Profile

Biography

Oliver obtained his first degree in Biochemistry and Genetics (Nottingham), an MSc in Osteology, Palaeopathology and Funerary Archaeology (Sheffield), followed by a PhD with the Ancient Biomolecules group at Newcastle. He has also completed a Marie Curie Fellowship at the University of Rome II, 'Tor Vergata'.  He currently directs the BioArCh facility.

Research

Overview

Oliver Craig specialises in biomolecular archaeology, i.e. the recovery of proteins, lipids and DNA from ancient skeletal remains and archaeological artefacts to provide insights into past human activities.

His particular interests lie in temporal transitions and variability in human diets, cuisine and subsistence practices and the impact that dietary changes had on social evolution, health and the environment.

Oliver is interested in combining a broad range of analytical techniques to study palaeodiet but particularly stable isotope analysis of human bone and organic residue analysis of food remains on ceramics.

His research has focused on the analysis of materials from key prehistoric sites in Central and Eastern Europe and along the North East Atlantic, Baltic and Mediterranean coastlines.

Oliver is also interested in Roman diet and particularly the issue of marine consumption. He works on human remains from Velia and Herculaneum on the West coast of Italy.

More recently, Oliver has developed an interest in the earliest use of pottery from North America, Eastern Baltic, Siberia, Russian Far East and Japan. 

Current projects

• Feeding Stonehenge: provisioning henges and households in southern Britain in the 3rd millennium BC (AHRC) 2010-2013 
• CERES,  Ceramic Residues to the economic and social context of early pottery use in North Eastern North America (EU) 2011-2013
• Ritual Food in Japanese Antiquity (JSPS) 2011-2014
• COREBRAS: Coastal Resources and South American Hunter-Gatheres: Biochemical Perspectives from the  Brazilian Samaqui (EU) 2011-2013
  

Previous projects

• Dietary variability and genetic origins of Ancient Italian Human Populations: a combined ancient biomolecular approach (PRIN, MUiR, IT) 2006-2008
• Pottery use by late Foragers and early Farmers in the Baltic (AHRC, UK) 2007-2010
• Agricultural revolution in Southern Europe? (EU) 2007-2010
• LeCHE (Lactase persistence and the early Cultural History of Europe) (EU) 2009-2013

Research group(s)

• Bioarchaeology
  1. Prehistory
  2. Coastal Prehistory
  3. Early pottery

Supervision

• Hayley Saul  - doctoral student (AHRC)
• Cynthianne Spiteri - doctoral student (NERC)
• Nienke van Doorn - doctoral student (EU)

Teaching

Postgraduate

MSc in Bioarchaeology

External activities

Memberships

• Member of the NERC Peer Review College, the European Association of Archaeologists and the Prehistoric Society
• Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at the Department of Archaeological Science, University of Bradford