Here in the Dorothy Garrod Lab we focus on the use of isotope analysis to investigate our human ancestors and their interaction with plants, animals and landscapes. We address questions about diet and nutrition, palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment, ecology, mobility and origins. Our work uses the following isotopic measurements: 未13C, 未15N, 未18O, 未34S, 未D, 87/86Sr. We analyse a wide variety of samples including bone, teeth, hair and whiskers, skin, plants and shells.听 Samples analysis by the听Dorothy Garrod Lab听has provided new insight听on material culture听changes across the Anglo-Saxon period, the resilience and sustainability the Indus Civilisation and diet and mobility in 14th Century Cambridge, to give just a few examples.
Laboratory Members include undergraduate, masters and doctoral students, post-doctoral researchers and academic staff.听
We welcome applications to join the laboratory from potential post-docs, visiting fellows and students, PhD and MPhil students.听We welcome academic collaborations with other individuals and external institutions, and undertake semi-commercial work on a project-by-project basis. For more information or to discuss this further please听contact the Lab.
We have the facilities in-house to prepare a wide variety of samples for isotopic analysis. We analyse human, plant and animal samples, both archaeological and modern. For analysis guidance please see Laboratory Documentation for download at the bottom of this page.
Sample types analysed
- Collagen (bone, dentine, skin etc)
- Tooth enamel carbonate and phosphate
- Shell carbonate
- Plant organics
- Hair, feather听and whisker keratin and other soft tissues
- Blood, serum and plasma
- Faecal and urine samples
- Water
Preparation equipment
Freeze-driers, centrifuges, drilling equipment, extraction hoods, oven, hot block. Strontium sample preparation is carried out in the clean room facilities in the听.
Analytical equipment
All isotopic analyses are carried out via collaboration with the听听Department of Earth Sciences. We routinely analyse isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and strontium, and can also measure hydrogen and sulphur.
Mass spectrometers:
- Costech EA coupled to a Finnigan听Delta-V isotope ratio monitoring mass spectrometer
- VG PRISM Mass Spectrometer with Multiprep System
- VG SIRA Mass Spectrometer with Multicarb System
- Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometer
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Required Sample Sizes
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|
Material |
Sample size |
|
Bone, antler and tooth collagen听听 |
0.5-1.0g of dry bone |
|
Tooth enamel (carbonate) |
7-10mg of powdered enamel |
|
Tooth enamel (phosphate) |
1mg of powdered enamel |
|
Hair keratin |
0.5-1.0cm of hair |
|
Shell carbonate |
0.1mg |
|
Plants |
1-10mg |
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The Laboratory is named after听Dorothy Annie Elizabeth Garrod,听CBE,听FBA听(5 May 1892 鈥� 18 December 1968), an English听archaeologist听who specialised in the听Palaeolithic听period. She held the position of听Disney Professor of 91探花视频听at the 91探花视频 from 1939听to 1952, and was the first woman to hold a Chair at either Cambridge or Oxford.
Contributions to 91探花视频
In 1913, Garrod entered听Newnham College, Cambridge听where she was one of very few women students at the university. She graduated in 1916 with a degree in history. After demobilisationf orn war work during WW I she听read for a Diploma in Anthropology at the听Pitt Rivers Museum,听University of Oxford, where she enrolled in 1921. She was taught by听Robert Ranulph Marett听and received a distinction on graduating in 1922. She then studied for two years with the French prehistorian听Abb茅 Breuilat the Institut de Paleontologie Humaine in Paris. Garrod subsequently became renowned for her excavations in Gibraltar, Bulgaria and across the Middle East in what were then Palestine and southern Kurdistan.
Awards and Honours
Following the publication of her excavations听The Stone Age of Mount Carmel听(1937), Garrod was awarded Honorary Doctorates from the听University of Pennsylvania and Boston College and a DSc. from听Oxford University. She was elected a Fellow of the听British Academy听in 1952, and in 1965 she was awarded the听CBE. In 1968 the听Society of Antiquaries of London听presented her with its Gold Medal. In 2017, Newnham College a new college building after Garrod.听
For a fuller account of Dorothy Garrod's connection with Cambridge see the听biographical essay听by P. J.听Smith.
Dorothy Garrod with the听 members of her first excavation crew at the Mount Carmel Caves,听 1929. Standing in their camp are left to right, Elinor Ewbank听 (Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford), Dorothy Garrod, Mary Kitson Clark听 (Girton College, Cambridge), Dean Harriet M. Allyn (Mount Holyoke听 College, USA) and Dr Martha Hackett. Photograph by courtesy of the听 Fonds Suzanne Cassou de Saint-Mathurin, MAN.
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Potential applicants must get in contact with us to discuss suitable projects prior to the submission of any application.听
We welcome academic visitors to the group for periods of up to a year. The McDonald Institute charges visitors to the laboratory a small termly bench fee to cover the use of its facilities.听Visitors are responsible for securing their own funding听before applying to join the Dorothy Garrod Lab.
Visiting students staying longer than 6 months may be required to pay university fees. Please contact the Department鈥檚听Graduate Adminstrator听for details.
MPhil/PhD students
Students wishing to join the Lab for a PhD or MPhil can apply to various sources of funds:
- Project-specific funded PhD positions, when available, are advertised on the department web page.
- UK and EU students can apply for independent UK research council funding. Competitions for these funds are run through the departments. For further information read the听.
- The Cambridge Trusts (comprising the Gates Cambridge Trust, the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust and the Cambridge Overseas Trust) offer scholarships and part-cost bursaries to students from overseas and the European Union
- The University offers funding through a number of schemes. See听.
- Many colleges offer scholarships and bursaries, and summary details can be found in the听.
Do pay attention to funding deadlines, as these may be considerably earlier than deadlines for your application to study. Students can apply for funding before securing an offer of study and indeed most students apply for admission and apply for funding concurrently. Extensive further information can be found in the听.
Potential research students should note that laboratory-based projects involving isotopic analyses generally require research funds of several thousands of pounds, in addition to fees and maintenance. This should be discussed with the Lab Director.
Post-Doctoral Positions
When funded post-doc positions are available, they are usually linked to specific projects and are advertised on the department web page. Post docs wishing to join the group can apply for independent funding though one of the following routes:
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research fellowships (advertised annually see)
- College research fellowships advertised in the听听each summer
This is not an exhaustive list and if you are interested in such a position, you should investigate other possible sources of funding.
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