We’re pleased to share A&K no. 35! This issue features a key volume edited by Greg Monks on how zooarchaeology helps us understand human responses to climate change—drawing on case studies from across the globe. Enjoy 👉 link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Nanopig, is the last of three donated guinea pigs. It will join our reference collection for teaching and research.
The other specimen is a buzzard with a previously broken wing that was repaired by a vet, adding extra interest to the specimen!
Lab update 🐾
⚠️ May include images of dead animals.
Latest additions to our skeletal reference collection!
It’s always a strange mix of respect, curiosity, and “wow, that’s fascinating” when we do this kind of work—but every specimen helps us learn more, teach better, and support future research.
A& n.34 is here! 🥳
This post highlights a volume dedicated to our colleague Andrew Sherratt, featuring zooarchaeological work by Sarah Viner and Angelos Hadjikoumis from their PhDs in our lab.👉 www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv....
A reminder of lasting collaborations and where they can lead!
A&K n.33 is here! Today we showcase this fantastic volume by Zbigniew Bochenski and Teresa Tomek, which has allowed us great advances in the field of bird bone identification.
Enjoy it here 👉
www.nhbs.com/a-key-for-th...
A&K n.32 highlights the work of Sofia Tecce, our brilliant Argentinian colleague and longtime team member. From MSc to PhD, Sofia played a key role in our research. Her PhD explored pig domestication in prehistoric Italy.
You can read her paper here:
eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/.../Tecce%20...
...
We're delighted to announce the publication of the latest effort of our research team! @phoebe-liu.bsky.social @umbertoalbarella.bsky.social @icaz-news.bsky.social @zig-saa.bsky.social @angeloszooarch.bsky.social @zooarch.bsky.social
#zooarchaeology
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
We are very pleased to share this great resource put together by our friend and colleagues from Historic England. @icaz-news.bsky.social #zooarchaeology
archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/archives/col...
A&K n.31 is here! 🌍
This week, we’re spotlighting an exciting intercontinental collaboration led by our brilliant colleagues Max Price and Hitomi Hongo, tackling one of the hottest topics in zooarchaeology. Curious to dive in? See link below 📄
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
🐾 Sparking curiosity with bones!
At the Zooarch Lab in Sheffield, we love what we do and love sharing it! 🦴✨
We recently visited Silverdale School to introduce sixth formers to zooarchaeology. The talks got them thinking, but the hands-on session really sparked some great conversations!
Big thank you to Penny Jackson, Bubbles and Hector's mum, for donating her pets to the Zooarchaeology collection!
Meet our newest tiny teaching legends 🐹🦴
Bubbles and Hector are being skeletonised to join our zooarchaeology reference collection, helping students and researchers identify small mammal bones.
Another guinea pig will be joining them soon… stay tuned!
⚠️ Photos include deceased pets.
A&K n.30 is out! 🎉
Edited by our former Masters, PhD, and Postdoc colleague Lizzie Wright together with our great friend and collaborator Catarina Ginja, the volume brings together work from many members of the Sheffield team. www.lockwoodpress.com/product-page...
On the 25th of February we celebrated the Sheffield BIOARCH RICHeS launch 🎉 with visitors from partners, our governing body and potential users. Tours of the collections 🦴🌿 and chats about research and collaborations 🤝 made the day inspiring! Here are some pictures of the event!
With A&K No. 29 celebrates the work of our dear colleague Michael MacKinnon, whose research has helped integrate zooarchaeological and textual evidence. This paper is just one example from his extensive work on the Classical Mediterranean. www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Fun fact: Birds of prey migrate using thermals—rising columns of warm air. They spiral up, then glide to the next thermal, saving energy along the way.
🦅 Question: What do we call it when a group of birds of prey spirals together in a thermal?
In the Zooarch Lab in Sheffield, we’re giving our bird skeletons a glow-up! 🦴🪶 Adding names and photos—because bones tell a story, but feathers & colors matter too.
Thanks to RICHeS for helping us!
Today’s focus: Accipitriformes.
With A&K n.28 we’re celebrating one of our key team members of the past decade — Matteo Bormetti 🎉
His latest paper, based on his PhD, explores the remarkable continuity of animal husbandry in later Iron Age Britain. Enjoy! 👉 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Mr Badger update! 🦡✨
Fresh from his Zooarch spa day, Mr Badger is clean, preened, and almost ready to join his forever home in our reference collection.
His bones tell their own story, with fractured ribs and femur, injury from a car encounter.
Next up: guinea pigs.. so stay tuned! 🐹
A&K n.27 is out! 🎉
This issue features the work of Gerhard Forstenpointner — a pioneer in the study of animal ritual in Archaic & Classical Greece. His research on Olympian sacrifice has shaped and inspired countless studies since.
Read it here:
www.academia.edu/33602301/Pro...
Lovely to welcome former Osteoarchaeology student Suzanne Gee back to the lab during our RICHeS Open Day!
Now working as a freelance osteoarchaeologist, she visited to refresh her zooarchaeology skills. Always proud to see our alumni thriving. Come back soon, Suzanne!
A bittersweet farewell to our brilliant colleague Stephanie Baron, forced out of our team by the University’s assault on archaeology.
We’ll miss her hugely — her work keeping our collections alive has been invaluable — but we’re glad she’s found a new role in the Library. They’re lucky to have her.
A&K n.26 is out now!
This post highlights the work of Chiara Corbino, a former Marie Curie Fellow with us. The featured paper was central to Chiara's fellowship project, but there’s much more to share about her work… Watch this space! www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1...
🦜📚 A&K no. 25 celebrates the bird-focused books of Dale Serjeantson—essential reading for anyone studying bird bones from archaeological sites.
A few years ago we were proud to honour Dale’s work with a conference in Sheffield. The proceedings will appear in a future issue of Alive & Kicking.
Ever wondered what that mystery bone from your garden might be? Need to refresh your ID skills for animal or archaeobotanical remains? Work in an archaeological unit and want to use state-of-the-art zooarchaeology and archaeobotany collections? We got you covered!!
🦴🌱 Sheffield RICHeS Bioarchaeology Collections Open Days!
🌾 Archaeobotany: 10 & 24 Feb; 10 & 24 Mar; 14 & 28 Apr; 12 & 26 May
🦴 Zooarchaeology: 17 Feb; 3, 17 & 31 Mar; 21 Apr; 5 & 19 May
To book contact us at:
Archaeobotany → c.longford@sheffield.ac.uk
Zooarchaeology → l.salvagno@sheffield.ac.uk
This was a great conference to be involved with. The stuff I talked about wasn't necessarily pleasant, but I'm glad that I had the opportunity to discuss it. Many thanks to Abu Siddiq et al. for the invitation. @zooarchlabsheff.bsky.social
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFJv... #zooarchaeology
📸 New kit alert! 📸
Thanks to RICHeS funding, we have added a new Leica camera and 3D analysis software to our Bioarchaeology collections 🙌
Perfect for archaeobotany imaging 🌾 but also incredibly valuable for zooarchaeological research, particularly for exploring taphonomic factors.
The much-awaited A&K no. 24 is out! 🎉
It showcases the work of Angela Trentacoste, former Sheffield PhD student and now involved in countless exciting projects. This paper builds on her PhD research 👉 doi:10.1179/1461957115Y.0000000015
The International Council of Archaeozoology www.alexandriaarchive.org/icaz/ has published a statement to condemn the Gaza genocide. You can download it here (Newsletter p.7): www.alexandriaarchive.org/icaz/publica...
@archagainstaparth.bsky.social
@blacktrowel.bsky.social
@icaz-news.bsky.social