Caitlin Sommer
Biographic Data
| ID | 236790 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Caitlin Sommer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Caitlin |
| FAMILY NAME | Sommer |
| SIGNATURE | SOMMER C |
| AFFILIATIONS | Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9062-0876 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 15 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 64 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 15 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Testing the limits of archaeological datasets
Decoding hunter-gatherer-knowledge and selective choice of lithic raw materials during the Middle and Later Stone Age in Eswatini
The Jojosi Dongas
Hunter-gatherer groups conduct most of their activities in open landscapes as they provide drinking water, food, and raw materials, and offer spaces for social gatherings. The remains left behind at such sites allow for unique archaeological insights into the spatial patterning of prehistoric behaviour. The Stone Age record in southern Africa remains best-known from sheltered sites. A paucity of stratified open-air localities precludes understand…
The Aggregation of Road Data in the Ariadne Pipeline
In this article we describe an online database about human evolution, called the ROCEEH Out of Africa Database (ROAD), and discuss our experience in aggregating Palaeolithic data from ROAD in the ARIADNE data processing pipeline. As of April 2023, ROAD contains more than 2400 localities in Africa and Eurasia dating between three million and 20,000 years ago. The database is transdisciplinary by nature and includes cultural artefacts, human and an…
The use of prehistoric ‘big data’ for mapping early human cultural networks
The archaeological record is one piece of the puzzle in understanding the evolution of humans, helping to trace the cultural connections between different species and their technologies, as well as their expansion in time and space. Here we demonstrate a method for mapping the boundaries, centers, and peripheries of ancient cultures, as well as the technological similarities between different cultures. The proposed workflow includes: a systematic…
The Emergence of Habitual Ochre Use in Africa and its Significance for The Development of Ritual Behavior During The Middle Stone Age
Over the last two decades, red ochre has played a pivotal role in discussions about the cognitive and cultural evolution of early modern humans during the African Middle Stone Age. Given the importance of ochre for the scholarly debate about the emergence of ‘behavioral modernity’, the lack of long-term spatio-temporal analyses spanning large geographical areas represents a significant gap in knowledge. Here we take a continent-wide approach, rat…
The final MSA of eastern South Africa
The end of the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa, often called the final MSA (∼40–28 ka), represents one of the most understudied technocomplexes in this part of the world. Researchers have often focused on earlier time periods associated with Marine Isotope Stage 4 or have emphasised the transition between the Middle and the Later Stone Age. Thus, the final MSA has been poorly understood and, at least in KwaZulu-Natal, only a few chrono-cultur…
Geomorphology of the upper Mkhomazi River basin, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, with emphasis on late Pleistocene colluvial deposits
We present a 1:50 000 scale geomorphological map of the upper Mkhomazi River basin, located in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The sub-horizontal strata of the Permo-Triassic Beaufort Group forms plateau interfluves with a concave valley slope morphology. Locally, thick sequences of late Pleistocene colluvial deposits and associated buried paleosols (Masotcheni Formation) infill first-order trib…
Human Origins—Digital Future, an international conference about the future of archeological and paleoanthropological databases
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study. FIGURE S1 Mind-map drawn using the collaboration platform NextCloud showing the results of all five conference sessions: Databases, Methods, Applications, Products and Perspectives, each in a different color Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any qu…
Geomorphological processes, forms and features in the surroundings of the Melka Kunture Palaeolithic site, Ethiopia
The landscape of the surroundings of the Melka Kunture prehistoric site, Upper Awash Basin, Ethiopia, were studied intensively in the last decades. Nonetheless, the area was mainly characterized under a stratigraphic/geological and archaeological point of view. However, a detailed geomorphological map is still lacking. Hence, in this study, we identify, map and visualize geomorphological forms and processes. The morphology of the forms, as well a…
Théologie politique de l'être
International audience
Demographic and Social Dimensions of the Neolithic Revolution in Southwest Colorado
