Profile

Biography

Degrees:

PhD: Biological Archaeology, University of Stockholm

MA: Anthropology, Cambridge University

BSc Anthropology & Archaeology (with Geology & Zoology). University College of London, 

Positions

2009 - 2014 Director InterArChive

1999-  Emeritus Professor of Human Palaeoecology, University of York;

1993-1999 Professor of Human Palaeoecology, University of York;

2006-  Honorary Professor in the University of Durham

1974-1993 Senior Lecturer, then Reader, in Zooarchaeology, Department of Human Environment, Institute of Archaeology, University of London

1961-1974 Principal Scientific Officer and Head of Anthropology at the British Museum (Natural History)

1958-1961 Demonstrator, Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge 

Research

Overview

My research has been broad based within Archaeology, and has included aspects of applied Geology and Soil Science. But my main leadership has been in Human Bioarchaeology and Zooarchaeology. I have also been concerned to promote research and study in the archaeological sciences in general, which I did by arranging three major edited volumes on the methods of “archaeological science” and other 14 monographs on the subject, but also founding the Journal of Archaeological Science and the science-based Cambridge Manuals in Archaeology. 

In Human Bioarchaeology, I was early invited to contribute to Neanderthal studies and was also privileged to describe the 40,000 year old skull from Niah in Borneo (and later Bornean material with some of the earliest evidence of treponematosis). By numerous publications (over 200 between peer-reviewed journals and monographs) I greatly helped to ‘shape’ human skeletal studies internationally, and established the need for more research effort in the field of human palaeopathology.

In animal studies, I considered neglected topics such as New World dogs, zoonoses, the microevolution of house mice and Guinea pigs.

It has been my pleasure to investigate “comparative palaeopathology” and to newly establish the need to classify and evaluate disease history across species. This, and my other work, has stimulated interest internationally, and created new lines of research.

As an extension of my human burial studies I have been concerned with the detailed study of the totally neglected matrix surrounding bodies, which has much to reveal, both for archaeology and forensic investigations..

As well as being Professor if Human Palaeoecology at the University of York, I have also been awarded an Honorary Professorship at the University of Durham.

Current projects

Bosnia and Kosovo forensic studies

  I was part of UN field teams, as specialist on human remains. Work was both field- and laboratory-based (single and mass burials). Burial conditions and body decomposition were very variable. This was a valuable opportunity for me to see that sampling procedure in relation to such burials could and should be greatly improved, and that initially we need research studies of the kind proposed here, to appreciate the full potential of a much improved sampling and analytical methodology. This could have relevance not only for international forensic investigations, but national police enquiries in relation to buried murder victims. 

Investigation on the Neolithic “Iceman”

I was part of a selected international team assembled to investigate all aspects of this unique find. Together with two colleagues, I undertook research on small samples from the intestines, teeth and hair. Of particular significance was research I undertook with Dr G. Grimes in Nuclear Physics at Oxford University, exploring proton induced x-ray emission analysis of hair (of the “Iceman” and associated red deer). We were able to demonstrate in patterns of arsenic and copper distribution in the human hair, that the “Iceman” was involved in copper processing (and not just the owner of a copper axe). This work also demonstrated the great potential in studying even small fragments of hair. Part of this work has been published in Brothwell, D. 2003. Analysis of the hair of the Neolithic Iceman. Pp 66-68 in N. Lynnerup, C. Andreasen and J. Berglund (eds) 2003. Mummies in the New Millennium. Copenhagen. Further publication is in preparation.  

Influencing the development of archaeological science

Over the years I have emphasized and put forward in the international scientific and archaeological communities, the importance of scientific research in archaeology. My recent edited volume with Mark Pollard (see earlier in this document) is the third of a series on this subject over the years, as I have persevered in time in my endeavour to demonstrate that scientific applications are critical to the development of the subject.  

Similarly, my monograph in collaboration with a senior radiologist, on radiological applications to archaeology mentioned earlier in this document was to indicate that this and other fields of science still need far more consideration and application to the study of archaeological finds. In another bioarchaeological direction, a new edition of my book “Food in Antiquity”, once more emphasizes the range of information to be derived from food debris, and has influenced greatly the current views and opinions of the international community on this subject.

Mummy studies and Nefertiti.

