29.07.2026

Reconstructing the perfumes of the past

Archaeochemist Barbara Huber wins Branco Weiss Fellowship for new methods to analyze remains of ancient aromatic plants

Dr. Barbara Huber of the Institute for Archaeological Sciences at the University of Tübingen has been awarded a Branco Weiss Fellowship by the foundation of the same name at ETH Zurich. The award will fund her research into detecting and reconstructing scents from the past, such as spices, incense, medicinal plants and cosmetics, using molecular methods. Huber plans to develop new methods for identifying these fragrances and then apply them to selected archaeological samples. The analysis of aromas makes it possible to better understand previously hidden aspects of daily life in past societies. Huber’s project, “MetAPlant – Metabolomics of Ancient Aromatic Plants: Reconstructing Ancient Scents and Sensory Practices Across Artefacts, Bodies, and Built Environments,” will receive 600,000 Swiss francs over five years; it begins on January 1, 2027.

Fragrances played an important role in past societies, for example, in food, medicine, personal hygiene, and in key rituals. From an archaeological perspective, practices associated with fragrances are particularly difficult to document, since smells are fleeting and aromatic plants were usually subject to processes such as burning and mixing, and they subsequently rotted away. To develop new methods for detecting such residues, Barbara Huber analyzes small molecules called metabolites that may be preserved in the decomposition products left over from plant materials or mixtures of plant materials used in the past and found in artifacts, bones, organic residues, and sediments. Huber seeks to determine which molecules remain stable over long periods of time, which processes cause them to be altered or degraded, and which archaeological materials offer the best conditions for preserving them. By identifying the original plant compounds as well as typical transformation and degradation products through the analysis of metabolites, Huber aims to establish a new methodological foundation for detecting aromatic plants in archaeological finds - a groundbreaking new approach in archaeometabolomics.

The new methods should make it possible to effectively analyze archives of plant residues in archaeology that have received little attention to date. Barbara Huber will apply these methods to selected archaeological artifacts in case studies. Her work on the “MetAPlant” project, is expected to bring new insights into how aromatic plants were processed, consumed, and otherwise used in past societies, and what that use reveals about medicine, rituals, diet, trade, personal hygiene, perfumery, and cultural memory. Another part of her project will seek to develop scientifically accurate reproductions of ancient perfumes for research and education purposes, for instance in museums.

The Branco Weiss Fellowships, awarded internationally, go to outstanding early-career researchers seeking to develop innovative approaches in research. Each fellowship is endowed with up to 600,000 Swiss francs and supports a novel project over five years. The fellowships are awarded annually to a maximum of ten researchers.

Text: Tina Schäfer/Public Relations Department
Translation: Amanda Crain

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