Prof. Dr. habil. Berit Valentin Eriksen
E-Mail: berit.eriksen@zbsa.eu • Telefon: +49/(0)4621/813 – 482 • Fax: +49/(0)4621/813 – 535
Personal data
Born 1960 in Horsens, Denmark
Academic qualifications
1984
Masters degree in Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Aarhus
1989
PhD degree in Prehistoric Archaeology from the University of Aarhus based on the thesis: »Change and Continuity in a Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Society«
2010
Habilitation at the University of Tübingen: »Transitions and Transformations. From late Pleistocene reindeer hunters to Bronze Age flint knappers«. Venia legendi in Prehistory (Ur- und Frühgeschichte)
2011
Transfer of habilitation to the University of Kiel. Venia legendi in Prehistory (Ur- und Frühgeschichte)
2021
Honorary Professor, University of Kiel, Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology
Academic career
1990–1992
Post doctoral Alexander von Humboldt research fellow at the University of Tübingen
1992–1995
Assistant research professor at the University of Aarhus (external funding by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities)
1996
Post doctoral research fellow at Thisted Museum. Extensive research travels in Germany
1997
Managing editor of »Nordic Archaeological Abstracts«
1997–2002
Substitute associate professor in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology at the University of Aarhus. Post doctoral research fellow at Ferskvandsmuseet and at Thisted Museum
2002–2004
Academic project officer at Moesgaard Museum
2004–2007
Senior research fellow at Moesgaard Museum (external funding by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities)
2007–2008
Fixed term lecturer in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic archaeology at the University of Aarhus
2009– present
Head of Research at the »Centre for Baltic and Scandinavian Archaeology« within the »Stiftung Schleswig-Holsteinische Landesmuseen Schloss Gottorf«
2014–2017
Professor II, University of Bergen, Department of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion (part time professorship)
2021– present
Honorary Professor, University of Kiel, Institute of Pre- and Protohistoric Archaeology
Honorary offices
- 1998–2009 founding member and secretary of the UISPP Commission XXXII: »Final Palaeolithic of the Great European Plain / Paléolithique final de la Grande Plaine européenne«. 2009–2018 president of the UISPP Commission for »The Final Palaeolithic of Northern Eurasia / Le Paléolithique Final de l’Eurasie du Nord«. 2006-2010 Danish national member of the Permanent Council of the UISPP. 2010-2018 member of the Executive Council of the UISPP.
- Founding member and secretary (1992–2003) of the INQUA working group on »Archaeology of the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition«
- 1999–2003 secretary of the INQUA Commission on »Human Evolution and Paleoecology«
- 1999–2003 founding member and secretary of the Danish Alexander von Humboldt Club
Current membership in other formalized research networks
- »Nordic Blade Technology Workshop«
- »Stoneage Bog Group Network«
- »SoDiTeCh – Social Dimensions of Technological Change«
Publications
1991
B.V. Eriksen, Change and Continuity in a Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherer Society: A study of cultural adaptation in late glacial – early postglacial southwestern Germany. Archaeologica Venatoria 12. Tübingen.
1996
L.G. Straus, B.V. Eriksen, J.M. Erlandson & D.R. Yesner (eds), Humans at the End of the Ice Age: The Archaeology of the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition. Plenum Press, Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. New York.
1998
B.V. Eriksen & L.G. Straus (eds), As the World Warmed: Human Adaptations Across the Pleistocene-Holocene Boundary. Quaternary International vol. 49/50. Oxford.
2000
B.V. Eriksen (ed), FLINTSTUDIER – en håndbog i systematiske analyser af flintinventarer. Aarhus Universitetsforlag. Århus.
2002
B.V. Eriksen & B. Bratlund (eds), Recent studies in the Final Palaeolithic of the European plain. Proceedings of a UISPP Symposium. Stockholm, 14.–17. October 1999. Jutland Archaeological Society Publications Vol. 39. Højbjerg.
2002
L.E. Fisher & B.V. Eriksen (eds), Lithic raw material economy in late glacial and early postglacial western Europe. British Archaeological Reports S1093. Oxford.
