Human Development in Landscapes

People

	Alumna Katharina Fuchs (Germany, 1985) Dipl.-Prähist. in Pre- and Protohistory, Anthropology and Zoology kfuchs@gshdl.uni-kiel.de
PhD project	Anthropological and socio-archaeological analysis of a Bronze Age burial ground with key position from the Northern Caucasus (working title). The main aim of my PhD project is to understand the adaption techniques of one particular community by means of examining the Bronze Age cemetery of Kudachurt 14. The work involves different methods in order to detect the human behaviour and its response to the natural environment by reconstructing the life conditions of a buried population group. The site itself is located in the foothill area of the Northern Caucasus in Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia. Kudachurt 14 is unique for the whole Caucasus region as it is the only non-disturbed necropolis dating to the transition between the Middle to Late Bronze Age (ca. 1800-1000 bc) excavated with modern methods. The research focus will be approached by applying methods from classical physical anthropology, palaeopathology as well as stable isotope analyses. In order to understand possible social stratification elements from the funerary evidence, archaeology will be employed. Additional information from different disciplines, for instance climatic data or subsistence strategies, shall help provide a broader understanding of the development of this community. With about 134 graves Kudachurt 14 stands out due to a high variety of burial modes (single, double and collective graves; flat graves and catacomb graves; secondary burials) and its rich material culture. Within the material an affiliation was detected to the so-called North Caucasian Culture, a heterogeneous group of the foothill area and the high mountains, with typical burials in grave mounds. Kudachurt 14 represents, with its variety of burial modes, another new aspect of funeral habit in the piedmont region; catacomb graves are so far only known from the steppe Catacomb Grave Culture. From the archaeological point of view, the cemetery shows a fusion of elements from the steppe region and the high mountains, which are also very interesting from an anthropological perspective. Additionally, the cemetery dates to a period in which the subsistence economy of the Bronze Age people changed from a mobile to a sedentary lifestyle. During this development, animal husbandry was probably still the means of existence. Overall, the skeletal preservation is good and promises a wide range of physical and pathological data. The project will take place in the context of current and future examinations of the Caucasian Bronze Age, both anthropological and archaeological. The active cooperation between the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) and the Unitarian State Enterprise ‘Nasledie’ of the cultural Ministry of Stavropol region, which has run successfully for several years, guarantees excellent conditions within which to realise the project.
Research interests	Physical and Prehistoric Anthropology, Palaeopathology, Bioarchaeology, Palaeodiet and Subsistence Strategies, Population Processes; Funeral Archaeology, Social organisation and development of past societies
Education	Since April 2013 Member of the Graduate School „Human Development in Landscapes“ at the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel (CAU). June 2010 Graduated at the CAU Kiel. Diploma thesis: "Der schnurkeramische Bestattungskomplex von Remstädt, Kreis Gotha. Archäologie, Anthropologie und kleinregionaler Kontext im südwestlichen Thüringer Becken." 2006/07 Additional participation at several forensic courses at the Institute of Legal Medicine, CAU Kiel. Lecturer Dr. N. von Wurmb-Schwark, Dr. U. Wiesbrock. October 2004 Began studies in Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, Anthropology and Zoology at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, CAU Kiel.
Work experience	May, July - August 2012; January 2013 Research periods in Novopavlovsk/Kislovodsk, Russia. October 2010 – March 2012 Research Assistant and freelancer at the Institute for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, CAU Kiel; Anthropological expertises for several DFG projects, proofreading and editing for an institutional publication. July - August 2011 Research Assistant at the DAI (German Institute of Archaeology), DFG project "Siedlungsarchäologie in Kislovodsk, Russische Förderation" (Dr. PD S. Reinhold, Eurasia Department). September 2010 Excavation Assistant for the DFG project "Vergleichende Untersuchungen zum frühbronzezeitlichen Siedlungswesen am Südwestrand des Slowakischen Erzgebirges" (Dr. K. Rassmann, RGK). June - July 2010 Excavation Assistant for the DFG project "Suzdal und Mohove/Wiskiauten – Prospektion und Erforschung frühmittelalterlicher Siedlungskammern im Kaliningrader Gebiet und Westrussland" (Dr. T. Ibsen, ZBSA). February 2010 Anthropological internship at the Scientific Department of the DAI Head Office (Dr. J. Gresky, DAI). March 2009 Topographical Survey in Lüdelsen, Germany, DFG project "Megalithlandschaft Altmark" (D. Demnik, M.A., CAU). 2007 - 2009 Student Assistant position at the Institute for Pre- and Protohistory, CAU Kiel , DFG project "Rekonstruktion spätneolithischer Siedlungsprozesse in Zentralbosnien (5200-4500 v. Chr.)" (Dr. R. Hofmann, Dr. N. Müller-Scheessel). September 2006 - 2008 Excavation at Okolište, Bosnia and Herzegovina, DFG project "Rekonstruktion spätneolithischer Siedlungsprozesse in Zentralbosnien (5200-4500 v. Chr.)". August 2005 Excavation at “Olsborg”, Plön, Germany. Training excavation conducted by the Institute of Pre- and Protohistory, CAU Kiel (Dr. R. Bleile).
Selected publications	forthcoming Remstädt, a Corded Ware Burial Complex from Central Germany. Anthropology and Social Structures. Proceedings of the International Conference Corded Days in Krakow, 1st-2nd December 2011. forthcoming C. Rinne/K. Fuchs, Bestattungen in Siedlungen. Norm und Sonderfall in der Bernburger Kultur. Tagungsband zur internationalen Tagung Salzmünde – Regel oder Ausnahme? in Halle, 18.-20. Oktober 2012. forthcoming D. Mischka/K. Fuchs, Sekundäre Deponierungen von Menschenresten in einem Megalithgrab des Langbetts LA 3. Tagungsband zur internationalen Tagung Salzmünde – Regel oder Ausnahme? in Halle, 18.-20. Oktober 2012. in Press Der schnurkeramische Bestattungskomplex von Remstädt, Kr. Gotha. Archäologie, Anthropologie und kleinregionaler Kontext im südwestlichen Thüringer Becken. UPA 229 (Bonn, 2013).
Memberships	The Paleopathology Association (PPA) Gesellschaft für Archäozoologie und Prähistorische Anthropologie e. V. (GAPA) Gesellschaft für Anthropologie (GfA)

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