Andreas G. Heiss

Last updated

Andreas G. Heiss
Born1978 (age 46–47)
Education
Scientific career
Fields Archaeobotany
Institutions Austrian Academy of Sciences

Andreas G. Heiss (born 1978) is an Austrian archaeobotanist and research group leader at the Austrian Archaeological Institute at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. [1]

Contents

Originally from Schwaz, Tyrol, he studied at the University of Innsbruck (Master's degree, 2003; Doctorate, 2008) and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (Habilitation, 2020). [1] He is co-founder and long-term board member of the Austrian Bioarchaeological Society [2] and Committee Member of the International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany. [3]

Research

Heiss investigates macrobotanical remains, such as seeds, fruits, wood and charcoal. He is known for pioneering methods using amorphous charred objects (ACOs) as a source of information for culinary archaeology. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] His work addresses cultures from Neolithic up to early modern period contexts in central Europe and the Mediterranean.

National and international media have reported on findings linked to Heiss's research on numerous occasions over the years. [11] In 2019, the find of three charred cereal-based rings from Late Bronze Age Austria was compared to bagels [12] and Cheerios [13] by some media. In May 2020, coverage in German-language outlets (including Der Spiegel and ORF Science) quoted Heiss on evidence for possible beer brewing around Lake Constance and Lake Zurich in the 4th millennium BCE, based on a new microstructural marker for malting. [14] [15] In 2022, media outlets covered the discovery of an early Byzantine business and gastronomy district at Ephesos by an ÖAW team, for which Heiss conducted archaeobotanical analyses. [16] [17] [18]

Selected publications

Public outreach

In Austrian public broadcasting, Heiss has been discussing archaeobotany in a 31-episode Radio Wien series in 2012 [19] and five Ö1 features in 2019 and 2020. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24]

He has also contributed substantially to exhibitions on various topics, such as on the Iceman, [25] "magical" plants, [26] or ancient beer. [27]

