Michaela Schauer

With my FWF ESPRIT project, I am a Senior Scientist at the Vienna Institute for Archaeological Science (VIAS) and member of the research network Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences (HEAS), specialising in chemical analysis using p-XRF. I am especially interested in everything related to pottery, sediments and the implications of studying these materials for past societies.

I am a prehistorian and Near Eastern archaeologist by training, specialised in the chemical analysis of archaeological and geological materials using portable X-ray fluorescence (p-XRF). I recently completed my PhD on LBK and La Hoguette pottery at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) in Munich. With more than seven years of experience and over 30 p-XRF related research projects, I will now continue methodological research on p-XRF at VIAS since October 2023 as part of a three-year FWF ESPRIT project on “Standardising portable X-ray fluorescence for archaeometry“. My main focus will be on experiments to improve our understanding of instrument handling, particularly in relation to environmental conditions, but I will also carry out a series of tests on its application to ancient pottery and sediments. I enjoy discussing methods and approaches and being involved in pottery studies and projects around the world.