NHMW Reports 5: Department of Prehistory
Strategy paper on research and science communication activities
Authors: Karina Grömer, Daniel Brandner, Stefan Eichert, Daniel Oberndorfer, Caroline Posch, Johann Rudorfer & Georg Tiefengraber
32 pp.
Authors: Karina Grömer, Daniel Brandner, Stefan Eichert, Daniel Oberndorfer, Caroline Posch, Johann Rudorfer & Georg Tiefengraber
32 pp.
Summary
With over 140,000 inventory numbers and more than one million individual objects, the Department of Prehistory of the Natural History Museum Vienna (NHMW) contains one of the largest prehistoric collections in Europe. As a department of the NHMW it also looks back on a research history of more than 170 years – from its beginnings as the first state collection and research centre for prehistory during the Austro-Hungarian monarchy to today's interdisciplinary networked research intuition.
The collection itself spans the period from 300,000 years BCE to around 1,000 CE and mainly contains finds from Austria and the territories of the former monarchy. In addition to donations and purchases, the objects came to the NHMW mainly through the department's lively excavation and research activities. The collection houses objects from three Austrian UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Palaeolithic site complex Willendorf (UNESCO World Heritage Wachau), the pile-dwelling sites at the Attersee and Mondsee lakes (UNESCO World Heritage Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps), and the burial ground and mines of Hallstatt (UNESCO World Heritage Hallstatt-Dachstein/Salzkammergut). Notable inventories also include the Gravettian site Grub-Kranawetberg, the early Neolithic site complex Brunn am Gebirge, as well as the Iron Age sanctuary near Roseldorf.
The main objective of the Department of Prehistory is to research the history of mankind on the basis of their material cultural remains. This is done by maintaining and analysing the existing collection and through research excavations as well as through cooperation with national and international partner institutions. One focus is on the investigation of interpersonal relationships, but also the relationship between humans and the environment, animals, resources, and technology. In this context, archaeological objects and structures are seen as primary sources to investigate the individuals and societies behind them. A further focus are research activities and projects in the Digital Humanities, an area in which the department has played a pioneering role for many years.
The department also aims to make the results of its research accessible to both the scientific community and the wider public – through scientific talks and publications as well as popular science presentations, action days, participation in exhibitions, podcasts, press work, etc.
The Department of Prehistory of the NHMW endeavours to be a repository of knowledge for society and, through cutting-edge research into our rich cultural heritage, provide knowledge about the past and inspiration for the future.
