Our Archaeology research fellows
Learn more about our fellows and the exciting research they're carrying out.
Featured researcher
Dr Lizzie Wright
Dr Lizzie Wright is the research staff rep based in BioArCh. Lizzie is a Zooarchaeologist. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Durham University before moving to the University of Sheffield to complete her Masters and PhD. Since graduating she has worked in the UK and has been awarded prestigious fellowships in Portugal and Switzerland. In 2022 she joined the University of York as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow on the CATCOW project. She is undertaking her fellowship part time due to family commitments.
Featured researcher
Dr Alejandro Serna
Dr Alejandro Serna travelled from Argentina to take up his Marie Curie Fellowship working in our BioArCh facility. His fellowship is: POUR - Pottery use from the earliest records of Patagonia through biomolecular analysis (MSCA). This EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie project will undertake the first systematic research on the uses of early pottery among Patagonian foragers who adopted and spread this technology in a challenging environment without engaging in intensive production.
Featured researcher
Dr Andy Needham
Dr Andy Needham completed an undergraduate degree in (BSc) Archaeology in 2008 a Masters degree in (MSc) Early Prehistory and Human Origins in 2010 and a PhD specialising in Palaeolithic art in 2017 from the University of York. He is currently undertaking a British Academy fellowship.
His project, entitled High-resolution analysis of beads and pendants as an indicator of cultural connection in the northwest European Early Mesolithic, aims to explore Mesolithic personal ornaments in northwest Europe using a raft of digital and scientific techniques. Andy’s project will analyse what these attributes might tell us about cultural connections between different regions, focusing in particular on beads made in shale and amber.
Former research fellows
Our department is proud of the destinations of our former fellows, many of whom remain our collaborators.
Dr Camilla Speller
Former Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Fellow.
Camilla's research interests focus on the application of biomolecular analyses (ancient DNA and proteins) to archaeological questions, with a particular interest in ancient human and animal microbiomes, animal domestication, marine resource exploitation and human-environmental interactions. Camilla is now Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia.
Dr Sarah Fiddyment
Former Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Fellow and British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow.
Sarah's research interests focus on the possibility of using parchment documents (made from animal skins) as a biomolecular record providing information about history, craft, livestock economics and material conservation. Sarah is now a Research Associate at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research in Cambridge and works with Professor Matthew Collins.
Dr Ashton Sinamai
Former Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Fellow
Ashton's research focuses on tangible/intangible heritage, traditional knowledge systems in Africa and Australia, indigenous archaeologies, memory, identity and representation, researching how communities perceive cultural landscapes and using narratives as metaphors that can be deployed in the creation of biographies for cultural landscapes. Ashton is now heritage consultant for Ecology and Heritage Partners, an honorary associate of La Trobe University and an expert representative on UNESCO’s Roster for Culture in Emergencies.