Klaus Oeggl Explained

Klaus Oeggl
Birth Place:Innsbruck, Austria
Field:Archaeobotany
Work Institutions:University of Innsbruck
Known For:Studies on "Oetzi"

Klaus Oeggl (born 1955) is a retired Austrian botanist, and deals with palaeoecology and archaeobotany. He is well known for his studies on the life-circumstances and on the environment of the Neolithic glacier mummy "Ötzi".

Life

Klaus Oeggl studied biology and Earth sciences at the University of Innsbruck, where he graduated in 1981. In 1987 he obtained his doctorate in botany. Between 1982 and 1983 Klaus Oeggl taught at secondary schools. In 1983 he changed to Innsbruck University, where he started as lector at the Institute of Botany first. Then followed employments as university assistant of Sigmar Bortenschlager at this institute. In 1997 he became associate professor. Since 2011 he was holding a professorship of palynology and archaeobotany, leading the research group of the same name at the Institute of Botany. He retired in 2020. In the context of his teaching activities he was guest lecturer at the University of Bergen, guest professor at the Suranaree University of Technology in Thailand and at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.

Scientific contribution

Oeggl is engaged in the interaction between man and plants in the past. His studies range from the dispersal of crops,[1] [2] the diet[3] [4] [5] [6] and agriculture[7] [8] [9] of prehistoric men, the reconstruction of the vegetation and environment in the surroundings of prehistoric settlements[10] [11] [12] [13] to the emergence of the recent cultural landscape[14] in the Alps. In his work Oeggl pursues a multi- and interdisciplinary research approach with archaeological and scientific disciplines, because the genesis of cultural landscapes and the development of the recent vegetation cover is subject to multifactorial abiotic and biotic processes. His preferred applied methods are pollen analyses, plant macro-remain analysis and geochemistry providing the basis for hypothesis-tests and model-validation. He is known for his studies on the life-circumstances of the Neolithic Iceman "Ötzi".[15] [16] [17] [18] More recently he scrutinized the paleoecological and socio-economic impact of ancient mining in the Alps in the research center HiMAT of Innsbruck University.[19] Oeggl expedited his studies in 45 research projects supported by the EU, Austrian Science Foundation, museums and communities.

Publications

Notes and References

  1. OEGGL K. 1994: Vor- und frühgeschichtliches Getreide im mittleren Alpenraum. in: Rachewiltz S. (ed.) Korn und Mahlsteine. Bozen: 37 - 50
  2. Schmidl A., Jacomet S., Oeggl K. (2007): Distribution patterns of cultivated plants in the Eastern Alps (Central Europe) during Iron Age. - Journal of Archaeological Science, 34, 243-254
  3. OEGGL K. 2000: The Diet of the Iceman. in: Bortenschlager S. & Oeggl K. (eds.): The Iceman and his natural environment. The Man in the Ice Vol. 4: 89 – 115
  4. DICKSON J.H., OEGGL K., HOLDEN T. G., HANDLEY L. L., O´CONNELL T. C. & PRESTON T. 2000: The Omnivorous Tyrolean Iceman: Colon Contents (Meat, Cereals, Pollen, Moss and Whipworm) and Stable Isotope Analyses. Phil. Trans. R. Society London B 355: 1843 – 1849
  5. Aspöck W., Boehnke N., Kofler W., Oeggl K.. Stöllner T. 2007: The Dürrnberg Miners during the Iron Age – New Results by Interdisciplinary Approach. Beiträge zur Ur- und Frühgeschichte Mitteleuropas 47: 109 – 126
  6. Schibler J., Breitenlechner E., Deschler-Erb S., Goldenberg G., Hanke K., Hiebel G., Hüster Plogmann H., Nicolussi K., Marti-Grädel E., Pichler S., Schmidl A., Schwarz S., Stopp B. & Oeggl K. 2011: Miners and mining in the Late Bronze Age: a multidisciplinary study from Austria. Antiquity 85: 1259 – 1278
  7. SCHMIDL A. & OEGGL K. 2007: Ernährung und Wirtschaftsweise der Siedler am Ganglegg bei Schluderns während der Bronze- und Eisenzeit - paläoethnobotanische Untersuchungen. In: Steiner H. (ed): Die befestigte Höhensiedlung am Ganglegg im Vinschgau – Südtirol. Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen 1997 –2001 (Bronze/Urnenfelderzeit) und naturwissenschaftliche Beiträge. Forschungen zur Denkmalpflege in Südtirol Band 3: 511 – 589
  8. Schwarz A. S., Krause R. Oeggl K. 2013: Anthracological analysis from a mining site in the Eastern Alps to evaluate woodland uses during the Bronze Age. BAR International Series 2486: 241 – 250
  9. Festi D., Putzer A., Oeggl K.: Mid and late Holocene land-use changes in the Ötztal Alps, territory of the Neolithic Iceman "Ötzi". Quaternary International 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2013.07.052
  10. OEGGL K. & N. WAHLMÜLLER 1994: The Environment of a High Alpine Mesolithic Camp Site in Austria. American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists, Contribution Series, 29:147 – 160
  11. WAHLMÜLLER N. & OEGGL K. 2009: Der Mensch und die Umwelt vom Neolithikum bis heute. Ein Beitrag der Pollenanalyse zur Siedlungsgeschichte des Montafon. In: Rollinger R. & Rudigier A. (Eds.): Montafon. Geschichte, Kultur und Naturlandschaft. Band 2: 50 - 65
  12. Kofler W. & Oeggl K. 2010: Pollenanalytische Untersuchungen zur Vegetations-, Klima- und Siedlungsgeschichte des Ultentales. in: Steiner H. (ed): Alpine Brandopferplätze. Forschungen zur Denkmalpflege in Südtirol, Band IV: 735 – 783
  13. Breitenlechner, E.; Hilber, M.; Lutz, J.; Kathrein, Y.; Unterkircher, A.; Oeggl, K. 2010: The impact of mining activities on the environment reflected by pollen, charcoal and geochemical analyses. Journal of Archaeological Science 37: 1458 – 1467
  14. Oeggl K. 2013: Die Vegetations- und Siedlungsgeschichte im mittleren Unterinntal seit dem Neolithikum. In: Montanwerke Brixlegg AG, Oeggl K. & Schaffer V. (eds): Cuprum Tyrolense.5550 Jahre Bergbau und Kupferverhüttung in Tirol. Edition Tirol: 29 - 54">
  15. Web site: NOVA | The Iceman's Last Meal . . 24 November 1998. 2013-09-28.
  16. Bortenschlager S. & Oeggl K. (eds.) 2000: The Iceman and his natural environment. The Man in the Ice Vol. 4. Springer Verlag, Wien - New York
  17. Oeggl K., Kofler W., Schmidl A., Dickson J.H., Egarter-Vigl E., Gaber O. 2007: The reconstruction of the last itinerary of "Ötzi", the Neolithic Iceman, by pollen analyses from sequentially sampled gut extracts. Quaternary Science Reviews 26: 853 – 861
  18. Oeggl K. (2009): The significance of the Tyrolean Iceman for the Archaeobotany of Central Europe. Vegetation History & Archaeobotany, 18: 1-11.
  19. http://www.uibk.ac.at/himat/index.html.en (FZ HiMAT)