Welcome to Durham University Department of Archaeology

1. Welcome to Durham University Department of Archaeology

2. 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.

3. Chemistry, Physics, Biology Anthropology History ARCHAEOLOGY Ancient History Geography Classics

4. Research groups • Prehistory of Eurasia • Landscapes of Complex Society • Ritual, Religion, Belief and Place • The Archaeology of Northern England • Bioarchaeology

5. Bioarchaeology Research Group Rebecca Gowland (Convenor) Mike Church Gary King Greger Larson Andrew Millard Janet Montgomery Charlotte Roberts Peter Rowley-Conwy

6. Key Themes Materials Methods Morphometrics Biomolecules Excavation Human bones DNA Analysis Plant remains Isotopic Analysis Insect/parasite remains Animal bones Statistical modelling Integrating Social theory Diet, domestication and the origins of agriculture Diasporas and migration Origins and evolutionary history of disease Environmental change and chronologies Society and identity

7. 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.

8. Diet, Domestication and Origins of Farming From hunter-gatherer niche construction to the origins and spread of agriculture Identification of domesticates Spread of farming Hunter-gatherers are not just passive recipients of nature’s bounty Future work involves dismantling the evidence for: Mesolithic ‘cereal pollen’ in Europe and the Islamic revolution in cereal cultivation

9. Diet, Domestication and Origins of Farming Investigating ancient diets at the Mesolithic- Neolithic transition Montgomery et al. in press Antiquity 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

10. Diasporas and Migration Bamburgh Bowl Howl (7th-8th C) • 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

11. Archaeological validation of early colonisation events suggested by palaeoecological records in the North Atlantic A methodology for island system colonisation on a global scale

12. Environmental change and chronologies 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. Future: Biochar (carbon sequestration mitigation method): Analytical calibration of modern biochar models using the archaeological record on a global scale.

13. Environmental Change and Chronologies Reconstructing short-term variations in climate from human teeth 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

14. 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 Evolution54848-874

15. Origins and Evolutionary History of Disease The Biomolecular Archaeology of Tuberculosis • 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

16. Origins and Evolutionary History of Disease Archaeoparasitology and immunological analysis 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 York Left: Diphyllobothriumlatum; Trichuristrichiura; Toxocara cf. canis Right: Pediculushumanus

17. Origins and evolutionary history of disease Spatial Epidemiology of Malaria • 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

18. 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)

19. Grant Income (current cycle) 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.

20. Publications (current cycle) Books/Edited Books: 7 Book Chapters: 51 Peer-reviewed papers: 112 Professional journals: 11

21. Editorial Boards 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 PlosOne Journal of the North Atlantic Homo International Journal of Palaeopathology (Deputy editor) Childhood in the Past

22. PGR Students 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;

23. Future… 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.

24. 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