At the heart of the Zooarchaeology group is the modern comparative collection, which contains over 2200 mammals, 800 birds, 700 fish, and 100 herpetological skeletons. We also curate over 2.4 million specimens from archaeological sites, including macromammalian remains and microvertebrates.

We apply cutting edge techniques in the extraction and analysis of proteins to aid in our understanding of the ancient human past. Our team studies hominin dispersal and interaction during the Pleistocene, bone tool production and specialisation, artefact manufacture, and protein preservation across archaeological timescales. We have a particular focus on the study of fragmented bones, which typically can’t be identified using traditional zooarchaeological practices and may contain rare human and faunal remains that are key to our understanding of the archaeological record.

There is currently a laboratory space dedicated for proteomics including sampling as well as collagen extraction.