Matthias Blessing

Adress:

Abteilung Ältere Urgeschichte und Quartärökologie
Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters
Eberhard-Karls Universität Tübingen
Burgsteige 11, Schloss Hohentübingen
D-72070 Tübingen

Research Project

Research on microliths was for a long time mainly associated with the Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic of Europe and the Near East. Over the past three decades it became obvious that microlithic technologies have been developed in various areas all over the world. Sometimes there appear to be two or even more techno-complexes that carry microliths in the same area, but at different times. One of these regions is South Africa where we can find microlithic technology during the Howiesons Poort (or even earlier), but evidence for microliths in later MSA seems to be scarce before they reappear in the Later Stone Age Robberg complex. Based on the literature the (re-)appearances of microlithic technologies at different times seem to be a phenomenon of convergent evolution. In the case of South Africa this is a highly problematic conclusion, because especially the later MSA and the MSA/LSA transition are not very well defined in terms of lithic technology and typology – even more so when it comes to the microlithic components within the technological systems. With the rich sequences of Umbeli Belli Rockshelter and Sibudu Cave (both KwaZulu-Natal), where the former comprises layers from both the LSA and MSA and the latter forming one of the most detailed stratigraphy for the MSA after the Howiesons Poort, my projects focuses on microlithic artefacts from both sites, in order to answer the question whether or not microlithic technology in the MSA and LSA of eastern South Africa is a convergent phenomenon. My thesis will use a detailed lithic analysis approach of microliths from MSA and LSA layers of Umbeli Belli and Sibudu. It aims to contribute to a better understanding and definition of the changes within the lithic technological systems of post-Howiesons Poort MSA and MSA/LSA transition and the underlying cultural mechanisms of these changes.

Education and Employments

2019 September - 2020 May	University of Connecticut/Universität Tübingen Visiting Research Scholar an der University of Connecticut, Anthropology Department im Rahmen des TüConn-Austauschprogramms für Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden Referenz: Prof. Nicholas J. Conard, Prof. Daniel Adle
Since 2019	University of Tübingen Doctoral student at the Department of Quarternary Ecology and Early Prehistory Supervisors: Prof. Nicholas Conard, Prof. Michael Bolus
2018	University of Tübingen Master of Arts at the Department of Quarternary Ecology and Early Prehistory. Thesis: Zwischen den Welten? - Ein mesolithisches Silexinventar vom Fundplatz Reichwalde (Ldkr. Görlitz, Sachsen) im Kontext des mitteleuropäischen Mesolithikums. Supervisors: Prof. Nicholas Conard, Prof. Michael Bolus
2015	University of Leipzig Bachelor of Arts at the Department of Classical Archaeology and the Historic Seminar. Thesis: Mikrolithen und Risikomanagement im Früh- und Spätmesolithikum Nord- und Süddeutschlands. Supervisors: Prof. Ulrich Veit, Dr. Thomas Weber
2015 May – 2015 July	DFG-Project Eythra (University of Leipzig/Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony) Student assistant in sub-project of GIS based spatial analysis Project management: Prof. Ulrich Veit, Dr. Harald Stäuble
2014October– 2015 February	University of Leipzig Student assistant and tutor for statistics
2014 May - December 2014	DFG-Project Eythra (University of Leipzig/Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony) Student assistant in sub-project of GIS based spatial analysis Project management: Prof. Ulrich Veit, Dr. Harald Stäuble
2012 April – 2013 July	DFG-Project Eythra (University of Leipzig/Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony) Student assistant in sub-project of GIS based spatial analysis

Excavations and fieldworks:

