Dr Magdalena Blanz

Research Profile

Current Project: Amino acid isotope ratios to explore past plant consumption.

Education:

PhD in Archaeological Science, Orkney Archaeology Institute, UHI

Master’s Degree in Chemistry, University of Aberdeen, First Class Honours

Previous Positions:

Postdoctoral Researcher, Austrian Archaeological institute and University of Vienna

Relief Lecturer, Orkney Archaeology Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands

Publications
Selected Publications

Blanz, M., Gröcke, D.R., Martin, P., Church, M.J., 2024. The effect of seaweed fertilisation on sulfur isotope ratios (δ34S) and grain size in barley: implications for agronomy and archaeological research. Front. Environ. Archaeol. 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fearc.2024.1465082

Zagorc, B., Blanz, M., Sawyer, S., Gelabert, P., Oberreiter, V., Cheronet, O., Chen, H.S., Carić, M., Viskovic, E., Olalde, I., Ivanova-Bieg, M., Novak, M., Reich, D., Pinhasi, R., 2024. Bioarchaeological Perspectives on Late Antiquity in Dalmatia: Paleogenetic, Dietary, and Population Studies of the Hvar - Radošević burial site. Archaeol. Anthropol. Sci. 16, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-02050-0

Blanz, M., Balasse, M., Frémondeau, D., Gál, E., Osztás, A., Biller, A.Z., Nyerges, É.Á., Fiorillo, D., Bánffy, E., Ivanova, M., 2023. Early Neolithic pastoral land use at Alsónyék-Bátaszék, Hungary (Starčevo culture): New insights from stable isotope ratios. PLoS One 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295769

Blanz, M., Balasse, M., Card, N., Ascough, P., Fiorillo, D., Taggart, M.A., Feldmann, J., Mainland, I., 2022a. Life, Death and Teeth of Late Neolithic Sheep and Red Deer Excavated at Ness of Brodgar, Orkney Islands (UK). Environ. Archaeol. 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/14614103.2022.2146320

Blanz, M., Stewart, S., Mainland, I., Ascough, P., Raab, A., Feldmann, J., Taggart, M.A., 2022b. Trace element ratios in tooth enamel as palaeodietary indicators of seaweed consumption and coastal grazing, and their broader applicability. J. Archaeol. Sci. 139, 105551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2022.105551

Lancaster, S.T., Peniche, G., Alzahrani, A., Blanz, M., Newton, J., Taggart, M.A., Corns, W.T., Krupp, E.M., Feldmann, J., 2022. Mercury speciation in Scottish raptors reveals high proportions of inorganic mercury in Scottish golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos): Potential occurrence of mercury selenide nanoparticles. Sci. Total Environ. 154557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154557

Blanz, M., Mainland, I., Richards, M., Balasse, M., Ascough, P., Wolfhagen, J., Taggart, M.A., Feldmann, J., 2020. Identifying seaweed consumption by sheep using isotope analysis of their bones and teeth: Modern reference δ13C and δ15N values and their archaeological implications. J. Archaeol. Sci. 118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2020.105140

Brown, L.K., Blanz, M., Wishart, J., Dieterich, B., Schmidt, S.B., Russell, J., Martin, P., George, T.S., 2020. Is Bere barley specifically adapted to fertilisation with seaweed as a nutrient source? Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosystems 118, 149–163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-020-10090-w

Mainland, I., Blanz, M., Ayres, J., Webster, C., 2020. Cattle and other animals: Human-animal relationships at the Ness of Brodgar, in: Card, N., Edmonds, M., Mitchell, A. (Eds.), The Ness of Brodgar: As It Stands. The Orcadian, Kirkwall, pp. 266–277.

Blanz, M., Ascough, P., Mainland, I., Martin, P., Taggart, M.A., Dieterich, B., Wishart, J., Sayle, K.L., Raab, A., Feldmann, J., 2019. Seaweed fertilisation impacts the chemical and isotopic composition of barley: Implications for analyses of archaeological skeletal remains. J. Archaeol. Sci. 104, 34–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2019.02.003

Retzmann, A., Blanz, M., Zitek, A., Irrgeher, J., Feldmann, J., Teschler-Nicola, M., Prohaska, T., 2019. A combined chemical imaging approach using (MC) LA-ICP-MS and NIR-HSI to evaluate the diagenetic status of bone material for Sr isotope analysis. Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 411, 565–580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-1489-5

Blanz, M., Britton, K., Grant, K., Feldmann, J., 2018. Potential dietary, non-metabolic accumulation of arsenic (As) in seaweed-eating sheep’s teeth: Implications for archaeological studies. J. Archaeol. Sci. 94, 21–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2018.03.008

Drünert, F., Blanz, M., Pollok, K., Pan, Z., Wondraczek, L., Möncke, D., 2018. Copper-based opaque red glasses – Understanding the colouring mechanism of copper nanoparticles in archaeological glass samples. Opt. Mater. (Amst). 76, 375–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2017.12.054