Stable Isotope Analysis

Stable isotope analysis (SIA) is used to study a range of biological materials/tissues that are preserved on archaeological sites.

The majority of SIA research at BioArCh focuses on analysing the isotopes of carbon (δ¹³C), nitrogen (δ¹⁵N), sulphur (δ³⁴S) and oxygen (δ¹⁶O) in bones, teeth and carbonised plant remains, to answer questions surrounding diet, economy, animal and plant husbandry, and movement in the past.

We have applied this technique to understand the subsistence base of societies from a wide chronological range, from the Mesolithic to the post-medieval period, and geographically from the UK and the Mediterranean to East Africa.

We are also one of few laboratories in Europe who have expertise in analysing δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in amino acids of collagen (single compound isotope analysis), used to provide further specificity on diet not possible via bulk analysis alone.

Facilities for stable isotope analysis are available in house within BioArCh and at our Centre for Excellence in Mass Spectrometry.

Our people

Photo	Name	Role
	Professor Michelle Alexander	Professor of Bioarchaeology
	Professor Oliver Craig	Director of BioArch Facility
	Dr Sophy Charlton	Lecturer in Bioarchaeology

Photo

Name

Role

Professor Michelle Alexander

Professor of Bioarchaeology

Professor Oliver Craig

Director of BioArch Facility

Dr Sophy Charlton

Lecturer in Bioarchaeology

Focus areas

Our research focuses on three major areas:

Dietary dynamics in historic societies:how does diet and agriculture reflect changes in socio-political rule and how does human dietary practice vary with status and identity including age, sex and faith?
Quantifying prehistoric human diets: how did diets change during transformative periods in human society, particularly during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in North West Europe?
Marine paleoecology: how has human exploitation of marine resources developed and changed over time from prehistory to the recent past, and what impact has this had on marine ecosystems?

Whilst we do not offer a commercial service for stable isotope analysis, if you are interested in developing collaborations related to these areas then please do get in touch with an informal enquiry.

We are particularly keen to develop the following areas through new projects or fellowships:

Analysis of prehistoric and historic human and animal populations to understand diet and subsistence

Stable isotope analysis of preserved plant remains to understand crop husbandry practices and past environments

Single compound analysis of collagen and dentine to disentangle past human and animal diet

Major current projects

SICTRANSIT: Sicily In Transition: Exploring the Archaeology of Regime Change
Landscapes of Reconquest
UETZAP: Urban Ecology and Transitions in the Zanzibar Archipelago
SEACHANGE: Setting new baselines for understanding ocean environmental change
SEACHANGES international doctoral training network in which several postgraduate researchers have visited BioArCh for isotopic research

Collaborations

We have a number of collaborators in the UK and internationally. Our collaborators include:

Canan Çakirlar University of Groningen
Ricardo Fernandez Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena
Cristina Martinez-Labarga University of Rome Tor Vergata
Silvia Soncin - Sapienza Università di Roma

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Our people

Meet our team

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