Home / Editorial Team / Sandee Oster
Sandee Oster

Sandee Oster

Author

Sandee is an archaeology PhD candidate at the University of the Witwatersrand, where my research focuses on the relationship between humans and animals throughout history, particularly during the 8.2k event in South Africa. As a science writer for Science X since 2024 and an archaeology blogger on Medium, I transform complex archaeological concepts into engaging narratives that captivate broad audiences. With extensive field experience across South Africa and published research, I am committed

Articles by Sandee Oster

Phys.org / 8.2 ka event triggered social transformation, not destruction, at China's Jiahu site

In a recent study, Dr. Yunchen Tan and colleagues examined the response of the North China Plain settlement of Jiahu to the abrupt climatic 8.2 ka event. They found that Jiahu not only survived but also demonstrated remarkable ...

Dec 16, 2025
Phys.org / Ear piercings marked one of the earliest Maya rites of passage, research shows

In a recent study, Ph.D. candidate Yasmine Flynn-Arajdal studied iconographic representations of children in the Classic (ca. 250–950 AD) and Post-classic (ca. 950–1539 AD) imagery, as well as in ethnohistoric and ethnographic ...

Dec 11, 2025
Phys.org / First Andean trophy head with cleft lip/palate identified from southern Peru

In a recent study, Dr. Beth Scaffidi analyzed the images of a unique trophy head from southern Peru. The study diagnosed the individual as having had a cleft lip/palate (CLP), making him the first case of an Andean trophy ...

Dec 8, 2025
Phys.org / DNA confirms modern Bo people are descendants of ancient Hanging Coffin culture

In a recent study, researcher Dr. Hui Zhou and his colleagues conducted a genetic analysis of the genomes of individuals associated with the ancient Hanging Coffin tradition in Southeast and Southern Asia. In addition, they ...

Dec 6, 2025
Phys.org / First evidence of lost-wax casting for silver in Bronze Age Western Europe uncovered

In a recent study, Dr. Linda Boutoille uncovered the first evidence of lost-wax casting of silver objects in Bronze Age Iberia and, to date, Western Europe. Published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, the study examines ...

Dec 3, 2025
Phys.org / Archaeologists discover solitary grave from ancient Kingdom of Kerma in remote Bayuda Desert

Dr. Monika Badura and her colleagues have published a study analyzing an isolated burial found in the Bayuda Desert in the journal Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa. The discovery, made at site BP937 in Sudan, has ...

Nov 28, 2025
Phys.org / Newly identified fossil fish from England's Jurassic Coast reveals insights into an extinct group

In a study by Dr. Martin Ebert and Dr. Steve Etches published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, the osteology and systematic position of a new species of fossil fish, Brachyichthys manselii comb. nov. was ...

Nov 25, 2025
Phys.org / Richest Iron Age burial assemblage in Southern Levant discovered at Horvat Tevet

A recent study by Dr. Omer Peleg and his colleagues examined the unique 7th-century BCE (Iron IIC) cremation burial assemblage discovered at Horvat Tevet. The assemblage is the richest and most diverse burial assemblage found ...

Nov 20, 2025
Phys.org / Decapitated fossil fish with guts still intact reveal ancient predatory habits

In a study appearing in Fossil Record, researchers Martin Ebert and Martina Kölbl-Ebert analyzed the remains of a unique fossil type: the decapitated head of Aspidorhynchus, with its gastrointestinal tract (guts) still attached. ...

Nov 19, 2025
Phys.org / Ancient condors thrived on Peru's northern coast before retreating to the highlands, study reveals

In a recent study, Dr. Weronika Tomczyk and her colleagues conducted a zooarchaeological and isotopic study of ancient Andean condor bones from an archaeological site Castillo de Huarmey, providing the first and earliest ...

Nov 14, 2025
Phys.org / Qu-based brewing in Bronze Age China: Pottery residue offers insights into Mogou mortuary rituals

In a study by Dr. Yinzhi Cui and his colleagues published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, the contents of 42 pottery vessels from the Bronze Age site of Mogou were analyzed.

Nov 13, 2025
Phys.org / Rapa Nui's catastrophic deforestation: Invasive rats, not just humans, may be to blame

Dr. Terry Hunt from the University of Arizona and Dr. Carl Lipo from the University of Birmingham have published a study in the Journal of Archaeological Sciences, reassessing the role of Polynesian rats (Rattus exulans) ...

Nov 6, 2025
Phys.org / Archaeologists examine evidence for Indigenous long-distance voyaging below 50°S

In a study published in the Journal of Coastal and Island Archaeology, Dr. Thomas Leppard and his colleagues, John Cherry and Atholl Anderson, evaluate the evidence for pre-European long-distance voyages below the 50th parallel ...

Nov 6, 2025
Phys.org / Numismatic analysis incorporates legal frameworks to trace illegally traded Carthaginian coins

In a study published in the journal Libyan Studies, Professor Håkon Roland and Dr. Paolo Visonà examined the 2022 case dealing with the seizure of 30 Punic bronze coins by Norwegian authorities.

Oct 30, 2025
Phys.org / DNA study reveals origins, migrations and genetic legacy of 'forgotten' Sarmatians

In a recent study, Dr. Oszkár Schütz and his colleagues analyzed 156 ancient genomes from the Sarmatian period, spanning the 1st to 5th centuries CE. The aim of the study was to clarify the origins and genetic relationships ...

Oct 29, 2025