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Ricardo Eichmann is an archaeologist who worked as a professor at the University of Tübingen. From 1996 to 2020, Eichmann served as the director of the Orient Department, which is located within the German Archaeological Institute. Over the years, he has played an important role in the field of music archaeology.
German businessman Heinrich Schliemann didn’t let his poverty or lack of education hinder his growth and learned several languages moving from place to place for trade. A pioneer in the field of archaeology, he is now remembered as the man who discovered Troy in his bid to unearth “Priam's Treasure."
German art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann is often referred to as the father of modern archaeology. Born to a cobbler, he studied Greek, theology, and even medicine. He later specialized in Greek and Neoclassical art and had a prominent influence on Western painting, sculpture, and literature.
Celebrated German-born Peruvian mathematician, archaeologist, linguist, and astronomer Maria Reiche is remembered for her pioneering research on the Nazca lines. Nicknamed the Lady of the Lines, she was initially a governess and teacher in Peru. She later also became a founding-member of the non-profit organization South American Explorers.
One of the pioneers of Hellenic studies, German scholar Karl Otfried Müller began his academic career at the University of Göttingen. While he initially taught art history and archaeology, he later explored Greek art and myths and their relationship with culture and history. He died of a fever during an expedition in Greece.
Carl Humann, one of the 19th century self-made archaeologists who never studied archaeology nor did any advanced degree in the field, rose to prominence after he discovered the Pergamon Altar that is counted among the finest examples of Hellenistic sculpture. His excavation of the ancient Greek city of Pergamum also brought to light much about Hellenistic city planning.
German archaeologist Konrad Spindler is best-known as the first examiner and researcher of the glacier-mummy Ötzi. He held several academic-positions including as full-professor at the Institute for Prehistory and Early History and Medieval and Modern Archaeology at the University of Innsbruck. While serving at University of Innsbruck, he examined Ötzi and became the first to date and classify it almost-correctly.
