Dr. Barbara Huber

My current research focuses on the biomolecular analysis of ancient organic residues, with a particular interest in the use of aromatic, medicinal, and psychoactive plants as well as foods in the ancient world. I apply metabolomics and lipid analysis to a range of archaeological materials — from burned incense and medicinal substances to preserved embalming balms and sediment samples.

I have worked on case studies across the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, including the use of psychoactive and medicinal plants in ancient Arabia, the molecular reconstruction of embalming materials from ancient Egypt, and the study of incense-related practices. These projects aim to uncover how biomolecular traces can illuminate past trade, ritual, healing practices, and olfactory heritage.

A key focus of my work is the role of scent and substance in conveying meaning in both daily life and ceremonial contexts. To bring these findings beyond the laboratory, I collaborate with museums — for example, in a recent project with the Moesgaard Museum in Denmark, we recreated ancient scents based on biomolecular evidence, allowing visitors to engage with the past through smell. My goal is to bridge archaeological science with public engagement through multisensory storytelling.

Academic Positions

04/2025-ongoing: Postdoctoral researcher

• Bonn Center for ArchaeoSciences (BoCAS), Institut für Archäologie und Kulturanthropologie, Bonn Universität, Germany
• Project: ANR GEPRICO: Gallic, Etruscan and Phocaean rites of commensality with Maxime Rageot: Investigation of organic products used in rites of commensality

02/2024 – 02/2025: Postdoctoral researcher

• Centre de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement (CEREGE), Aix-en-Provence, France
• SALTO Research Fellowship of Max Planck Society & CNRS

Education

02/2024: Dr. rer. nat. in Archaeological Science and Human Evolution

• Institute of Archaeological Science, University of Tübingen, Germany
• Dissertation: Globalizing scents: investigating the trade and use of aromatic plants in the past using biomolecular approaches

09/2019 – 02/2024: PhD Student in Archaeological Science and Human Evolution

• Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, Jena and University of Tübingen 
• Recipient of the Add-on Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Life Sciences by the Joachim Herz Foundation

04/2023: Visiting PhD student

• Cardiff University, School of Chemistry

2015 – 2018: MA in Archaeology of the Ancient Near East            

• Freie Universität Berlin

2012 –2015: BA in Ancient Studies          

• Freie Universität Berlin

2025      Huber, B., Luciani, M., Abualhassan, A. M., Giddings Vassao, D., Fernandes, R., Devièse, T. Metabolic profiling reveals first evidence of fumigating drug plant Peganum harmala in Iron Age Arabia. Communication Biology, 8, 720

2025      Kaiser, E., Gak, E., Antipina, E., Gerling, C., Huber, B., Ivashov, M., Lebedeva, E., Öğüt, B., & Eger, J. A forest-steppe landscape and the settlement Ksizovo-1 in the Don region during the Middle Bronze Age. Documenta Praehistorica, 52, 2-28.

2024      Peters, C., K.K. Richter, S. Wilkin, S. Stark, B. Mir-Makhamad, R. Fernandes, F. Maksudov, M. Sirojidin, R. Husniddin, S. Schirmer, K. Ashastina, A. Bergmatov, M. Frachetti, T. Hermes, F. Kidd, X. Zhou, A. Omelchenko, B. Huber, N. Boivin, S. Wang, P. Lurje, M. von Baeyer, R. Dal Martello, and R.N. Spengler III. Archaeological and molecular evidence for ancient chickens in Central Asia. Nature Communications 15, 2697

2023      Huber, B., Hammann, S., Loeben, C. E., Jha, D. K., Vassão, D. G., Larsen, T., Spengler, R. N., Fuller, D. Q., Roberts, P., Devièse, T., Boivin, N. Biomolecular characterization of 3500-year-old ancient Egyptian mummification balms from the Valley of the Kings, Scientific Reports 13, 12477

2023      Dal Martello, R., Von Baeyer, M., Hudson, M., Bjorn, R.G., Leipe, C., Zach, B., Mir-Makhamad, B., Billings, T.N., Fernández, I., Huber, B., …. Kistler, L., Spengler, R.N. The Domestication and Dispersal of Large-Fruiting Prunus spp.: A Metadata Analysis of Archaeobotanical Material. Agronomy 13(4), 1027.

2022      Huber, B., Vassão, D.G., Roberts, P., Wang, Y.V., Larsen, T. Chemical Modification of Biomarkers through Accelerated Degradation: Implications for Ancient Plant Identification in Archaeo-Organic Residues. Molecules, 27, 3331.

2022      Huber, B., Larsen, T., Spengler, R. N., Boivin, N. How to use modern science to reconstruct ancient scent. Nature Human Behaviour 6, 611–614.

2020      Huber, B. Incense Burners at the Ancient Oasis of Tayma, Northwest Arabia: An Olfactory Perspective. Polish Archaeology in the Mediterranean 29/1, 276-294.