Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters

Tobias Skowronek

Dr. rer. nat. Tobias Skowronek is a researcher focused on the provenance of inorganic archaeological materials, with an expertise spanning metals, soapstone, and pigments across various historical epochs. He has earned international acclaim for his investigations into the global metal trade of the late medieval and early modern periods, where his analytical approach has been instrumental in reframing historical narratives of the Atlantic trade. By bridging the gap between material science and history, Skowronek provides new evidence-based perspectives on the complex movement of goods and resources during these transformative centuries.

The profound societal relevance of his work has been highlighted by his high-profile research on the famous Benin Bronzes, a project funded by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung (2022–2025) that has drawn significant global interest. Most recently (2026), his findings regarding Akan gold have made headlines worldwide, further establishing his role in the international discourse on cultural heritage and colonial trade routes. Through these projects, Skowronek continues to challenge long-held assumptions, providing the scientific foundation necessary for a deeper understanding of our shared global history.

Beruflicher Werdegang

Since 2023Associated Researcher at the Global Heritage Lab of the University of Bonn
2022-2025Principal investigator: Fritz Thyssen Projekt „Slave Trade and Industrialization“ Technische Hochschule Georg Agricola, Bochum
2021-2022Raw material trader, Thyssen Krupp Materials Trading, Essen
2018-2021Research fellow, Deutsches Bergbau-Museum, Bochum

Akademische Abschlüsse

2021PhD. Geosciences (Institue of Geosciences, Bochum)
2018MA Economic and Raw Material Archaeology and Prehistory (Institute of archaeological studies, Bochum)
2016BA Archaeological Sciences (Institute of archaeological studies, Bochum)

Forschung

Forschungsprojekte

2019-2022Global Metal Trade in the 16th Century: From Europe to Africa and India Fritz Thyssen Stiftung (PhD. Project).
2022-2025Slave Trade and Industrialization, Fritz Thyssen Stiftung 
2023-2023Mining, metals, and manillas in the atlantic slave trade (University of Bonn)
2024-2025Applicability of Samarium-Neodymium isotopy for provenancing Viking age steatite (Leibniz: ReForm project)

Forschungsschwerpunkte

Medieval and Early Modern Global Metal Trade

Soapstone trading patterns during the Viking Age

Pigment analysis in the Late Bronze Age

Publikationen

Publikationsliste

  • Skowronek, TB, Weber, K. Rhenish Benin Bronzes: Trading and Manufacturing Networks of Textiles and Brass during the Transatlantic Slave Trade (2026). In: Jarzebowski, C., Lehner, E. (Hrsg.): Belonging, Materials, Dependency. Perspectives from Early Modern History. Berlin: DeGruyter.
  • Skowronek, TB et al. Pirate gold provides new insights into West African trade using pXRF and SEM EDS analysis (2026). In: npj Heritage Science. DOI: 10.1038/s40494-026-02441-7.
  • Skowronek, TB. Echos aus Benin – Die Produktion von Metallwaren für den atlantischen Handel im Stolberger Raum (2026). In: Stolberg und Kelmis: Ein Erz schreibt Geschichte. ISBN: 978-3-00-086052-2.
  • Skowronek, TB. Echoes from Benin: The unrecognized profits of the German heavy metal industry from the transatlantic slave trade – a provocation (2025). In: Atlantic Studies, 22(1), 152–158. DOI: 10.1080/14788810.2025.2452546.
  • Kvalø, F., Pohl, M., Wammer, E. U., Brorsson, T., Skowronek, T., & Storemyr, P. (2025). The Selør Tile Wreck: A Late Medieval Cargo Ship near the South Cape of Norway. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 54(2), 382–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572414.2025.2506097
  • Vink, H. & Skowronek, TB. Lost on their way to Africa: on the provenance of brass rod ingots produced for eighteenth-century AD slave trade found on shipwreck Paal 27.1 on the island Terschelling, The Netherlands (2024). In: Ilves, K. et al. (Hrsg.): Delivering the Deep, Maritime archaeology for the 21st century. DOI: 10.30861/9781407361475.
  • Skowronek, TB & Chmielowski, R. Geochemical constraints on the provenance of Viking Age soapstone finds from Ribe, Denmark (2024). In: By, marsk og geest - Kulturhistorisk tidsskrift for Sydvestjylland, 36 (1), 4-21. DOI: 10.7146/bmg.v36i1.151577.
  • Segschneider, M. & Skowronek, TB. Die Helgoländer Kupfer-Reißscheiben und ihre historische Bedeutung (2024). In: Archäologische Nachrichten Schleswig Holstein (1), 108-113. DOI: 10.5771/0942-9107.
  • von Arbin, S., Smith, K. D. & Skowronek, TB. The Marstrand Cannon: The earliest evidence of shipboard artillery in Europe? (2023). In: The Mariner's Mirror, 109:3, 260-282. DOI: 10.1080/00253359.2023.2225311.
  • Skowronek, TB, DeCorse, CR, Denk, R, Birr, SD, Kingsley, S, Cook, GD, et al. German brass for Benin Bronzes: Geochemical analysis insights into the early Atlantic trade (2023). In: PLoS ONE 18(4): e0283415. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283415.
  • von Arbin, S., Skowronek, T., Daly, A., Brorsson, T., Isaksson, S. & Seir, T. Tracing Trade Routes: Examining the Cargoes of the 15th Century Skaftö Wreck (2022). In: International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 51:1, 112–44. DOI: 10.1080/10572414.2022.2076518.
  • Skowronek, T., Hauptmann, A., Segschneider, M., Auer, J., von Arbin, S., Maass, A., Pappot, A., Maarleveld, T. & Brink, N. Reißscheiben from Shipwrecks as an Indicator for Copper Qualities Produced in the Major Middle and North European Mining Districts... (2021). In: Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 39. DOI: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2021.103155.
  • Segschneider, M. & Skowronek, TB. Die Herkunft der Helgoländer Kupfer-Reißscheiben und die Bedeutung der Insel Helgoland als Rohstoffquelle in der Stein- und Bronzezeit (2021). In: Siedlungs- und Küstenforschung im südlichen Nordseegebiet, 44, 25-36.
  • Skowronek, TB. Geochemische Charakterisierung von Buntmetallbarren und Halbfabrikaten der Frühneuzeit zur Beantwortung historischer Fragestellungen (2021). (Dissertation).
  • Skowronek, T., Hauptmann, A. & von Rüden, C. Using spinel chemistry to characterise archaeological steatite found in the wall paintings of Tell el-Dab´a, Egypt (2020). In: Journal of Archaeological Science 117, 105137. DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2020.105137.
  • Von Rueden, C. & Skowronek, T. Between Common Craft Tradition and Deviation. The Making of Stucco Reliefs in the Eastern Mediterranean (2018). In: Becker, J. et al. (Hrsg.): Tracing Technoscapes (Leiden: Sidestone), 213-231.
  • Skowronek, T., Courcier, A. & Stöllner, T. The ritual interplay: Gold mining practice in the late 4th and early 3rd millenium BC (2017). In: Eriksen, B.V. et al. (Hrsg.): Interaktion ohne Grenzen, Festschrift für C. von Carnap, 119 – 136.