigenous groups from the Amazon forest, highlighting the potential of archaeology to provide new insights into the history and adaptation of these populations more

Documents from the Spanish Inquisition reveal a cultural melting pot in 17^th Century Manila more

Research teams from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology (Germany), Bournemouth University (UK), and the University of Göttingen, have been jointly funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) of the United Kingdom more

A new study published in PLoS ONE is the first to use stable isotope analysis to study the diets of the inhabitants of modern Belarus during the turbulent socio-political transitions of the 11^th to 18^th centuries CE more

A new editorial in the open access journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology explores the ongoing relevance of isotope analyses for exploring human-environment interactions in the past and the novel perspectives these can provide for the present. more

A new multidisciplinary study published in PLOS ONE, led by a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Scientia Consultoria Científica, and Universidade Federal do Pará in Brazil highlights the importance of the use of diverse wild plants and animals, indigenous domesticates, and river resources in different parts of the Amazon Basin. more

A new multidisciplinary paper led by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History combines historical, archaeological, and palaeoecological data into land use models to study the impact of rice agriculture on land-use and demography in the famous Ifugao region of Philippines. more

New special edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showcases multidisciplinary approaches to exploring human impacts on tropical forests and their associated earth systems.
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New research led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, shows that disruptions to Indigenous land management following Iberian colonization did not always result in widespread forest regrowth in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, as has been recently argued. more

Dr. Patrick Roberts of the Department of Archaeology at the Max Planck Institute for Human History is one of 10 researchers to receive Germany's most important prize for young researchers in 2021. The DFG and BMBF will award Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prizes of 2021 at a virtual award ceremony on May 4^th. more

Dr. Patrick Roberts of the Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History has received a National Geographic Explorer grant to further his work investigating the formation and collapse of urban societies in tropical Sri Lanka more

"The dead are very important in Wanniyalaeto society," said Chief Uruwarige Wanniyalaeto. "This reuniting of spirits and physical remains... is a very special moment for my people." more