University of Bradford

Graduate Student, Division of Archaeological, Geographical and Environmental Sciences

PhD Researcher

Thesis Title: Skeletal evidence of the social persona: Life, death and society in early-medieval Alamannic societies

About

I am a PhD researcher at the Biological Anthropology Research Centre at the University of Bradford, where I demonstrate and teach in Musculo-Skeletal Anatomy, Palaeopathology and Funerary Archaeology. I am holding an MSc in Forensic Anthropology from Bradford as well as an MA in Classical Archaeology, History of Art and Palaeoanthropology from the University of Tuebingen, Germany.

My PhD project (AHRC funded) presents an integrated approach to the concepts of social organisation and ”social identities“ in Alamannic populations (early 5th - late 7th c. AD) of southwest Germany. My research assesses and discusses the outcomes of an interdisciplinary approach using biological and archaeological data gathered from selected cemeteries in Baden-Wuerttemberg, allowing for the factor of different habitations and locations influencing the interactions of a community. A key theme is the investigation of indicators for ”biological“ and social status, by direct association of bioanthropological with archaeological data, as well as by evaluation of present interpretations made from material culture in the light of bioanthropological analysis as a paramount focus. The construction of ”osteobiographies“ for selected communities and individuals are interpreted in terms of social status and the perception of certain social parameters, while an association with funerary archaeological data considerably enhances our picture of Alamannic societies and helps to comprehend Alamannic social organisation as a multilayered phenomenon.
My studies include an emphasis on activity-related markers on the skeleton, enabling us to reformulate the dated assumption of a 'peasant-warrior' society. Regarding this area of research, I am also a speaker for the working group 'Occupational Markers', resulting from the workshop on Musculo-Skeletal Stress Markers held in Coimbra (2009).

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