I wanted to talk a little bit about this episode because it was so fun to research and write; I've covered Deir el-Medina a fair bit over the years, but the wonderful bioarchaeologist and Egyptologist Anne Austin recently published a new book on it that adds a ton of new details about life there.
New Past Lives: The Workers of Deir el-Medina. Who built the magnificent tombs for the pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings? We know exactly who - the residents of a nearby village, who left us one of the richest archaeological sites in the world. pod.link/1852618120/e...
The Workers of Deir el-Medina
Listen to The Workers of Deir el-Medina from Past Lives wherever you get your podcasts!
pod.link
July 10, 2026 at 2:29 AM
I wanted to talk a little bit about this episode because it was so fun to research and write; I've covered Deir el-Medina a fair bit over the years, but the wonderful bioarchaeologist and Egyptologist Anne Austin recently published a new book on it that adds a ton of new details about life there.
FOLLOW ALERT! I've been a long-time fan of @killgrove.bsky.social, so I was very happy to see her over here on #bluesky. Former anthropology professor and Roman bioarchaeologist, she now is a staff writer at Live Science. Check her out!
I’ve taken over writing our weekly series on “astonishing artifacts.” Here’s my first entry: the mask of Xiuhtecuhtli. 🏺🧪
www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
Mask of Xiuhtecuhtli: A 600-year-old mask of the Aztec fire god taken as treasure by conquistadors
This stunning blue mask may represent the Aztec cycle of death and renewal.
www.livescience.com
November 25, 2024 at 3:23 PM
FOLLOW ALERT! I've been a long-time fan of @killgrove.bsky.social, so I was very happy to see her over here on #bluesky. Former anthropology professor and Roman bioarchaeologist, she now is a staff writer at Live Science. Check her out!
Also - come and get my job! Which I’m still partially doing, but someone needs to take up the slack/ allow me to send them to far flung locations to retrieve mysterious ancient samples. See the World*!
*mainly Britain.
crick.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
*mainly Britain.
crick.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
(Senior) Laboratory Research Scientist - Bioarchaeologist
Salary for this Role: LRS level from £36,535 per annum plus benefits SLRS level from £45,700 per annum plus benefits Job Title: (Senior) Laboratory Research Scientist - Bioarchaeologist Reports to: Po...
crick.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com
August 13, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Also - come and get my job! Which I’m still partially doing, but someone needs to take up the slack/ allow me to send them to far flung locations to retrieve mysterious ancient samples. See the World*!
*mainly Britain.
crick.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
*mainly Britain.
crick.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
Bone identification. I know a bioarchaeologist whose party trick is to identify bones from the impression they leave in the trays of dried beans used to support them...
September 13, 2023 at 7:18 PM
Bone identification. I know a bioarchaeologist whose party trick is to identify bones from the impression they leave in the trays of dried beans used to support them...
Former bioarchaeologist and current science journalist here. I'm a bit baffled (yes) by the criticism of this short, one-year-old BBC story about a medieval cemetery in Wales. A thread. 1/
This is now what passes for “science” from the BBC. Hackneyed cliches, faux mystery, factually incorrect statements.
1. Archaeologists are, once again, “baffled”
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
1. Archaeologists are, once again, “baffled”
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Mystery of Welsh medieval cemetery deepens
Skeletons and artefacts unearthed from the site near Cardiff Airport are baffling archaeologists.
www.bbc.co.uk
May 5, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Former bioarchaeologist and current science journalist here. I'm a bit baffled (yes) by the criticism of this short, one-year-old BBC story about a medieval cemetery in Wales. A thread. 1/
🚨JOB KLAXON: Research Assistant (Bioarchaeologist) on the fascinating Rewilding Later Prehistory Project. Isotopes and aDNA your thing? Interested in early horses? The role is based on Oxford, but some time spent here at Exeter:
Research Assistant (Bioarchaeologist) - Rewilding Later Prehistory Project – Oxford at Oxford Arch...
An academic position as a Research Assistant (Bioarchaeologist) - Rewilding Later Prehistory Project – Oxford is being advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Click now to find more details and explore additional...
www.jobs.ac.uk
December 12, 2023 at 10:51 AM
🚨JOB KLAXON: Research Assistant (Bioarchaeologist) on the fascinating Rewilding Later Prehistory Project. Isotopes and aDNA your thing? Interested in early horses? The role is based on Oxford, but some time spent here at Exeter:
RIP to the Indiana Jones of ancient fermented beverages, Dr. Patrick McGovern.
Let's raise a glass of Kvasir, Chicha, or Chateau Jiahu to a great experimental bioarchaeologist...
Let's raise a glass of Kvasir, Chicha, or Chateau Jiahu to a great experimental bioarchaeologist...
August 27, 2025 at 8:51 PM
RIP to the Indiana Jones of ancient fermented beverages, Dr. Patrick McGovern.
Let's raise a glass of Kvasir, Chicha, or Chateau Jiahu to a great experimental bioarchaeologist...
