Welcome to Durham UniversityDepartment of Archaeology
Academic community in Durham One of the largest Archaeology Departments in Europe Excellent facilities (library, laboratories) ~75 undergrad students per year, 80 taught
postgraduates,110 research postgraduates. 28 full-time members of academic staff, 15 post-
doctoral researchers, 10 admin and technical support staff, 20 staff in commercial unit.
Chemistry, Physics, Biology
Anthropology
GeographyAncient History
Classics
History
ARCHAEOLOGY
Research groups Prehistory of Eurasia Landscapes of Complex Society Ritual, Religion, Belief and Place The Archaeology of Northern England Bioarchaeology
Bioarchaeology Research Group
Rebecca Gowland (Convenor) Mike Church Gary King Greger Larson Andrew Millard Janet Montgomery Charlotte Roberts Peter Rowley-Conwy
Key Themes
Diet, domestication and the origins of agriculture
Diasporas and migration Origins and evolutionary
history of disease Environmental change and
chronologies Society and identity
Plant remains
Insect/parasite remains
Animal bonesIntegrating
Social theory
Human bones
DNA Analysi
s
Isotopic Analysis
Morphometrics
Excavation
Statistical modelling
MaterialsMethods
Biomolecules
Diet, Domestication and Origins of Farming
We want to know the timing and geography of animal domestication. We combine the time depth of
archaeology and the resolution of DNA and geometric morphometric analyses to gain unprecedented insights into the past and the origins of modern civilization.
We also use domestic animals as proxies to understand the trajectories along which people migrated.
From hunter-gatherer niche construction to the origins and spread of agriculture
Spread of farming
Identificationof domesticates
Future work involves dismantling the evidence for: Mesolithic ‘cereal pollen’ in Europe and the Islamic revolution in cereal cultivation
Hunter-gatherers are not just passive recipients of nature’s bounty
Diet, Domestication and Origins of Farming
High-resolution isotope analysis of early Neolithic human dentine from Shetland
Reconstructs diet at sub-annual scales Shows sporadic consumption of
marine resources by some individuals Some children were eating marine
resources just prior to death suggesting they were consumed at times of crop failure and crisis
Diet, Domestication and Origins of Farming
Montgomery et al. in press Antiquity
Investigating ancient diets at the Mesolithic- Neolithic transition
• Testing hypothesis based on historical data for mobility• Isotope analysis• Over 50% of 100 are non-local; all ages and both sexes • Britain, Scandinavia, S Mediterranean, North Africa• Stature/health indicators differ between locals/non-locals • No differences in burial practices• American J Physical Anthropology in press
Diasporas and MigrationBamburgh Bowl Howl (7th-8th C)
Archaeological validation of early
colonisation events suggested by
palaeoecological records in the North
Atlantic
A methodology
for island system
colonisation on a global
scale
North Atlantic is an unparalleled region for investigating fundamental themes of human / environment interaction including:1) establishing trajectories of environmental change.2) identifying timing and nature of human impact on the environment.3) investigating economic adjustments to marginality.Supported by 2 major ($900K & $1.2m) NSF consortium grants from 2007.
Environmental change and chronologies
Future: Biochar (carbon sequestration mitigation method): Analytical calibration of modern biochar models using the archaeological record on a global scale.
Environmental Change and Chronologies
High-resolution oxygen isotope analysis of human dentine
Individuals from the Royal Mint Black Death cemetery who died in AD 1349
Their teeth formed in the preceding c. 50 years enabling a short-term high-resolution climate sequence to be constructed
Reconstructing short-term variations in climate from human teeth
Environmental Change and Chronologies
Novel statistical approaches for multiple dating techniques
Applications to old and new sites
Global review of chronology of hominid fossils
Millard, AR (2008) A critique of the chronometric evidence for hominid fossils: I. Africa and the Near East 500-50 ka. Journal of Human Evolution 54 848-874
• Origin/evolution of the bacteria causing TB Britain/Europe • aDNA analysis of skeletons through time (500 samples)• Collaboration: Arizona State University• Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 2012 • 19th century AD Leeds, W Yorkshire crypt; female skeleton• Strain not common then in Britain but seen in N America
Over 60 museums
The Biomolecular Archaeology of Tuberculosis
Origins and Evolutionary History of Disease
Origins and Evolutionary History of Disease
Funding: Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition Féminine Québec: Postdoctoral
Bursary in Archaeology, 2010; European Commission’s Marie Curie Co-Fund Programme: IAS International Junior Research Fellowship, 2011; Wolfson Research Institute
Early Career Award, 2013
Current investigations include Neolithic to 19th century sites in England and Lithuania
Reconstructing past living conditions, palaeodietary practices, health, sanitation, and human-animal relationships
Parasites from medieval YorkLeft: Diphyllobothrium latum; Trichuris trichiura; Toxocara cf. canisRight: Pediculus humanus
Archaeoparasitology and immunological analysis
Investigating the early presence of malaria in Anglo-Saxon England Support with immunological techniques Examining the impact of disease ecology on: settlement location and
duration, the creation of liminal places and marginal identities.