Domesticated food production is widely acknowledged as a crucial innovation that led to significant transformations in human demography and social organization. Here, we address demographic and social dimensions of the Neolithic Revolution in the Mesa Verde region of Southwest Colorado. We first propose a new method of dating habitations to one of two phases of the Basketmaker III period (AD 600-725) using relative frequencies of vessel forms in …
Les métaphores de l'humain
Métaphysique du vivant
Le sujet sans subjectivité. Après le « tournant théologique » de la phénoménologie française
En marge de la controverse, suscitée dans les années 1990 par l’hypothèse d’un « tournant théologique » de la phénoménologie française, nous interrogeons sous un autre angle ce « tournant », en nous concentrant sur la doctrine du sujet comme « adonné » chez J.-L. Marion, qui se déploie entre Husserl et Heidegger, dans une perspective « postmétaphysique » susceptible de décrire les phénomènes de l’« autrement qu’être ». Si le « tournant théologiqu…
The Emergence of Habitual Ochre Use in Africa and its Significance for The Development of Ritual Behavior During The Middle Stone Age
Over the last two decades, red ochre has played a pivotal role in discussions about the cognitive and cultural evolution of early modern humans during the African Middle Stone Age. Given the importance of ochre for the scholarly debate about the emergence of ‘behavioral modernity’, the lack of long-term spatio-temporal analyses spanning large geographical areas represents a significant gap in knowledge. Here we take a continent-wide approach, rat…
The final MSA of eastern South Africa
The end of the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa, often called the final MSA (∼40–28 ka), represents one of the most understudied technocomplexes in this part of the world. Researchers have often focused on earlier time periods associated with Marine Isotope Stage 4 or have emphasised the transition between the Middle and the Later Stone Age. Thus, the final MSA has been poorly understood and, at least in KwaZulu-Natal, only a few chrono-cultur…
Demographic and Social Dimensions of the Neolithic Revolution in Southwest Colorado
Domesticated food production is widely acknowledged as a crucial innovation that led to significant transformations in human demography and social organization. Here, we address demographic and social dimensions of the Neolithic Revolution in the Mesa Verde region of Southwest Colorado. We first propose a new method of dating habitations to one of two phases of the Basketmaker III period (AD 600-725) using relative frequencies of vessel forms in …
The Jojosi Dongas
Hunter-gatherer groups conduct most of their activities in open landscapes as they provide drinking water, food, and raw materials, and offer spaces for social gatherings. The remains left behind at such sites allow for unique archaeological insights into the spatial patterning of prehistoric behaviour. The Stone Age record in southern Africa remains best-known from sheltered sites. A paucity of stratified open-air localities precludes understand…
The Aggregation of Road Data in the Ariadne Pipeline
In this article we describe an online database about human evolution, called the ROCEEH Out of Africa Database (ROAD), and discuss our experience in aggregating Palaeolithic data from ROAD in the ARIADNE data processing pipeline. As of April 2023, ROAD contains more than 2400 localities in Africa and Eurasia dating between three million and 20,000 years ago. The database is transdisciplinary by nature and includes cultural artefacts, human and an…
Métaphysique du vivant
The use of prehistoric ‘big data’ for mapping early human cultural networks
The archaeological record is one piece of the puzzle in understanding the evolution of humans, helping to trace the cultural connections between different species and their technologies, as well as their expansion in time and space. Here we demonstrate a method for mapping the boundaries, centers, and peripheries of ancient cultures, as well as the technological similarities between different cultures. The proposed workflow includes: a systematic…
Les métaphores de l'humain
Le sujet sans subjectivité. Après le « tournant théologique » de la phénoménologie française
En marge de la controverse, suscitée dans les années 1990 par l’hypothèse d’un « tournant théologique » de la phénoménologie française, nous interrogeons sous un autre angle ce « tournant », en nous concentrant sur la doctrine du sujet comme « adonné » chez J.-L. Marion, qui se déploie entre Husserl et Heidegger, dans une perspective « postmétaphysique » susceptible de décrire les phénomènes de l’« autrement qu’être ». Si le « tournant théologiqu…
Métaphysique du vivant
Les métaphores de l'humain
Demographic and Social Dimensions of the Neolithic Revolution in Southwest Colorado