Let's raise a glass of Kvasir, Chicha, or Chateau Jiahu to a great experimental bioarchaeologist...
Or a bioarchaeologist! So many archaeologists that study bones!
May 15, 2024 at 12:01 AM
Or a bioarchaeologist! So many archaeologists that study bones!
But Brenna you’re a bioarchaeologist why do you do survey in Greece GEE GUYS I WONDER 😘🏺
July 19, 2026 at 9:02 AM
But Brenna you’re a bioarchaeologist why do you do survey in Greece GEE GUYS I WONDER 😘🏺
First time I’ve heard of a bioarchaeologist finding a skeleton in a dolium. Apparently not the best place to hide! 🏺🧪
1,600-year-old skeleton found in a giant jar in Bulgaria may belong to Roman who hid there to escape enemy attack
Human remains found in a giant Roman jar in Bulgaria may belong to a young Roman who armed himself with two knives during an enemy attack.
www.livescience.com
September 2, 2026 at 12:10 PM
First time I’ve heard of a bioarchaeologist finding a skeleton in a dolium. Apparently not the best place to hide! 🏺🧪
Little primer on quantifying human remains, using some of my work as an example. A thread.
As a commercial bioarchaeologist I use three primary ways of quantifying remains: Number of identified specimens (NISP), Minimum number of individuals (MNI) and weight (1/5)
As a commercial bioarchaeologist I use three primary ways of quantifying remains: Number of identified specimens (NISP), Minimum number of individuals (MNI) and weight (1/5)
March 9, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Little primer on quantifying human remains, using some of my work as an example. A thread.
As a commercial bioarchaeologist I use three primary ways of quantifying remains: Number of identified specimens (NISP), Minimum number of individuals (MNI) and weight (1/5)
As a commercial bioarchaeologist I use three primary ways of quantifying remains: Number of identified specimens (NISP), Minimum number of individuals (MNI) and weight (1/5)
For anyone landing on this platform just now, welcome! I'm a bioarchaeologist interested in #health and #dietary practices in the past. I use several methods to reconstruct past lifeways. I am the head of the anthropology and stable isotopes labs in BoCAS, Uni Bonn, Germany. Happy to connect!
November 15, 2024 at 10:02 AM
Monogamy. Grandmas. Milk. The Evolution of Childhood Is Very Strange. www.sapiens.org/biology/stra...
Monogamy. Grandmas. Milk. The Evolution of Childhood Is Very Strange.
In a new book, Growing Up Human, a bioarchaeologist chronicles the most surprising evolutionary adaptations of babies and parents.
www.sapiens.org
May 9, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Monogamy. Grandmas. Milk. The Evolution of Childhood Is Very Strange. www.sapiens.org/biology/stra...
So I was a bioarchaeologist, and that involved looking at human bones. There are things that you can use to try and sex a human skele, but they are mostly in and around the pelvis (sciatic notch & width of sacrum) which are not externally visible.
July 2, 2026 at 8:12 PM
So I was a bioarchaeologist, and that involved looking at human bones. There are things that you can use to try and sex a human skele, but they are mostly in and around the pelvis (sciatic notch & width of sacrum) which are not externally visible.
Finally making the jump over to this place, & thought I’d do a quick intro post:
💀 I’m a bioarchaeologist specialising in bone diagenesis, archaeothanatology & funerary archaeology 🔬
🛖 I do research on Iron and Viking Age Scandinavia + Iron Age Britain and Europe
📍 @archanchistleic.bsky.social
💀 I’m a bioarchaeologist specialising in bone diagenesis, archaeothanatology & funerary archaeology 🔬
🛖 I do research on Iron and Viking Age Scandinavia + Iron Age Britain and Europe
📍 @archanchistleic.bsky.social
November 17, 2024 at 4:38 PM
Finally making the jump over to this place, & thought I’d do a quick intro post:
💀 I’m a bioarchaeologist specialising in bone diagenesis, archaeothanatology & funerary archaeology 🔬
🛖 I do research on Iron and Viking Age Scandinavia + Iron Age Britain and Europe
📍 @archanchistleic.bsky.social
💀 I’m a bioarchaeologist specialising in bone diagenesis, archaeothanatology & funerary archaeology 🔬
🛖 I do research on Iron and Viking Age Scandinavia + Iron Age Britain and Europe
📍 @archanchistleic.bsky.social
"In the same way that some people swaddle their children, the same way that there's religious circumcision, you bind the heads of your children because that is what we do to our children." -- bioarchaeologist Christina Torres 🏺🧪
Ancient 'alien-like' skulls have been found on every continent but Antarctica. Anthropologists are starting to figure out why.
