Florian Linsel, M.A.

Digital Geoarchaeology (IVGA)

Research Associate/Teaching Assistant 

Otto-Friedrich-University of Bamberg
Institute for Archaeology, Heritage Sciences and Art History
96047 Bamberg

Phone: +49 951 863-3933
E-Mail: florian.linsel(at)uni-bamberg.de
Office: Am Kranen 14, Room 02.12

Office attendance: Wednesday 10:00 - 12:00

Very early into my studies, I came to realise that I was going to strive towards combining archaeological methodology with the power and elegance of algorithmic analyses. Hence, I have thoroughly focussed onto either simplifying aged or enabling novel archaeological processes and analyses by writing customised programs and I was particularly interested in the analytical possibilities of examining archaeological remains using visual computing.

Starting with my master’s thesis, I wrote a program that recognises manufacturing traces on Palaeolithic artefacts, namely on handaxes, scrapers and Halbkeile. The spatial parameters of these complex scar patterns were subsequently analysed to their fractal dimension to determine the degree of sophistication of the applied reduction technique.

In addition to my analytical experience, I have also participated in numerous excavations in Germany, Jordan, and Portugal. Particularly memorable was my employment at the Cologne-based Collaborative Research Centre 806, investigating the migration of the AMH from Africa to Europe. Within the CRC 806, I was also involved in several excavations, where I have, for example, created an excavation database and a large-scale terrain model.

It is precisely this combination of computer science, the processing of spatial information and archaeological interpretations as well as its working methods that I aim to incorporate into my teaching. In doing so, I place particular emphasis on a sustainable data structure and the automation of workflows.

Research interests

  • Archaeoinformatics
    • Data analysis with Python and R
    • Databases
    • Statistics
    • Landscape archaeology
  • Cultural Evolution
  • Palaeolithic of Central Europe
  • Excavation techniques and workflows
  • Method and theory in archaeology
  • Non-invasive prospection methods: GPR
  • Since May 2021 Research Associate/ Teaching Assistant for Digital Geoarchaeology (IVGA), University of Bamberg
  • In the summer semester of 2021, teaching assignment at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Mainz University of Applied Sciences ("Introduction to Quantitative Analysis and Visualisation of Digital Information")
  • From 2020 to May 2021 Research assistant at the Department of Prehistoric Archaeology of the University of Cologne
  • Since 2020 designing and maintenance of the websites of the Hugo Obermaier-Society and the scientific yearbook Quart?r
  • From 2019 to 2020 research assistant of the CRC 806 at the University of Cologne
  • From 2017 to 2020 Master's degree at the Universities of Philipps-University, Marburg and the University of Cologne with a focus on Archaeoinformatics and Prehistoric Archaeology
  • Development of an excavation database used at the Magdalenian open-air site of Bad K?sen-Lengefeld (Saxony-Anhalt) (2018, 2019)
  • From 2013 to 2017 Bachelor's degree at the Philipps-University of Marburg with a focus on Prehistoric and Near Eastern Archaeology

Projects

  • Where the grass is greener: Estimated vegetation periods and their explanatory potential for site distribution in the East European Plain (In progress)
  • The Dimension of Sophistication. The Fractal Characteristic of Palaeolithic Production Systems (PhD thesis, in progress)