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Our Outreach team takes archaeology workshops and talks out to schools and colleges in the county. It also runs Masterclasses and workshops on campus and in the department. We've also worked with the army on 
Bioarchaeology
Bioarchaeology is the study of biological materials recovered from archaeological sites. It encompasses a variety of sub-disciplines that includes osteoarchaeology (human remains), zooarchaeology (animal remains), archaeobotany (plant remains), archaeomalacology (molluscs), palynology (pollen) and palaeoentomology (insects). Bioarchaeolgy is a core research and teaching strength at Leicester. Major research projects are currently exploring subsistence practices amongst hunter-gatherer communities and the relationships between food and identity in the Roman and medieval period.
Core Staff
Huw Barton; Richard Thomas; Marijke van der Veen.
All staff are internationally-recognised for their research and have interests and projects that span both time (from early prehistory to the 19th century) and space (Asia, Australasia, Europe, North Africa). Complementing the academic team are dedicated technicians and the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS), which employs specialists in human bones, faunal remains, plant remains and marine shells.
Key Research Projects
- Subsistence practices of extant and prehistoric hunters and gatherers in tropical rainforests
- Seeds of change – food introductions into NW Europe AD 1-1500
- The Roman and Islamic spice trade
- Medieval and post-medieval diet and agriculture in Britain
- The archaeology of animal disease and injury
Exploring Bioarchaeology at postgraduate level at Leicester
Bioarchaeology is embedded throughout our undergraduate and postgraduate teaching (both campus based and distance learning) and the School has an excellent and full equipped set of dedicated research and teaching laboratories. At postgraduate level there is a dedicated Bioarchaeology pathway in the MA Archaeology, which includes teaching and research components in zooarchaeology and archaeobotany.
Optional Bioarchaeology modules are also available for study by students taking other MA programmes and elements of bioarchaeology are embedded within several MA modules (e.g. Households and Domesticity in the Ancient World; Doing Historical Archaeology).
Current and recently-completed doctoral research includes: From New World to Old: turkey pathologies as a reflection of human behaviour (Brooklynne Fothergill); Food and status in Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian burhs (Matilda Holmes); Introduction and dispersal of exotic food plants into Europe (Alexandra Livarda); Subsistence patterning of Prehistoric Coastal California (Judith Porcasi); Farmers in transition: the archaeobotanical analysis of the Carpathian Basin from the Late Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age (Kelly Reed); A generic recording system for animal palaeopathology (Stephanie Vann).