Humans have practiced head shaping for tens of thousands of years, and anthropologists are beginning to uncover clues as to why.
www.livescience.com
March 6, 2026 at 5:22 PM
"In the same way that some people swaddle their children, the same way that there's religious circumcision, you bind the heads of your children because that is what we do to our children." -- bioarchaeologist Christina Torres 🏺🧪
“…she’s heartily bloody sick of people telling her to call the police because there are a couple of drunks in the Penrith Tea Rooms and we want them removed”
August 1, 2025 at 1:33 PM
“…she’s heartily bloody sick of people telling her to call the police because there are a couple of drunks in the Penrith Tea Rooms and we want them removed”
Hi everyone! I'm Stacey, a bioarchaeologist currently based at the Australian National University. My major research foci are the relationships between health and inequality in ancient Thailand and bioarchaeology education, and I also dabble in spatial analysis. Looking forward to meeting you all 😀
November 27, 2024 at 4:10 AM
Hi everyone! I'm Stacey, a bioarchaeologist currently based at the Australian National University. My major research foci are the relationships between health and inequality in ancient Thailand and bioarchaeology education, and I also dabble in spatial analysis. Looking forward to meeting you all 😀
Research Assistant (Bioarchaeologist), 'Rewilding' later prehistory project- Oxford 🏺🧪
1 year fixed term Bioarchaeology position for someone specialising in #zooarchaeology, isotopes and aDNA
www.oxfordarchaeology.com/vacancy/rese...
1 year fixed term Bioarchaeology position for someone specialising in #zooarchaeology, isotopes and aDNA
www.oxfordarchaeology.com/vacancy/rese...
Research Assistant (Bioarchaeologist), 'Rewilding' later prehistory project- Oxford
www.oxfordarchaeology.com
December 8, 2023 at 8:39 PM
Research Assistant (Bioarchaeologist), 'Rewilding' later prehistory project- Oxford 🏺🧪
1 year fixed term Bioarchaeology position for someone specialising in #zooarchaeology, isotopes and aDNA
www.oxfordarchaeology.com/vacancy/rese...
1 year fixed term Bioarchaeology position for someone specialising in #zooarchaeology, isotopes and aDNA
www.oxfordarchaeology.com/vacancy/rese...
Hi all! Obligatory first introduction post! I'm a bioarchaeologist & palaeopathologist interested in the Roman world (but expect future posts to also feature bunnies and knitting)!
#anthropology
#biologicalanthropology
#bioarchaeology
#palaeopathology
#osteology
#biomechanics
#Roman
#archaeology
#anthropology
#biologicalanthropology
#bioarchaeology
#palaeopathology
#osteology
#biomechanics
#Roman
#archaeology
November 15, 2024 at 2:04 AM
Hi all! Obligatory first introduction post! I'm a bioarchaeologist & palaeopathologist interested in the Roman world (but expect future posts to also feature bunnies and knitting)!
#anthropology
#biologicalanthropology
#bioarchaeology
#palaeopathology
#osteology
#biomechanics
#Roman
#archaeology
#anthropology
#biologicalanthropology
#bioarchaeology
#palaeopathology
#osteology
#biomechanics
#Roman
#archaeology
I love doing these consultations! Check out my website to learn more about my experience as a bioarchaeologist and what to expect from a consultation: helenaramsaroop.com/bioarchaeolo...
I'm personally so excited about this one: A 1-hour zoom consultation with our very own editor and BIOARCHAEOLOGIST, @hramsaroop.bsky.social!! 🤯
If you're writing anything archaeology-related, or just generally interested in the field, this is an incredible opportunity to level up your knowledge.
If you're writing anything archaeology-related, or just generally interested in the field, this is an incredible opportunity to level up your knowledge.
May 5, 2026 at 9:51 PM
I love doing these consultations! Check out my website to learn more about my experience as a bioarchaeologist and what to expect from a consultation: helenaramsaroop.com/bioarchaeolo...
As a bioarchaeologist who has studied individuals who lived on(in?) the Nazca "plain" (ugh), Crystal Skull infuriated me
The Nasca region is an arid desert, for one...and, well, nevermind it's a movie 😂😜
The Nasca region is an arid desert, for one...and, well, nevermind it's a movie 😂😜
September 12, 2026 at 12:37 AM
As a bioarchaeologist who has studied individuals who lived on(in?) the Nazca "plain" (ugh), Crystal Skull infuriated me
The Nasca region is an arid desert, for one...and, well, nevermind it's a movie 😂😜
The Nasca region is an arid desert, for one...and, well, nevermind it's a movie 😂😜
Uhhh, not sure if this is good or bad. 847 / Top 2% (prolly because I write a LOT) 🤔
June 19, 2026 at 12:11 PM
Uhhh, not sure if this is good or bad. 847 / Top 2% (prolly because I write a LOT) 🤔
as a bioarchaeologist (so, focusing on human remains from archaeological sites), there are just so, SO MANY good ones
April 1, 2025 at 3:26 PM
as a bioarchaeologist (so, focusing on human remains from archaeological sites), there are just so, SO MANY good ones
When I wrote about the history of alcohol for National Geographic, bioarchaeologist and beer scholar Pat McGovern was the first person I called. Sad to hear he's gone. www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/art...
August 26, 2025 at 10:16 AM
When I wrote about the history of alcohol for National Geographic, bioarchaeologist and beer scholar Pat McGovern was the first person I called. Sad to hear he's gone. www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/art...