Bente Philippsen
About
I studied physics and archaeology in Heidelberg (Germany) and Aarhus (Denmark). After I finished my PhD in 2012, I have had several post doc and other short-term positions as physicist and/or archaeologist at research institutions and museums, centering around radiocarbon dating and other methods for scientific archaeology.
Research
I am the leader of the National Laboratory for Age Determination, where we develop and apply AMS radiocarbon dating, dendrochronology and stable isotope analyses.
My research focuses on radiocarbon dating and stable isotope analyses. I apply those methods to answer questions from archaeology, history and ecology.
Absolute dating methods such as radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology can put events, people and developments on the timeline of history, even though they might be invisible in written sources. With absolute dates, we can compare historical and events and developments with environemental changes to study causes and effects. We can compare the histories of different regions, even though they didn't have a tradition for historiography.
I combine radiocarbon and dendro-dates with contextual information in Bayesian age models to increase dating precision. The contextual information includes archaeological information such as site stratigraphy or artefact typology as well as historical dates or family relations reconstructed by aDNA analysis.
By studying the carbon cycle of the past, I try to unravel the complex relationships between humans, animals, and the environment. I work at enhancing our understanding of human-environment interactions, subsistence strategies, ancient dietary habits and cuisines.
For studies of the present carbon cycle, we use radiocarbon dating and d13C analysis to determine the proportions of fossil vs. biogenic carbon in various fuels, to monitor the effects of carbon capture in nature restoration or with technological methods, or to study the growth of plants and diet of animals.
Publications
Single-year radiocarbon dating anchors Viking Age trade cycles in time
Holocene shorelevel changes, southern Lolland and the Femern Belt, Denmark
Reconsidering the Pitted Ware chronology: A temporal fixation of the Scandinavian Neolithic hunters, fishers and gatherers
Approaches to determine reservoir effects in elk/moose
δ13C values of wood and charcoal reveal broad isotopic ranges at the base of the food web
Eight New Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene AMS Dates from the Southeastern Baltic
2023
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Philippsen, Bente.
(2023)
Dating the arrival of humans in the Americas: A debate about the age of ancient footprints continues.
Science
Short communication
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Philippsen, Bente.
(2023)
Changing diet in a changing world.
Sidestone Press
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper
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Lucquin, Alexandre;
Robson, Harry K.;
Oras, Ester;
Lundy, Jasmine;
Moretti, Giulia;
González Carretero, Lara.
(2023)
The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Academic article
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Klassen, Lutz;
Rasmussen, Uffe;
Kveiborg, Jakob;
Richards, Michael;
Orlando, Ludovic;
Svenning, Jens-Christian.
(2023)
Ginnerup Revisited. New Excavations at a Key Neolithic Site on Djursland, Denmark.
Journal of Neolithic Archaeology
Academic article
Journal publications
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Philippsen, Bente.
(2023)
Dating the arrival of humans in the Americas: A debate about the age of ancient footprints continues.
Science
Short communication
-
Lucquin, Alexandre;
Robson, Harry K.;
Oras, Ester;
Lundy, Jasmine;
Moretti, Giulia;
González Carretero, Lara.
(2023)
The impact of farming on prehistoric culinary practices throughout Northern Europe.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Academic article
-
Klassen, Lutz;
Rasmussen, Uffe;
Kveiborg, Jakob;
Richards, Michael;
Orlando, Ludovic;
Svenning, Jens-Christian.
(2023)
Ginnerup Revisited. New Excavations at a Key Neolithic Site on Djursland, Denmark.
Journal of Neolithic Archaeology
Academic article
Part of book/report
-
Philippsen, Bente.
(2023)
Changing diet in a changing world.
Sidestone Press
Academic chapter/article/Conference paper