Klaus Oeggl

Klaus Oeggl (born 1955 in Innsbruck) is an Austrian botanist, and deals with palaeoecology and archaeobotany. He is well known for his studies on the life-circumstances and on the environment of the Neolithic glacier mummy „Ötzi“.
Life.
Klaus Oeggl studied biology and Earth sciences at the University of Innsbruck, where he graduated in 1981. In 1987 he obtained his doctorate in botany. Between 1982 and 1983 Klaus Oeggl taught at secondary schools. In 1983 he changed to Innsbruck University, where he started as lector at the Institute of Botany first. Then followed employments as university assistant of Sigmar Bortenschlager at this institute. In 1997 he became associate professor. Since 2011 he holds a professorship of palynology and archaeobotany and leads the research group of the same name at the Institute of Botany. In the context of his teaching activities he was guest lecturer at the University of Bergen, guest professor at the Suranaree University of Technology in Thailand and at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.
Scientific contribution.
Oeggl is engaged in the interaction between man and plants in the past. His studies range from the dispersal of crops, the diet and agriculture of prehistoric men, the reconstruction of the vegetation and environment in the surroundings of prehistoric settlements to the emergence of the recent cultural landscape in the Alps. In his work Oeggl pursues a multi- and interdisciplinary research approach with archaeological and scientific disciplines, because the genesis of cultural landscapes and the development of the recent vegetation cover is subject to multifactorial abiotic and biotic processes. His preferred applied methods are pollen analyses, plant macro-remain analysis and geochemistry providing the basis for hypothesis-tests and model-validation. He is known for his studies on the life-circumstances of the Neolithic Iceman „Ötzi“. More recently he scrutinized the paleoecological and socio-economic impact of ancient mining in the Alps in the research center HiMAT of Innsbruck University. Oeggl expedited his studies in 45 research projects supported by the EU, Austrian Science Foundation, museums and communities.