2004
T. Terberger & B.V. Eriksen (eds), Hunters in a changing world – Jäger in einer sich wandelnden Welt. Verlag Marie Leidorf. Rahden/Westfalen.
2006
B.V. Eriksen (ed), Stenalderstudier. Tidligt mesolitiske jægere og samlere i Sydskandinavien. Jutland Archaeological Society Publications Vol. 55. Højbjerg.
2010
B.V. Eriksen (ed), Lithic technology in metal using societies. Proceedings of a UISPP Workshop, Lisbon, September 2006. Jutland Archaeological Society Publications Vol. 67. Højbjerg.
2011
W. Müller, B.V. Eriksen, M. Street & G.-C. Weniger (eds), Quartär. Internationales Jahrbuch zur Eiszeitalter- und Steinzeitforschung/ International Yearbook for Ice Age and Stone Age Research, Band 58.
2012
W. Müller, B.V. Eriksen, D. Richter, M. Street & G.-C. Weniger (eds), Quartär. Internationales Jahrbuch zur Eiszeitalter- und Steinzeitforschung/ International Yearbook for Ice Age and Stone Age Research, Band 59.
2013
W. Müller, B.V. Eriksen, D. Richter, M. Street & G.-C. Weniger (eds), Quartär. Internationales Jahrbuch zur Eiszeitalter- und Steinzeitforschung/ International Yearbook for Ice Age and Stone Age Research, Band 60.
2014
W. Müller, B.V. Eriksen, D. Richter, M. Street & G.-C. Weniger (eds), Quartär. Internationales Jahrbuch zur Eiszeitalter- und Steinzeitforschung/ International Yearbook for Ice Age and Stone Age Research, Band 61.
2015
C.J. Frieman & B.V. Eriksen (eds), Flint Daggers in Prehistoric Europe. Oxbow Books. Oxford.
W. Müller, S. Costamagno, B.V. Eriksen, T. Hauck, Z. Mester, L. Moreau, D. Richter, I. Schmidt, M. Street, E. Turner & G.-C. Weniger (eds), Quartär. Internationales Jahrbuch zur Eiszeitalter- und Steinzeitforschung/ International Yearbook for Ice Age and Stone Age Research, Band 62.
2016
W. Müller, S. Costamagno, B.V. Eriksen, T. Hauck, Z. Mester, L. Moreau, P. Nigst, A. Pastoors, D. Richter, I. Schmidt, M. Street & E. Turner (eds), Quartär. Internationales Jahrbuch zur Eiszeitalter- und Steinzeitforschung/ International Yearbook for Ice Age and Stone Age Research, Band 63.
2017
B.V. Eriksen, A. Abegg-Wigg, R. Bleile & U. Ickerodt (eds), Interaktion ohne Grenzen. Beispiele archäologischer Forschungen am Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts – Interaction without borders. Exemplary archaeological research at the beginning of the 21st century, Vol. 1–2 (Schleswig).
2018
J.H. Bech, B.V. Eriksen & K. Kristiansen (eds), Bronze Age Settlement and Land-Use in Thy, Northwest Denmark, Vol. I–II. Jutland Archaeological Society Publications Vol. 102. Højbjerg.
2019
B.V. Eriksen, E. Rensink & S.K. Harris (eds), The Final Palaeolithic of Northern Eurasia. Proceedings of the Amersfoort, Schleswig and Burgos UISPP Commission Meetings. Schriften des Museums für Archäologie Schloss Gottorf, Ergänzungsreihe Band 13. Schleswig.
1986
B.V. Eriksen, The pursuit of upper Palaeolithic social structures. Kontaktstencil nr. 28-29. Aarhus, pp. 70–79.
1988
B.V. Eriksen, Kontinuitet og forandring fra palæolitikum til mesolitikum i Europa – overvejelser omkring et projekt. In: T. Madsen (ed), Bag Moesgårds maske. Aarhus Universitetsforlag. Aarhus, pp. 15–19.