Gowland and Western 2012, AJPA
Spatial Epidemiology of Malaria
Origins and evolutionary history of disease
Society and Identity
Examining the inter-play between biology and society; embodiment of social processes within the bones and teeth.
Includes: Health inequalities, social stigma and
disease (e.g. Leprosy) Identity and the life course:
perceptions of childhood and adolescence, child care and diet, old age, high resolution isotope analysis
Ethnic and national identities (e.g. Roman London, Viking identities)
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WetwangQueenfordLIA DorsetRB DorsetIsola Sacra
In excess of £3.5 million
A selection:Pigs, People and Neolithisation (£460,010, NERC)Reconsidering Austronesian homeland and dispersal (£806,738)Dog domestication (£981,098, NERC)Diet and Health in Ancient Nubia (£199,000, Leverhulme)Invisible Dead (£211,539,Templeton Foundation)Timelines in teeth (£125,000 NERC)Uig Landscape project (£200,000 Historic Scotland)Adolescence, Migration and Health in Medieval England (£217, 811, Leverhulme).Figure not including two NSF Consortium grants totalling over 2 million dollars.
Grant Income (current cycle)
Books/Edited Books: 7Book Chapters: 51Peer-reviewed papers: 112Professional journals: 11
Publications (current cycle)
World Archaeology International Journal of
Osteoarchaeology Journal of Archaeological
Science Bulletin of the History of
Archaeology (Melbourne) Journal of Interdisciplinary
Studies in History and Archaeology (Allahabad)
Journal of Anthropological Archaeology (Michigan)
Danish Journal of
Archaeology (Copenhagen) Frontiers in Livestock
Genetics Plos One Journal of the North Atlantic Homo International Journal of
Palaeopathology (Deputy editor)
Childhood in the Past
Editorial Boards
PGR
Completed since Jan 2008: 16 Current: 33 Destinations include: Lecturer at Aberdeen,
Technical Support, Durham University, Natural History Museum, Postdoctoral Researchers, Learning Assistant Oriental Museum Durham; Consultant for Deloitte, USA; Archaeology South East, University College London; Higher Education Academy (HEA) - Academic Development Officer for Awards and Recognition;
PGR Students
Proposed infrastructure changes: ancient DNA and isotope facilities to support teaching and research.
HIGHAR – High-resolution Isotope-analysis of Growing Humans for Archaeological Research, EU Consolidator grant submitted Feb 2013 2.6 million Euros - to investigate diet, health, nutrition and developmental milestones
UnDEAD - Unifying Domestication and Evolution using Ancient DNA), The DNA results will be combined with shape analyses and isotopic evidence to gain a full picture of the ecology of domestication at different levels of biological organisation.
Application of Next Generation Sequencing techniques to archaeological animal remains to generate even greater resolution that will enable us to quantify degrees of admixture between populations and to establish where, when, and how many times animals were domesticated.
Future…
Future… Combining cutting-edge multidisciplinary approaches to pursue
key archaeological and evolutionary questions Research in all areas of the group is leading to fundamental
shifts in our understanding of past human-environment interactions
Methodological innovations which will influence the way research is conducted in the future
Developing a number of significant impact strands (e.g. domestication, Biochar)
Bioarchaeology is one of the Dept’s key strengths – unparalleled in UK
Well-supported by Dept and University– external collaborations and internationalisation – internal collaboration improved through active engagement