Professor Kate Britton

Biography

Kate began her archaeological career in 2002 at Durham University, where she studied Archaeology (BSc), specialising in prehistory, bioarchaeology and palaeodietary reconstruction. She then moved on to University of Reading in 2005 to study for a NERC-funded MSc degree in Geoarchaeology. It was at Reading that Kate began to incorporate the stable isotope analysis of animal and human remains into her research. In 2006 she returned to Durham to start a PhD in Bioarchaeology, again receiving sponsorship from NERC. In 2007 she joined the Department of Human Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, initially as a doctoral candidate, and after finishing her thesis, as a post-doctoral research scientist and DAAD Junior Scholarship holder.

Kate was appointed Lecturer in Archaeological Science in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Aberdeen in 2010, becoming Senior Lecturer in 2016, and Head of Department in 2020. Kate was made Professor (Personal Chair) in 2021. 

Internal Memberships

• Departmental social media (w/ Josh Wright)
• Honorary Curatorial Fellow (University Museums)

Prizes and Awards

Philip Leverhulme Prize in Archaeology (2019)

Research Overview

Kate is an archaeological scientist and human palaeoecologist, specialising in the use of stable isotope analysis for the reconstruction of past diets, movements, and environments. Her research centres on the relationship between life-time behaviours, diets and movements of past humans and animals, and human-animal-environmental interactions. She specialises in the use of multi-isotope systems (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N, δ¹⁸O, δ³⁴S, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) and the reconstruction of individual isotopic histories, focusing on the interaction between humans and animals. This includes the isotopic-identification of subsistence strategies, animal husbandry practices, the isotope ecology of archaeologically-important prey-species, and the identification of broad-scale climatic or environmental isotopic-trends. Regions/periods of focus include Late Pleistocene Europe, pre-contact Western Alaska and (early) Medieval Scotland.

Current Research

• Integrative Approaches to Late Pleistocene Herbivore Ecology, Ranging and Diet
• Diet and health in Medieval Aberdeen
• Palaeodiet and subsistence practices in northwest Alaska, including the exploration of vitamin D health
• Late Pleistocene archaeo-ecology of Scotland

Past Research

• Salt-marsh grazing and coastal agriculture in North-West Europe
• Late Pleistocene faunal biogeography and implications for Neanderthal subsistence strategies and landscape use in southwest France
• Dietary change and maritime adaptations in prehistoric North-West Alaska
• Use of oxygen isotope analysis of faunal remains as terrestrial palaeoclimatic proxies at the late Pleistocene site of Neumark-Nord 2, Germany

Funding and Grants

Teaching Responsibilities

I am currently on research leave, normally I lead/contribute to the following courses:

Course Co-ordinator

• AY2006 Test Tubes & Trowels (Undergraduate 15-credit course)
• AY3027: Mammoths to Microliths: Life and Landscapes in Palaeolithic Europe (Undergraduate 15-credit course)
• AY4014 Bioarchaeology (Undergraduate 15-credit course)
• AY5001 Northern Worlds (MSc 30-credit course)

Additional Teaching

• SX1501 Humans and Other Animals
• ED1057 What Makes Us Human
• AY1003 Introduction to World Prehistory
• AY1503 Archaeology in Action
• AY2505 The Archaeology of the North: Lifeways and Culture Change
• AY3009 Scottish Archaeology
• SX3012 An Appetite for Food and Health
• AY3512 Archaeological Research Project Part I
• AY4002 Archaeological Research Project Part II
• AY4510 Current Issues in Archaeology
• AY4511 Indigenous, Community and Public Archaeologies
• AY5002 Theory and Method in Archaeological Research
• AY5501 Northern Peoples and Cultures
• AY5502 Advanced Archaeological Approaches