1990
B.V. Eriksen, Multivariabel bebyggelsesarkæologi. En undersøgelse af for¬historiske jæger-samler bopladsers topografiske placering ved hjælp af den multivariable korrespondens-analyse. In: C.U. Larsen (ed), Arkæologi, Statistik og EDB. Arkæologiske skrifter 4. København, pp. 81–114.
B.V. Eriksen, Cultural change or stability in prehistoric hunter-gatherer societies. A case study from the late Palaeolithic – early Mesolithic in southwestern Germany. In: P.M. Vermeersch & P. Van Peer (eds), Contributions to the Mesolithic in Europe. Studia Praehistorica Belgica 5. Leuven, pp. 193–202.
1991
B.V. Eriksen, Den naturmæssige baggrund for den senglaciale Bromme bosættelse i Sydskandinavien. LAG 2. Aarhus, pp. 5–29.
1996
B.V. Eriksen, Regional variation in late Pleistocene subsistence strategies. Southern Scandinavian reindeer hunters in a European context. In: L. Larsson (ed), The earliest settlement of Scandinavia. Acta Archaeologica Lundensia, Series in 8°, No. 24. Stockholm, pp. 7–21.
B.V. Eriksen, The Pleistocene-Holocene transition in Europe. In: L.G. Straus, B.V. Eriksen, J.M. Erlandson & D.R. Yesner (eds), Humans at the End of the Ice Age: The Archaeology of the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition. Plenum Press, Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. New York, pp. 79–81.
B.V. Eriksen, Resource exploitation, subsistence strategies and adaptiveness in late Pleistocene – early Holocene northwestern Europe. In: L.G. Straus, B.V. Eriksen, J.M. Erlandson & D.R. Yesner (eds), Humans at the End of the Ice Age: The Archaeology of the Pleistocene-Holocene Transition. Plenum Press, Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. New York, pp. 101–128.
B.V. Eriksen, Diskussionsbeitrag zum Spätpaläolithikum Mitteleuropas – Apologie einer urgeschichtlichen Quellenkritik. In: I. Campen, J. Hahn & M. Uerpmann (eds), H. Müller-Beck Festschrift: Spuren der Jagd – Die Jagd nach Spuren. Tübinger Monographien zur Urgeschichte 11. Tübingen, pp. 285–289.
1997
B.V. Eriksen, Settlement patterns, cave sites and locational decisions in late Pleistocene Central Europe. In: C. Bonsall & C. Tolan-Smith (eds), The Human Use of Caves. British Archaeological Reports S667, Archaeopress. Oxford, pp. 38–49.
B.V. Eriksen, Implications of thermal pretreatment of chert in the German Mesolithic. In: R. Schild & Z. Sulgostowska (eds), Man and Flint. Proceedings of the VIIth International Flint Symposium. Warsaw, pp. 325–329.
1999
B.V. Eriksen, Late Palaeolithic Settlement in Denmark – how do we read the record? In: M. Kobusiewicz & J.K. Kozłowski (eds), Post-pleniglacial re-colonisation of the great European lowland. Folia Quaternaria 70. Kraków, pp. 157–173.
B.V. Eriksen, Varmebehandling af flint – et eksperimentalarkæologisk studie. In: O. Høiris et al. (eds), Menneskelivets mangfoldighed. Arkæologisk og antropologisk forskning på Moesgård. Aarhus Universitet & Moesgård Museum. Højbjerg, pp. 185–192.
2000
B.V. Eriksen, Kapitel 1: Indledning; Kapitel 3: Grundlæggende flintteknologi; Kapitel 6: “Chaîne opératoire” – den operative proces og kunsten at tænke som en flinthugger; Kapitel 14: “Squeezing blood from stones” – flintoldsagernes vidnesbyrd om social struktur, subsistens¬økonomi og mobilitet i ældre stenalder. In: B.V. Eriksen (ed), FLINTSTUDIER – en håndbog i systematiske analyser af flintinventarer. Aarhus Universitetsforlag. Aarhus, pp. 9–16, pp. 37–50, pp. 75–100, pp. 231–274.