My research on mummies began in 1969 with a study on a well-preserved Guanche body from the Canary Islands. Since then, I have undertaken investigations especially on Peruvian and Egyptian mummies. Of these, the most famous was one of three bodies found in a side chamber of the Tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings,  in Egypt. This young adult female, possibly of the XVIII dynasty, could be the controversial queen Nefertiti. The TV programme made in relation to the investigation was a highly successful international film, Nefertiti  2003 ( by Atlantic TV and A&D Television Networks; see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380584). 

Current monograph-writing and related work

Revision of the next edition of my monograph Digging Up Bones. Since the first edition, this has had major impact internationally on the excavation and study of human remains.A detailed study is currently being undertaken of a large series of Roman burials in York, including soil sampling. This will form part of a major monograph on Romano-British burials being prepared by myself. A detailed review of the archaeology of birds is currently being prepared by myself and Prof. T. O’Connor

Publications

Selected publications

17 books and 190 scientific publications  (c.150 as single or leading author)  in peer-reviewed journals/monographs.

Full publications list

2009

BACKWELL, L., PICKERING, R., BROTHWELL, D., BERGER, L., WITCOMB, M., MARTILL, D., PENKMAN, K. & WILSON, A. 2009. Probable human hair found in a fossil hyaena coprolite from Gladysvale cave, South Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science, 36, 1269-1276.

BROTHWELL, D. 2009. Childe, His Student, and Archaeological Science: an Epilogue. European Journal of Archaeology, 12, 193.

BROTHWELL, D. 2009. Humans: a not so modest affair. Antiquity, 83, 209-211.

WRIGHT, C. C., COLLINS, M., BROTHWELL, D. & SHAFER, M. 2009. Bioarchaeological analysis of iodine in dental enamel: initial analysis of sheep dental enamel for elemental iodine, for the purpose of future detection of in vivo iodine deficiency in ruminants and humans. Holm of Papa Westray: Artefacts and human and faunal remains.

2008

BROTHWELL, D. 2008. Homo Sapiens: From Man to Demigod. By Bernhard Rensch. Pp. ix+ 228.(Methuen, London, 1972.) Price£ 3· 00. Papers in Economic Prehistory. Studies by Members and Associates of the British Academy Major Research Project in the Early History of Agriculture. Edited by ES Higgs. Pp. x+ 219.(Cambridge University Press, 1972.) Price£ 4· 40. Journal of Biosocial Science, 5, 407-409.

BROTHWELL, D. 2008. Man the Hunter. The First Intensive Survey of a Single, Crucial Stage of Human Development—Man's Once Universal Hunting Way of Life. Edited by Richard B. Lee and Irven De Vore. pp. xvi+ 415. Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago. Price $6.95. Journal of Biosocial Science, 2, 293-295.

BROTHWELL, D. 2008. On Human Nature. By Edward O. Wilson. Pp. 260.(Harvard University Press, 1978.) Price 12.50.TheGeneticsoftheJews.ByAEMourant,AdaC.KopÉcKazimieraDomaniewska-Sobczak.Pp.viii+122.(OxfordUniversityPress,1978.)Price 12.50. Journal of Biosocial Science, 11, 227-229.

2007

Chhem, R.K. and BROTHWELL, D.R. 2007. Paleoradiology: Imaging Mummies and Fossils Springer-Verlag Berlin. 163 Pages . ISBN 3540488324 - ISBN-13 9783540488323

BROTHWELL, D. 2007. Tumours and tumour-like processes. In: R.Pinhasi and S.Mays (eds) Advances in Human Palaeopathology. Pg. 253-281. Wiley, Chichester (Dec 2007) - 408 Pages ISBN 0470036028

BROTHWELL, D. 2007. Dental attrition: Neanderthals, Romans and Egyptians, and the question of where we go now. In: M.Faerman, L. Horwitz a& T. Kahana (eds) Faces from the Past: Diachronic Patterns in the Biology of Human Populations from the Eastern Mediterranean (British Archaeological Reports International Series, 1603 Oxford. ISBN 1407300202

Luff, R; BROTHWELL, D.. 2007 On the possible ritual marking of a young XVIIIth dynasty pig skull from Tell El-Amarna, middle Egypt. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 17, 524-530.

Older Publications

BROTHWELL, D.R and Pollard, M. (Eds.) 2005. Handbook of Archaeological Sciences. John Wiley, Chichester. With contributions by the editors. 782 Pages. ISBN 0470014768

BROTHWELL, D. 2005. Malocclusion and methodology: The problem and relevance of recording dental malalignment in archaeology. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 1, 27-37.