February 2019 - April 2019	University of Tübingen Excavation at Sibudu and Umbeli Belli Project management: Prof. Nicholas Conard, Dr. Manuel Will, Dr. Gregor Bader
2018 May - 2018 December	Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony Excavation NT-07 (lignite mines Reichwalde and Nochten) Project management: Dr. Wolfgang Ender, Matthias Blessing
2018 February - 2018 April	University of Tübingen Excavation at Sibudu Project management: Prof. Nicholas J. Conard
2017 October	University of Tübingen Excavation at Unteres Feld/Entringen Project management: PD Dr. Raiko Krauß
2017 August - 2017 September	Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony Excavation NT-07 (lignite mines Reichwalde and Nochten) Project management: Dr. Wolfgang Ender, Matthias Blessing
2017 March - 2017 April	Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony Excavation NT-07 (lignite mines Reichwalde and Nochten) Project management: Dr. Wolfgang Ender, Matthias Blessing
2016 March - 2016 October	Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony Excavation NT-07 (lignite mines Reichwalde and Nochten) Project management: Dr. Wolfgang Ender, Matthias Blessing
2015 August - 2015 October	Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony Sachsen Excavation NT-06 (lignite mines Reichwalde and Nochten) Project management: Dr. Wolfgang Ender, Dr. Carmen Liebermann
2015 March - 2015 April	Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony Excavation NT-06 (lignite mines Reichwalde and Nochten) Project management: Dr. Wolfgang Ender, Dr. Carmen Liebermann
2014 September - 2014 October	Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony Excavation NT-06 (lignite mines Reichwalde and Nochten) Project management: Dr. Wolfgang Ender, Dr. Carmen Liebermann
2014 September - 2014 October	Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony Excavation GRZ-75 Project management: Dr. Harald Stäuble, Dirk Blaschta M.A.
2013 September - 2014 February	Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony Excavation RTH-52 Project management: Dr. Harald Stäuble, Anne Homann M.A.
2013 August - 2013 September	University of Leipzig Supervisor in Fieldschool Project management: Prof. Ulrich Veit, Jörg Frase M.A.
2013 March - 2013 July	Archaeological Heritage Office Saxony Excavation EUL-07 Project management: Dr. Harald Stäuble, Dr. Vera Hubensack
2012 September - 2012October	University of Leipzig Field School Project management: Prof. Ulrich Veit, Jörg Frase M.A.

Posters and presentations

Palaeolithic Mesolithic Conference in London (25-26 October 2018)	In between the worlds? - Getting started with research on the Upper Lusatian Mesolithic (Saxony, Germany).
UISPP XVIII World Congress in Paris (4-9 June 2018)	Lost in Sand - The Upper Lusatian Mesolithic at the open-air site Reichwalde 6/4.
59th Annual Meeting of the Hugo Obermaier Society in Aurich (18-22 April 2017)	Into the wild - The Mesolithic in the remote region of Upper Lusatia.
Tage der Landesarchäologie Sachsen in Dresden (4-5 November 2016)	HAS-99 - Eine mesolithische Großfundstelle aus dem Tagebauvorfed Reichwalde (Ldkr. Görlitz, Sachsen).
24th Annual Meeting of the AG Mesolithikum in Rotenburg a.d. Wümme (19-22 March 2015)	M. Blessing, Mikrolithen und Risikomanagement im Frühmesolithikum Nord- und Süddeutschlands.

Publicationen

2019 in prep.	M. Blessing, WW-17 - Die älteste mesolithische Besiedlung aus dem Tagebaugebiet Reichwalde Nochten. Arbeits- und Forschungsberichte der sächsischen Bodendenkmalpflege 59/60 (2017/2018).
2019	P. Schmidt, M. Blessing, M. Rageot, Radu Iovita, J. Pﬂeging, K. G. Nickel, L. Righetti, C. Tennie. Birch tar production does not prove Neanderthal behavioral complexity. PNAS 116/36, 17707 - 17711.
2018	A. Renno & M. Blessing, Geoarchäologische Untersuchungen um den Koppenteich im Hammerstädter Teichgebiet (Tagebauvorfeld Reichwalde). Archäologie in Sachsen 6. Arbeits- und Forschungsberichte der sächsischen Bodendenkmalpflege, Beiheft 33, 7-15.
2016	M. Blessing, Mikrolithen und Risikomanagement im Frühmesolithikum Nord- und Süddeutschland. In: Neue Forschungen zum Mesolithikum. Archäologische Berichte des Landkreises Rotenburg (Wümme) 20, 7-36.
[2016] 2013	M. Blessing, Risiko - Eine mögliche Ursache für Veränderungen innerhalb frühmesolithischer Mikrolithinventare. Ethnographisch-Archäologische Zeitschrift 54, 29- 48.