B.V. Eriksen, Les derniers temps du Paléolithique : l’homme et l’environnement au Tardiglaciaire en Allemagne du sud-ouest et au nord-ouest de la Suisse. In: B. Valentin, P. Bodu & M. Christensen (eds), L’Europe centrale et septentrionale au Tardiglaciaire. Actes de la Table-Ronde internationale de Nemours, 13-16 mai 1997. Mémoires du Musée de Préhistoire d’Ile de France n°7. Paris, pp. 223–238.
B.V. Eriksen, Patterns of Ethnogeographic Variability in Late Pleistocene Northwestern Europe. In: G. Larsen Peterkin & H.A. Price (eds), Regional Approaches to Adaptation in Late Pleistocene Western Europe. BAR International Series 896, British Archaeological Reports. Oxford, pp. 147–168.
2001
B.V. Eriksen, Universitetets rolle og muligheder i ældre stenalders forskning. In: O. Lass Jensen, S.A. Sørensen & K. Møller Hansen (eds), Danmarks Jægerstenalder – status og perspektiver. Hørsholm Egns Museum. Hørsholm, pp. 195–207.
2002
B.V. Eriksen, Die Rolle der deutschen Paläolithforschung in der internationalen Diskussion. Archäologisches Nachrichtenblatt, pp. 51–54.
B.V. Eriksen, Reconsidering the geochronological framework of Lateglacial hunter-gatherer colonization of southern Scandinavia. In: B.V. Eriksen & B. Bratlund (eds), Recent studies in the Final Palaeolithic of the European plain. Jutland Archaeological Society Publications Vol. 39. Højbjerg, pp. 25–41.
B.V. Eriksen, Fossil mollusks and exotic raw materials in late glacial and early postglacial find contexts – a complement to lithic studies. In: L.E. Fisher & B.V. Eriksen (eds), Lithic raw material economy in late glacial and early postglacial western Europe. British Archaeological Reports S1093. Oxford, pp. 27–52.
2003
B.V. Eriksen, Territoriality and Regionalization – Introduction. In: L. Larsson et al. (eds), Mesolithic on the Move. Papers presented at the Sixth International Conference on the Mesolithic in Europe, Stockholm 2000. Oxbow Books. Oxford, pp. 281–282.
B.V. Eriksen, Europe, Central: Archaeological Caves. Entry in: Encyclopedia of Cave and Karst Science. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers (Taylor & Francis). London, pp. 333–336.
2006
B.V. Eriksen, Stenalderstudier – fortid, nutid og fremtid for den tidligt mesolitiske arkæologi. In: B.V. Eriksen (ed), Stenalderstudier. Tidligt mesolitiske jægere og samlere i Sydskandinavien. Jutland Archaeological Society Publications Vol. 55. Højbjerg, pp. 9–18.
B.V. Eriksen, Colourful Lithics – the “Chaîne Opératoire” of Heat Treated Chert Artefacts in the Early Mesolithic of Southwest Germany. In: C.J. Kind (ed), After the Ice Age. Settlements, subsistence and social development in the Mesolithic of Central Europe. Konrad Theiss Verlag. Stuttgart, pp. 147–153.
2007
B.V. Eriksen, Travelling craftsmen in Early Bronze Age Denmark – addressing the evidence of leftover lithics. In: B. Hårdh, K. Jennbert & D. Olausson (eds), On the Road. Studies in honour of Lars Larsson. Acta Archaeologica Lundensia, Series in 4°, No. 26. Lund, pp. 253–258.
M. Winther Olesen & B.V. Eriksen, Krogstrup ved Snejbjerg. En bronzealderboplads med flintværktøj. Midtjyske fortællinger 2007, Herning Museum. Herning, pp. 77–92.
2008
B.V. Eriksen, Dynamic technological analysis of Bronze Age lithics. A tribute to an unconventional archaeologist. In: Z. Sulgostowska & A.J. Tomaszewski (eds), Man – Millennia – Environment. Studies in honour of Romuald Schild. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences. Warsaw, pp. 301–306.