BROTHWELL, D. 2005. The Tyrolean Ice Man and questions of taphonomy and tissue identification. Journal of Biological Research 80,215-216.

BROTHWELL, D. 2005. North American treponematosis against the bigger world picture. In: M.Powell and D.Cook (eds) The Myth of Syphilis, The Natural History of Treponematosis in North America Pg 480-496. University Press, Gainesville, Florida. ISBN 0813027942

BROTHWELL, D. 2003. Analysis of the hair of the Neolithic Iceman. Pp 66-68 in N Lynnerup, C Andreasen and J Berglund (eds) 2003. Mummies in the New Millennium. Danish Polar Centre, Copenhagen.ISBN: 8790369522

BROTHWELL, D. 2004 : Bring out your dead: people, pots and politics. Antiquity 78-300, 414-418.

BROTHWELL, D.  2003. On the need for a more systematic evaluation of endocranial vault abnormality. Journal of Palaeopathology 15,13-21.

BROTHWELL, D. 2003. Skeletal atrophy and the problem of differential diagnosis in conditions causing paralysis. Antropologia Portuguesa 19,5-18.

BROTHWELL, D. 2003. Can oral pathology be a measure of dietary contrasts between island and mainland people in Britain? Journal of Palaeopathology 15,69-75.

BROTHWELL, D. 2002. Ancient avian osteopetrosis: the current state of knowledge. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia 45,315-318.

BROTHWELL, D. 2002. The Bog Man and the Archaeology of People. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. 136pp. ISBN: 0674077326.

BROTHWELL, D. and Gill-Robinson, H. 2002. Taphonomic and forensic aspects of bog bodies. In: W. Haglund and M.Sorg. (eds) Advances in Forensic Taphonomy. Pg 119-132. CRC Press, Boca Raton. ISBN 0849311896

BROTHWELL D. and Powers, R. 2000. The human biology. In: P. Rahtz, S. Wright  and S Hirst(eds) Cannington Cemetery. Britannia Monograph 17, 132-256   ISBN 0907764266

BROTHWELL, D. BROTHWELL, P. 1998. Food in Antiquity: A Survey of the Diet of Early Peoples. John Hopkins Univeristy Press, Baltimore. 283pp. ISBN-10: 0801857406.

BROTHWELL, JH; Beukens, RP; BROTHWELL, D.. 2000.  Radiocarbon dating and marine reservoir correction of Viking Age Christian burials from Orkney. Antiquity 74-285, 537-543.

BROTHWELL, D. 1998. Stress as an aspect of environmental studies. Environmental Archaelogy 2,7-136.

BROTHWELL, D. 1997.Interpreting the immature chicken bones from the Romano British ritual complex on West Hill, Uley.International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 7-4,330-332.

BROTHWELL, D. R. 1968. The skeletal biology of earlier human populations. In: DOUGLAS, A. G. & MAXWELL, J. R. (eds.). Pergamon.

BROTHWELL, D. R. 1969. The palaeopathology of pleistocene and more recent animals. Science In Archaeology. London.

BROTHWELL, D. R. 1972. Digging up Bones. In: SCIENCE (ed.). London.

BROTHWELL, D. R., HIGGS, E. & (EDS.) 1969. Science in Archaeology. London.

BAKER, J. & BROTHWELL, D. R. 1980. Animal Diseases in Archaeology: Academic Press.

JONES, A. K. G., STEAD, I. M., BOURKE, J. B. & BROTHWELL, D. 1986. Lindow Man: The Body in the Bog.

Teaching

Undergraduate

First year

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Second year

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Third year

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Postgraduate

Postgrad teaching

External activities

Memberships

 

Editorial duties

Other:   1974-1993 Founder and Joint Editor of the Journal of Archaeological Science

Academic  1984-2004 Editor of Cambridge Manuals in Archaelogy

Commitments  1991-2000 Editorial Board, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology

1991-2008 Honorary membership of the Association for Environmental Archaeology (for long-term contribution to the subject)

      1992-to date Editorial Board, Journal of Palaeopathology (Italy)

      2003-todate Member, Academic (Science) Panel, Oxford Archaeology 

Also Previously: Fellow and Member of Council, Royal Anthropological Institute

      Member of the Science Panel for the Council of British Archaeology

      Member of the Deserted Medieval Group, UK

      Honorary Secretary and Member of the Galton Institute, London

      Programme Secretary, Society for the Study of Human Biology

      Member of the Anatomical Nomenclature Committee