Welker Group
The Welker Group in Biomolecular Palaeoanthropology studies human evolution across the last 1 million years, primarily through the study of ancient proteins and other biomolecules preserved in the skeletal remains of hominins and associated fauna.
We are interested in reconstructing human evolution over the past one million years. During this period, hominin populations diversified, adapted to local and regional environments, and accrued significant behavioural changes evident in the archaeological record. We utilise biomolecular methods, in particular palaeoproteomics, to focus on three related aspects of human evolution research in this time period:
Phyloproteomics. We utilise ancient protein sequence information to address questions of population affinity and phylogenetic relationships between hominin fossils at a global scale.
Physiology. We aim to develop a holistic view on the biomolecular content of the hominin skeleton, and place this in life history, evolutionary, and behavioural frameworks.
Behaviour. We study fauna datasets using palaeoproteomics methods to address questions on hominin subsistence strategies, animal species selection, their usage in relation to bone artefact production, and human-carnivore interactions.
To achieve these goals, we develop and apply novel methods that enhance ancient protein recovery while minimizing sample size requirements. We believe that by collaborating with a range of diverse specialists, our research on ancient humans provides holistic insights into aspects of health and environment relevant to people today.
Publication updates:
09/11/2023 Together with colleagues, Frido co-authored a paper highlighting some key issues in hominin taxon names in the Chibanian.
26/10/2023 Dora, Zandra, and Frido have a new paper out benchmarking protein extraction methods for SPIN. Read the paper here.
29/09/2023 Virginie and Frido co-authored a paper on the integration of ZooMS and zooarchaeological datasets. Read the paper here!
27/01/2023 Frido and Virginie co-authored a paper on the Neanderthal site of Salzgitter-Lebenstedt. Read the paper here!
Recent news:
Congrats to Zandra for being awarded the Future Fellows Presentation Prize at ISBA10: https://www.isbarch.org/presentation_prize
01/05/2023 PhD student Humphrey Nyambiya from the University of Algarve has joined us for 3 months, working with Louise on the palaeoproteomic identification of southern African sheep and goat remains. Welcome Humphrey!
23/03/2023 Congratulations to Virginie for successfully defending her PhD!
13/02/2023 Congratulations to Zandra for being awarded an Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions postdoctoral fellowship!
09/02/2023 Jakob translated the Adventures in Archaeological Sciences coloring book, created by scientists at the MPI-EVA, into Danish!
Find a digital copy of the coloring book here!17/01/2023 Congratulations to Zandra for being one of the Fall 2022 Leakey Foundation Research Grant recipients!
04/12/2022 Congratulations to Huan Xia for successfully defending her PhD!
The Welker Group website is up and running!