References

  1. 1 2 "Andreas G. Heiss". Austrian Archaeological Institute. Austrian Academy of Sciences . Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  2. ↑ "Die Gründungsmitglieder der BAG" [The BAG Founding Members]. Bioarchäologische Gesellschaft Österreichs (in German). Wien: BAG. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Heiss, Andreas G.; Bittmann, Felix; Kroll, Helmut; Pokorná, Adela; Stika, Hans-Peter; Behre, Karl-Ernst. "The IWGP Committee". International Work Group for Palaeoethnobotany. IWGP. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  4. ↑ Heiss, Andreas G.; Pouget, Nathalie; Wiethold, Julien; Delor-Ahü, A.; Le Goff, I. (2015). "Tissue-based analysis of a charred flat bread (galette) from a Roman cemetery at Saint-Memmie (France)". Journal of Archaeological Science. 55: 71–82. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2014.12.014.
  5. ↑ Heiss, Andreas G. (2017). "State of the (t)art. Analytical approaches in the investigation of charred materials". PLOS ONE. 12 (8) e0182401. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182401 . PMC   5542691 . PMID   28771539.
  6. ↑ Heiss, Andreas G.; Antolín, Ferrán; Berihuete Azorín, Marian; Biederer, Benedikt; Erlach, Rudolf; Gail, Niki; Griebl, Monika; Linke, Robert; Lochner, Michaela; Marinova, Elena; Oberndorfer, Daniel; Stika, Hans-Peter; Valamoti, Soultana Maria (2019). "The Hoard of the Rings. "Odd" annular bread-like objects as a case study for cereal-product diversity at the Late Bronze Age hillfort site of Stillfried (Lower Austria)". PLOS ONE. 14 (6) e0216907. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1416907H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216907 . PMC   6544224 . PMID   31166950.
  7. ↑ Heiss, Andreas Gregor (2019). Fifty Shapes of Grain. New archaeobotanical approaches towards charred finds of processed cereal-based foods. I. Rahmenschrift and Original Papers (Habilitation thesis). Vienna: Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU), Department für Integrative Biologie und Biodiversitätsforschung (DIB), Vienna. p. 442. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.23285.19682.
  8. ↑ Heiss, Andreas G. (2020). "Mashes to Mashes, Crust to Crust: Presenting a novel microstructural marker for malting in the archaeological record". PLOS ONE. 15 (5) e0231696. Bibcode:2020PLoSO..1531696H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231696 . PMC   7205394 . PMID   32379784.
  9. ↑ Heiss, Andreas G.; Jakobitsch, Thorsten; Wiesinger, Silvia; Trebsche, Peter (2021). "Dig out, Dig in! Plant-based diet at the Late Bronze Age copper production site of Prigglitz-Gasteil (Lower Austria) and the relevance of processed foodstuffs for the supply of Alpine Bronze Age miners". PLOS ONE. 16 (3) e0248287. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1648287H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248287 . PMC   7990284 . PMID   33760845.
  10. ↑ Heiss, Andreas G.; Matterne, Véronique; Monteix, Nicolas; Tillier, Margaux; Noûs, Camille (17 March 2022). "Contribution à l'histoire de la boulangerie romaine: étude de " pains/galettes " archéologiques découverts en Gaule". Gallia. Archéologie des Gaules. 78: 261–296. doi:10.4000/gallia.6298 . Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  11. ↑ "Andreas G. Heiss". Impactstory. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  12. ↑ Tercatin, Rossella (14 June 2019). "Did Austrians invent bagels 3,000 years ago?". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  13. ↑ Aristos Georgiou (5 June 2019). "Ancient Cheerios Discovered at Bronze Age Site Might Have Been Used in Unknown Ritual". Newsweek. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  14. ↑ "World's oldest beer in Central Europe? People around Lake Constance drank malt beverages 5,000 years ago (German)". Der Spiegel (in German). 7 May 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  15. ↑ ""Bodenseebräu": Ältestes Bier Mitteleuropas?". ORF.at Science (in German). 7 May 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  16. ↑ "Ephesos: Area of the city discovered under a burnt layer". Archaeology Wiki. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "New discoveries at Ephesus". The Past. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  18. ↑ "A Byzantine business district". The Past – The Picture Desk. 15 January 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  19. ↑ "Pflanzen, die die Welt verändert haben". Universität Research Information System. 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  20. ↑ Rätselhafte Pflanzenreste – Teil 1: Getreidereste aufgrund von Unglücksfällen (Radio feature). Vom Leben der Natur, Ö1. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  21. ↑ Rätselhafte Pflanzenreste – Teil 2: Seeufersiedlungen am Attersee (Radio feature). Vom Leben der Natur, Ö1. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  22. ↑ Rätselhafte Pflanzenreste – Teil 3: Vom Ursprung der Textilfarben (Radio feature). Vom Leben der Natur, Ö1. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  23. ↑ Rätselhafte Pflanzenreste – Teil 4: Holzreste in Ephesos (Radio feature). Vom Leben der Natur, Ö1. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  24. ↑ Rätselhafte Pflanzenreste – Teil 5: Pimpernuss als Grabbeigabe (Radio feature). Vom Leben der Natur, Ö1. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  25. ↑ Pfeiler, oliver; Zingerle, Christina (2016). "Ötzi The Iceman". studio exhibit. Vienna. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  26. ↑ Etzlstorfer, Hannes; Sam, Sandra; Heiss, Andreas G. (2011). Hexen.Zauber. Ausstellungskatalog zur Sonderausstellung 2. April – 30. November 2011 [Witches.Magic. Exhibition catalogue for the special exhibition 2 April – 30 November 2011] (in German). Asparn an der Zaya: Urgeschichtemuseum Niederösterreich. p. 51. ISBN   978-3-85460-266-8.
  27. ↑ "Bier – ein Jahrtausende altes Kultgetränk" [Beer - A millannia-old iconic beverage]. studio exhibit. Bad Buchau: Federseemuseum. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
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