Michelle Alexander is a bioarchaeologist with an interest in multi-faith societies and is senior lecturer in bioarchaeology at the University of York. [1]
Alexander specialises in the study of medieval diet through stable isotope analysis. She was part of the research team for the European Research Council funded project The Archaeology of Regime Change: Sicily in Transition, which explored the changes in population in medieval Sicily. [2] She is part of the research team for the Urban Ecology Zanzibar project. [3] She is project lead for the Faith in Food, Food in Faith Network funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council. [4] She is part of the research team for ArchSci2020, which explores new scientific techniques to understand the circumpolar world. [5] She is Co-Investigator on Landscapes of (Re)Conquest, which seeks to understand relationships between people, castles and landscapes in medieval Iberia. [6] Alexander has published or co-authored work on millet in diets in early medieval Italy, [7] medieval diet in Leopoli-Cencelle, [8] medieval diet in agrarian Apulia, [9]
Additionally Alexander has worked within teams to apply her research across a range of species, including:
As well as across time periods:
In 2011, Alexander was appointed as a research fellow in the Department of Archaeology at Aberdeen University. [1] In 2011, she returned to Durham University as a visiting research fellow, as well as holding a post at Cornell University, US, in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. [1] In 2012, Alexander was appointed lecturer in bioarchaeology at the University of York, which was followed by a Senior Lectureship in 2018. [1]
Alexander graduated with BSc (Hons) in archaeology from Durham University in 2005. [1] She studied for an MSc in bioarchaeology supported by Manchester and Sheffield Universities in 2006. [1] Alexander graduated with a PhD from Durham University in 2010, which was funded by a Durham Doctoral Fellowship. [1] Her doctoral thesis was entitled: Exploring Diet and Society in Medieval Spain: New Approaches Using Stable Isotope Analysis. [20]
Bioarchaeology in Europe describes the study of biological remains from archaeological sites. In the United States it is the scientific study of human remains from archaeological sites.
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Gribshunden or Griffen, also known by several variant names including Gribshund, Gripshunden, Gripshund, Griff, and Griffone, was a Danish warship, the flagship of Hans (John), King of Denmark. Gribshunden sank in 1495 after an explosion while in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Ronneby in southeastern Sweden; the ship is one of the best-preserved wrecks yet discovered from the late medieval period.
Blick Mead is a chalkland spring in Wiltshire, England, separated by the River Avon from the northwest edge of the town of Amesbury. It is close to an Iron Age hillfort known as Vespasian's Camp and about a mile east of the Stonehenge ancient monument. Evidence from archaeological excavations at the site since 2005 indicates that there was continuous human habitation from 10,000 BP to 6,000 BP.
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Janet Montgomery FBA is a British archaeological scientist and academic. Having studied at the University of Bradford, she is now Professor of Bioarchaeology at Durham University. She specialises in the study of diet and migration via tooth enamel biomineralization and isotope analysis.
Tamsin O'Connell is an archaeological scientist based at the University of Cambridge. Her work has pioneered the use of isotope analysis in archaeology, specifically diet and climate in human and animal tissues.
Michael Phillip Richards is an archaeological scientist, researcher and an academic. He is an archaeology Professor at Simon Fraser University and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Archaeological Science, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (London) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Richards has published more than 300 research articles. His research focuses on studying the diets diet evolution and migrations of past humans and animals using various techniques such as isotope analysis and radiocarbon dating. His work is highly cited and has gathered media coverage.
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Dental microwear analysis is a method to infer diet and behavior in extinct animals, especially in fossil specimens. Typically, the patterns of pits and scratches on the occlusal or buccal surface of the enamel are compared with patterns observed in extant species to infer ecological information. Hard foods in particular can lead to distinctive patterns. Microwear can also be used for inferring behavior, especially those related to the non-masticatory use of teeth as 'tools'. Other uses include investigating weaning in past populations. Methods used to collect data initially involved a microscope and manually collecting information on individual microwear features, but software to automatically collect data have improved markedly in recent years.
Boncuklu Höyük is a Neolithic archaeological site in Central Anatolia, Turkey, situated around 9 km from the more famous Çatalhöyük site. The tell is made up of the remains of one of the world's oldest villages, occupied between around 8300 to 7800 BCE. The buildings are small and oval shaped with walls constructed of mudbricks. The remains of burials of human bodies were found below the floors of the buildings. The earliest known ceramics of Anatolia have been discovered there.
Ronika K. Power is an Australian archaeologist who is a Professor of Bioarchaeology in the Department of History and Archaeology and Director of the Centre for Ancient Cultural Heritage and Environment at Macquarie University. Power is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and the Royal Society of New South Wales.
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Aquihuecó is an archaeological site in Argentina. It is located by the city of Chos Mahal in the Neuquén province of Argentina. Aquihuecó is the biggest hunter-gatherer burial site in Patagonia. The site is located on top of a mound in a dune and was utilized as an open-air burial site by prehistoric inhabitants of the land. Archaeologists have excavated at least 65 human inhumations at the area. These burials were marked with either large stones or piles of small stones. Many of the graves contained burial goods such as stone pendants, grinding tools, sharp instruments, projectile points, milling tools, lithic spheres, and beads, necklaces, or earrings made from mollusc shells. Some of the skulls found at the site display a circular or pseudocircular body modification of the cranial vault. The site is dated to have been inhabited from around 5000 to around 3000 years before present. Aquihuecó was first discovered in 1997 and began excavation in 2003.
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Flint Dibble is an American archaeologist and science communicator, whose research focuses on foodways in ancient Greece, and whose science communication promotes the field of archaeology and debunks pseudoarchaeology. He teaches at Cardiff University, where he is the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow leading the ZOOCRETE project. He is the son of archaeologist Harold L. Dibble.