2009
B.V. Eriksen, Mobilität als Überlebensstrategie. Unterwegs im Südwesten. In: S. Rau, D. Naumann & M. Barth (eds), Eiszeit – Kunst und Kultur. Begleitband zur Grossen Landesausstellung: Eiszeit – Kunst und Kultur im Kunstgebäude. Thorbecke Verlag. Stuttgart, pp. 131–133.
2010
B.V. Eriksen, Flint working in the Danish Bronze Age – the decline and fall of a master craft. In: B.V. Eriksen (ed): Lithic technology in metal using societies. Jutland Archaeological Society Publications Vol. 67. Højbjerg, pp. 81–93.
2011
B.V. Eriksen, Schwanengesang über das Steinhandwerk – Meister und die, die es nicht können – Die frühmetallzeitliche Steintechnologie Dänemarks. Archäologische Nachrichten aus Schleswig-Holstein, Heft 17, pp. 7–9.
2013
B.V. Eriksen, Looking for Facts … Still Missing the Boats! Norwegian Archaeological Review, 46:1, pp. 92–94.
M. Sørensen, T. Rankama, J. Kankaanpää, K. Knutsson, H. Knutsson, S. Melvold, B.V. Eriksen & H. Glørstad, The First Eastern Migrations of People and Knowledge into Scandinavia: Evidence from Studies of Mesolithic Technology, 9th-8th Millennium BC. Norwegian Archaeological Review, 46:1, pp. 19–56.
2014
J. Meadows, B.V. Eriksen, I. Zagorska, A. Dreves & J. Simpson, Dating Late Palaeolithic harpoons from Lake Lubans, Latvia. Radiocarbon, 56 (2), pp. 581–589.
2015
C.J. Frieman & B.V. Eriksen, Introduction. Flint Daggers: A Historical, Typological and Methodological primer. In: C.J. Frieman & B.V. Eriksen (eds) Flint Daggers in Prehistoric Europe. Oxbow Books. Oxford, pp. 1–9.
2016
B.V. Eriksen & H.C.H. Andersen, Hammelev. An Early Mesolithic cremation grave from Southern Jutland, Denmark. In: J. Grünberg et al. (eds), Mesolithic Burials – Rites, symbols and social organization of early postglacial communities. Tagungen des Landesmuseums für Vorgeschichte Halle, Band 13/1, pp. 73–80.
2017
J.P. Brozio, W. Dörfler, B.V. Eriksen, S.B. Grimm, D. Groß, S. Hartz, W. Kirleis, J. Kneisel, H. Lübke, J. Meadows, J. Müller & U. Schmölcke, TransformationsDimensionen – Wildbeuter, Bodenbauer und frühe Metallurgen im Fokus. Sonderforschungsbereich 1266: ein neues Großprojekt der Universität Kiel. Archäologische Nachrichten aus Schleswig-Holstein, Heft 22, 2016, pp. 18–21.
2018
B.V. Eriksen, Bronze Age flint-working at Bjerre, Thy. In: J.H. Bech, B.V. Eriksen & K. Kristiansen (eds), Bronze Age Settlement and Land-Use in Thy, Northwest Denmark, Vol. II. Jutland Archaeological Society Publications Vol. 102. Højbjerg, pp. 281–347.
2019
M.N. Haidle & B.V. Eriksen, Obituary: Hansjürgen Müller-Beck (13 August 1927–2 August 2018). Journal of Anthropological Research 75, no. 1, Spring 2019, pp. 1–5.
W. Hamer, D. Knitter, S.B. Grimm, B. Serbe, B.V. Eriksen, O. Nakoinz & R. Duttmann, Location modelling of Final Palaeolithic sites in Northern Germany. Geosciences 9, 430, 2019, pp. 1–14. (https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/10/430/htm)
I. Zagorska, B.V. Eriksen, J. Meadows & V. Zelčs, Late Palaeolithic settlement of Latvia confirmed by radiocarbon dating of bone and antler artefacts. In: B.V. Eriksen, E. Rensink & S.K. Harris (eds), The Final Palaeolithic of Northern Eurasia. Proceedings of the Amersfoort, Schleswig and Burgos UISPP Commission Meetings. Schriften des Museums für Archäologie Schloss Gottorf, Ergänzungsreihe Band 13. Schleswig, pp. 343–362.
