Corvinus’ work gained professional recognition prior to her murder that took place in her home in Pune, India, on 7 January 2006.
Musgnug has donated many items and works with the Sharma Centre for Heritage Education in India to keep the legacy of Gudrun Corvinus alive.
She studied geology, vertebrate paleontology and Palaeolithic archaeology at the University of Bonn, and completed her doctoral dissertation on Jurassic Ammonites from France.
[1] After marrying a man from Pune, Corvinus became interested in the geology and prehistory of India, which became the main focus of her research associated with Deccan College.
Corvinus was the first person responsible for discovering Paleolithic sites there that turned out to be among the oldest archaeological evidence in the world, which few are aware of.
[8] After being funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (the German Research Council), she decided to excavate the site, which lasted 3 winter seasons from 1966–1969.
The lengthy excavation resulted in the revelation of rich Early Archeulian assemblage in fine-grained context in the gullies of Chirki area.
Besides this, a great number of well-preserved fossil wood pieces, faunal specimens, and tree trunks were found in the alluvium.
[1] In 1985, following her work at Chirki-on-Neval (India), Gudrun Corvinus began explorations in the foothills of Siwalik Hills of Western Nepal.
In the span of twelve years (1988-2006), she was rewarded with findings and discoveries of numerous Paleolithic sites and rich faunal and floral assemblages ranging from the Miocene to the Pleistocene.
[1] The discovery of an unexpected wealth of occupation sites from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic were found in the Dun Valleys of Dang-Deokhuri District in the Siwalik Hills, and an area along the Rato River in East Nepal.
[10] Iqlaque Fakir Mohammed Shaikh, a 27-year-old real estate agent, was arrested within seven hours after Corvinus’ decapitated body was found.