Bioarchaeology, Sheffield

Description

The University of Sheffield has a long tradition and international reputation for excellence in teaching and research in bioarchaeology. We underake world-leading research in Archaeobotany, Human Osteology, Palaeoanthropology and Zooarchaeology and offer a well-respected portfolio of Masters and PhD programmes, including MSc in Bioarchaeology and Human Osteology and Funerary Archaeology. Our researchers work at the cutting edge of their respective discipines and our graduates are leaders in their fields across the globe. 

Research

Some of our key research themes include:

• primate behaviour
• early hominid evolution
• domestication of plants and animals
• human and livestock mobility
• ritual and funerary practices
• cultural transmission and identity

We work in collaboration with external partners such as Historic England, MOLA, the British Schools, British Geology Society and Heritage sites, including the palaeolithic site of Creswell Crags.

Bioarchaeology at Sheffield offers a variety of consultancy services via Sheffield Archaeobotanical Consultancy (SAC) and our zooarchaeology and human osteology teams. What makes Sheffield stand out when it comes to consultancy is the fact that our experts offer not only identification but also interpretation of the assemblages they process, as they are specialists in their fields. 

We have run public bioarchaeology short courses for more than a decade, with topics including  Understanding Zooarchaeology; Humans and Other Animals; Exploring Palaeoenvironments; The History of British Fauna; Marine Resources and Introduction to Human Osteology. 

Sheffield Bioarchaeology Collections

We curate and manage extensive modern and archaeological reference collections:

• The zooarchaeology skeletal collection is the largest in the UK, comprising more than two thousand specimens, including complete and partial skeletons of modern mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish that live or once lived in Europe. Our reference collection has contributed to making the University of Sheffield a centre of excellence for the study of animal bones in Archaeology.

• The human osteological collection comprises 3,000 individuals from 11 archaeological sites, mostly dated to the medieval and early modern period. It is among the largest in the UK.

• The fossil hominins, extant primates and humans cast collection. This includes 60 primates and 129 fossil hominin casts. It is intensively used for teaching palaeoanthropology and human osteology.

• The archaeobotany collection is one of the largest collections of seeds, wood charcoal, starch, phytoliths and pollen in the UK.

• The soil/geoarchaeology collection includes sediment and soil cores from the local region and world heritage sites.

Offers funding

Yes, this infrastructure provides funding in the following categories:

Founding year

1965

Contact details

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University affiliation(s)

University of Sheffield
Sheffield