The Pinhasi Lab
The Pinhasi lab was built in 2017 to specific requirements for working with human and non-human ancient DNA.
One of our main focuses is the analysis of late Pleistocene and Holocene human samples from across the word, but with a particular focus on those from non-temperate environments, developing and harnessing a range of new methods which:
a) Reduces the amount of damage to the skeletal samples, paying particular attention to the ethical concerns of destructive sampling.
b) Optimizes the obtained yields and molecular complexity.
We experiment with the extraction of ancient DNA from various sources-various minerals, speleothems and sediments (MINERVA).
We have many projects looking at the evolution, interactions and migrations of past human populations, and the reconstruction of social patterns including kinship, social stratification and sex-biased migration and admixture patterns. Another focus is the paleogenomics of archaic and modern humans from across Eurasia based on the study of ancient DNA from fossils, minerals and sediments.
All our research projects involve close cross-disciplinary collaboration with many groups both from the University of Vienna and a wide range of international researchers including archeologists, population geneticists, physical anthropologists, geologists, paleontologists, biochemists, historians and others.