Domesticated food production is widely acknowledged as a crucial innovation that led to significant transformations in human demography and social organization. Here, we address demographic and social dimensions of the Neolithic Revolution in the Mesa Verde region of Southwest Colorado. We first propose a new method of dating habitations to one of two phases of the Basketmaker III period (AD 600-725) using relative frequencies of vessel forms in …
Geomorphological processes, forms and features in the surroundings of the Melka Kunture Palaeolithic site, Ethiopia
The landscape of the surroundings of the Melka Kunture prehistoric site, Upper Awash Basin, Ethiopia, were studied intensively in the last decades. Nonetheless, the area was mainly characterized under a stratigraphic/geological and archaeological point of view. However, a detailed geomorphological map is still lacking. Hence, in this study, we identify, map and visualize geomorphological forms and processes. The morphology of the forms, as well a…
Théologie politique de l'être
International audience
Human Origins—Digital Future, an international conference about the future of archeological and paleoanthropological databases
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study. FIGURE S1 Mind-map drawn using the collaboration platform NextCloud showing the results of all five conference sessions: Databases, Methods, Applications, Products and Perspectives, each in a different color Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any qu…
Geomorphology of the upper Mkhomazi River basin, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, with emphasis on late Pleistocene colluvial deposits
We present a 1:50 000 scale geomorphological map of the upper Mkhomazi River basin, located in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. The sub-horizontal strata of the Permo-Triassic Beaufort Group forms plateau interfluves with a concave valley slope morphology. Locally, thick sequences of late Pleistocene colluvial deposits and associated buried paleosols (Masotcheni Formation) infill first-order trib…
The use of prehistoric ‘big data’ for mapping early human cultural networks
The archaeological record is one piece of the puzzle in understanding the evolution of humans, helping to trace the cultural connections between different species and their technologies, as well as their expansion in time and space. Here we demonstrate a method for mapping the boundaries, centers, and peripheries of ancient cultures, as well as the technological similarities between different cultures. The proposed workflow includes: a systematic…
The Emergence of Habitual Ochre Use in Africa and its Significance for The Development of Ritual Behavior During The Middle Stone Age
Over the last two decades, red ochre has played a pivotal role in discussions about the cognitive and cultural evolution of early modern humans during the African Middle Stone Age. Given the importance of ochre for the scholarly debate about the emergence of ‘behavioral modernity’, the lack of long-term spatio-temporal analyses spanning large geographical areas represents a significant gap in knowledge. Here we take a continent-wide approach, rat…
The final MSA of eastern South Africa
The end of the Middle Stone Age in southern Africa, often called the final MSA (∼40–28 ka), represents one of the most understudied technocomplexes in this part of the world. Researchers have often focused on earlier time periods associated with Marine Isotope Stage 4 or have emphasised the transition between the Middle and the Later Stone Age. Thus, the final MSA has been poorly understood and, at least in KwaZulu-Natal, only a few chrono-cultur…
The Aggregation of Road Data in the Ariadne Pipeline
In this article we describe an online database about human evolution, called the ROCEEH Out of Africa Database (ROAD), and discuss our experience in aggregating Palaeolithic data from ROAD in the ARIADNE data processing pipeline. As of April 2023, ROAD contains more than 2400 localities in Africa and Eurasia dating between three million and 20,000 years ago. The database is transdisciplinary by nature and includes cultural artefacts, human and an…
The Jojosi Dongas
Hunter-gatherer groups conduct most of their activities in open landscapes as they provide drinking water, food, and raw materials, and offer spaces for social gatherings. The remains left behind at such sites allow for unique archaeological insights into the spatial patterning of prehistoric behaviour. The Stone Age record in southern Africa remains best-known from sheltered sites. A paucity of stratified open-air localities precludes understand…
Decoding hunter-gatherer-knowledge and selective choice of lithic raw materials during the Middle and Later Stone Age in Eswatini
Testing the limits of archaeological datasets
Geography (10 works) · Archaeology (8 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (7 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (4 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · History (4 works) · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies (3 works) · Data science (3 works) · Database (3 works) · Geology (3 works)