2020
E. Corradini, B.V. Eriksen, M.F. Mortensen, M.K. Nielsen, M. Thorwart, S. Krüger, D. Wilken, N. Pickartz, D. Panning & W. Rabbel, Investigating lake sediments and peat deposits with geophysical methods – a case study from a kettle hole at the Late Palaeolithic site of Tyrsted, Denmark. Quaternary International 558, 2020, pp. 89-106. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2020.08.008)
2021
É. David & B.V. Eriksen, Antler Tool’s Biography Shortens Time Frame of Lyngby-axes to the Last Stage of the Late Glacial. In: S. Gaudzinski-Windheuser, O. Jöris (eds.), The Beef behind all possible pasts. The tandem-Festschrift in honour of Elaine Turner and Martin Street. Monographien des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums 157, 2 (Mainz 2021), pp. 639-656. (https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.950.c12583)
S.B. Grimm, B.V. Eriksen, S. Krüger, T. Reuter, M. Wild & M.-J. Weber, Late Glacial occupation of northern Germany and adjacent areas. Revisiting the archives. In: S. Gaudzinski-Windheuser, O. Jöris (eds.), The Beef behind all possible pasts. The tandem-Festschrift in honour of Elaine Turner and Martin Street. Monographien des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums 157, 2 (Mainz 2021), pp. 433-457. (https://doi.org/10.11588/propylaeum.950.c12572)
2022
T. Earle, A.-L. Haack Olsen, B.V. Eriksen, P.S. Henriksen & I.K. Kristensen, Everyday Life at Bjerre Site 7, a Late Bronze Age House in Thy, Denmark. European Journal of Archaeology, 25/3, 2022, pp. 372-395. (https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2021.63)
M. Wild, M.F. Mortensen, N.H. Andreasen, P. Borup, C. Casati, B.V. Eriksen, L. Frost, K.M. Gregersen, M.B. Henriksen, M. Kanstrup, J. Olsen, K.B. Pedersen, P.V. Petersen, C. Ramskov, L. Sørensen, M. Sørensen & S. Wåhlin, Palaeolithic bone and antler artefacts from Lateglacial and Early Holocene Denmark: technology and dating. Quartär 67, 2020, pp. 105-180. (https://doi.org/10.7485/qu.2020.67.88925)
1999
B.V. Eriksen, Book review: Michael A. Jochim: A Hunter-Gatherer Landscape. Southwest Germany in the Late Paleolithic and Mesolithic. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Plenum Press. New York 1998. Journal of Danish Archaeology 13, 1996–97, pp. 191-193.
2004
B.V. Eriksen, Book review: Axel Degn Johansson: Stoksbjerg Vest. Et senpalæolitisk fundkompleks ved Porsmose, Sydsjælland. Fra Bromme- til Ahrensburgkultur i Norden. København 2003. Kuml 2004, pp. 335–337.
2007
B.V. Eriksen, Book review: Carl Zimmer: Hvor stammer vi fra? En guide til den nyeste viden om menneskets oprindelse. København, Gads Forlag 2006. Jørn Madsen: Livets udvikling. 4 milliarder års evolutionshistorie A-Å. København, Gyldendal 2006. Kuml 2007, pp. 342–343.
2008
B.V. Eriksen, Book review: Anders Högberg & Deborah Olausson: Scandinavian Flint – an Archaeological Perspective. Aarhus University Press 2007. Kuml 2008, pp. 316–318.
2009
B.V. Eriksen, Book review: U.A. Schurmans & M. De Bie (eds): Fitting Rocks: Lithic Refitting Examined. PaleoAnthropology 2009, pp. 139–141.