Brina Zagorc is a bioarchaeologist and her research areas include studying relationships between and within past societies, and she is especially interested in the field of bioarchaeology of children, population migrations throughout our history, and lifeways in the past. She is researching the above using different methods, such as ancient DNA and paleogenomics, human osteology, stable isotopes, etc.
Brina Zagorc, PhD is a bioarchaeologist specialising in the analysis of human remains in archaeological contexts, using an interdisciplinary approach that integrates archaeogenetics, osteology, paleopathology, and dietary stable isotope analysis. She obtained her PhD in Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Vienna, where she worked in the ancient DNA laboratory. Her research focuses on integrating biological and cultural aspects of burial practices in Antiquity and the Middle Ages.
She has contributed to several international projects, including the ERCs and Harvard Medical School-led “Ancient DNA Atlas of Humanity”, and is the author and co-author of numerous scientific publications, some published in leading journals. Her experience includes work in highly specialised aDNA laboratories, as well as fieldwork and science communication. She is the Vice-President of the HeriSci association and an active member of the European bioarchaeological community.
As a postdoctoral researcher at IAPŠ, she is involved in the ERC project STONE, where she studies skeletal remains from burials beneath stećci tombstones in Herzegovina.
Education
2016 – BA in Archaeology (University Programme), University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Department of Archaeology
2019 – MA in Archaeology, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts, Department of Archaeology
2025 – PhD in Biology, University of Vienna, Faculty of Life Sciences, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology
- ZAGORC, Brina, BLANZ, Magdalena, GELABERT, Pere, SAWYER, Susanna, OBERREITER, Victoria, CHERONET, Olivia, CARIĆ, Mario, VISKOVIĆ, Eduard, OLALDE, Iñigo, NOVAK, Mario, et al. Bioarchaeological perspectives on Late Antiquity in Dalmatia : paleogenetic, dietary, and population studies of the Hvar - Radošević burial site. Archaeological and anthropological sciences. [Online ed.]. 2024, vol. 16, article no. 150, str. 1-16, ilustr. ISSN 1866-9565. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-024-02050-0#citeas, DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-02050-0.
- ZAGORC, Brina. Starodavna DNA : kratka predstavitev tematike ter njen pomen za razumevanje preteklosti. Arheo : arheološka obvestila. 2022, 39, str. 43-68, ilustr. ISSN 0351-5958. https://www.arheologija.si/files/2023/02/Arheo_39_tisk_ok.pdf,
- NOVAK, Mario, ZAGORC, Brina, CARIĆ, Mario. Primjena naprednih analitičkih metoda u (bio)arheologiji : primjer iz Nuštra = The use of advanced analytical methods in (bio)archaeology : an example from Nuštar. V: RAPAN PAPEŠA, Anita. Vitice, lavovi i grifoni : avarodobni ratnici iz Nuštra = Tendrils, lions and griffins : ancient warriors from Nuštar. Vinkovci: Gradski muzej Vinkovci, 2024. Str. 473-483, ilustr. Avaria Musei Cibalensis, 1. ISBN 978-953-7008-57-4.
- CARIĆ, Mario, ZAGORC, Brina, LOŽNJAK DIZDAR, Daria, RAPAN PAPEŠA, Anita, RIMPF, Andrea, ČAVKA, Mislav, JANKOVIĆ, Ivor, NOVAK, Mario. Bioarheologija kasnoavarske populacije iz nalazišta Šarengrad - Klopare : preliminarni rezultati = Bioarchaeology of the Late Avar population from Šarengrad - Klopare : preliminary results. Prilozi Instituta za arheologiju u Zagrebu. 2019, vol. 36, str. 161-180, ilustr. ISSN 1330-0644. https://doi.org/10.33254/piaz.36.7
- OBERREITER, Victoria, GELABERT, Pere, BRÜCK, Florian, FRANZ, Stefan, ZELGER, Evelyn, SZEDLACSEK, Sophie, CHERONET, Olivia, TENORIO CANO, Fernanda, EXLER, Florian, KARAVANIĆ, Ivor, ZAGORC, Brina, et al. Maximizing efficiency in sedimentary ancient DNA analysis: a novel extract pooling approach. Scientific reports. 2024, 14, article no. 19388, 12 str., ilustr., graf. prikazi. ISSN 2045-2322. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-69741-5, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-69741-5.
- TEJERO, José-Miguel, CHERONET, Olivia, GELABERT, Pere, ZAGORC, Brina, ÁLVAREZ-FERNÁNDEZ, Esteban, ARIAS, Pablo, AVERBOUH, Aline, BAR-OZ, Guy, BARZILAI, Omry, BELFER-COHEN, Anna, et al. Cervidae antlers exploited to manufacture prehistoric tools and hunting implements as a reliable source of ancient DNA. Heliyon. 2024, vol. 10, issue 11, [article no.] e31858, 17 str., ilustr., graf. prikazi. ISSN 2405-8440. https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(24)07889-7?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2405844024078897%3Fshowall%3Dtrue, DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e31858.
- GELABERT, Pere, BICKLE, Penny, HOFMANN, Daniela, TESCHLER-NICOLA, Maria, ANDERS, Alexandra, OLALDE, Iñigo, CHERONET, Olivia, CANDILIO, Francesca, ZAGORC, Brina, NOVAK, Mario, et al. Social and genetic diversity in first farmers of central Europe. Nature human behaviour. Jan. 2025, vol. 9, str. 53-64, [7] str. pril., ilustr., zvd., graf. prikazi. ISSN 2397-3374. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02034-z, DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-02034-z. [COBISS.SI-ID 217260291]
- "Unde venis?" Unravelling the enigma of the stećci tombstones (May 1, 2024 - April 30, 2029)