More about Dr Brown

I received my B.A. in Social and Behavioural Sciences (Concentrating in Cultural Anthropology) from the American University in Kuwait, and later moved to Germany where I completed my M.Sc. in Archaeological Sciences and Human Evolution at the University of Tübingen. My M.Sc. involved the spatio-temporal analysis of the susceptibility of dental microwear formation between deciduous and permanent molars of subadults from Abusir El-Meleq, Egypt and Tauberbischofsheim, Germany. Along with my M.Sc. studies, I was also simultaneously working as a laboratory assistant (HiWi) at the Palaeoproteomics Department at the University of Tübingen, where I developed a deep interest in Palaeoproteomics that extended well after my graduation. I am now currently a PhD candidate at the very same department, where I hope to successfully conduct ZooMS analysis and assess for faunal preservation from several Middle to Upper Paleolithic sites in Greece (namely, Apidima, Klissoura, and Asprochaliko) as part of the Advanced ERC program, FIRSTSTEPS.

Email: salma.ibrahim@ifu.uni-tuebingen.de
Office Phone: 74698
Office Address: Room 707, Hauptgebäude, DG. Rümelinstr. 23

I completed my Master’s in Archaeological Sciences at the University of Tübingen, specialising in zooarchaeology with a focus on ZooMS analysis. My master's thesis explored the application of ZooMS on faunal remains from warm regions where biomolecular preservation is low. For my PhD project, I am employing an interdisciplinary approach that involves ZooMS, as well as faunal and paleoanthropological analyses, to better comprehend the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition at the site of Grotte de la Verpillière I in France, and to gain insight into the hominin presence during this crucial period. Given the site's extensive collection of fragmented and unidentifiable bone fragments, the application of ZooMS will play a major role in the exploration of the faunal composition of the site and in the identification of human remains.
 

I came to Tübingen's Archaeo- and Paleoproteomics Working Group from a classic zooarchaeology background thanks to my Master's thesis on recent and proposed biomolecular advances and their applications to zooarchaeological research. Coming into ZooMS with this perspective has led me to seek to find a solution to one of ZooMS's most common questions: How can we trust reported ZooMS ratios when the only quantification method used is NISP, and in some cases weight, given the known limitations and inherent biases with these methods which would be further compounded in a heavily fragmented assemblage? Therefore, I am currently working to develop, apply, and refine a quantification method that I have developed based on older established methods from traditional zooarchaeology.

I am currently applying this method to ZooMS-identified fragments from the Mousterian layers of Geißenklösterle and Hohlenstein-Stadel. The goal for these studies is to ultimately shed additional light on fragmentation patterns and hominin and carnivore behavior through study of surface modifications, fragment size, and the taxonomic abundances represented in the fragmentary assemblage. The method should also allow a comparison with the original zooarchaeological work, through which ZooMS will ideally be able to reveal additional information so far "hidden in plain sight".

Education:
B.A. in Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), 2019
M.Sc. in Zooarchaeology, University of York, 2022

Research Interests:
Paleoproteomics, zooarchaeology, hominin behavior and subsistence

Publications:
De Caro, Dalila, Megan A. Saunders, Brienna Eteson, Susan M. Mentzer, and Judith Beier. 2024. “Thirteenth annual meeting of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution.” Evolutionary Anthropology: e22029. doi: 10.1002/evan.22029

Thompson, Nathan, Lameesah Ahmed, Taner B. Celebi, Zachary S. Coopee, Nikki Koll, Danielle Rubinstein, Megan A. Saunders, and Robert L. Anemone. 2020. “Digitization of the Nissen-Riesen Chimpanzee Radiological Growth Series.” Evolutionary Anthropology: 1-7. doi: 10.1002/evan.21836

Presentations:
Saunders, Megan. A, Luca Michaelis, Susanne C. Münzel, Keiko Kitagawa, Britt M. Starkovich, Salma Ibrahim, Nicholas J. Conard, and Samantha Brown. “Counting Fragments: A New Holistic Approach to Quantifying ZooMS-Identified Bone Fragments for Analysis.” Presented at 13th Annual European Society for the Study of Human Evolution Conference, University of Aarhus and Museum of Ancient Art, Aarhus, Denmark, September 2023. Poster. https://www.eshe.eu/pastmeeting/2023/ 

Saunders, Megan. A, Luca Michaelis, Susanne Münzel, Keiko Kitagawa, Britt Starkovich, Nicholas Conard, and Samantha Brown. “Counting Fragments: A New Holistic Approach to Quantifying ZooMS-Identified Bone Fragments for Analysis.” Talk presented at Postgraduate Zooarchaeology Forum (PZaF), University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia, May 2023. https://pzaf2023.ffzg.unizg.hr/ 

Saunders, Megan. A, Luca Michaelis, Susanne C. Münzel, Keiko Kitagawa, Britt M. Starkovich, Nicholas J. Conard, and Samantha Brown. 18-19 April 2023. “Counting Fragments: A New Holistic Approach to Quantifying ZooMS-Identified Bone Fragments for Analysis.” Talk presented at Integrating ZooMS and Zooarchaeology: methodological challenges and interpretive potentials workshop, University of Kent, Kent, United Kingdom, April 2023. www.palaeozooarch.com/workshops

Classes:
•    Einführung in die Naturwissenschaftliche Archäologie II: Archäobiologie (UFGAM_BA_2.3 // UFG-BA-08-1). Lecture. Sommer Semester 2024
•    Osteologie IV – Archäozoologie (Ü) (BNWA_03b / PAL-10c-2). Practical. Sommer Semester 2023, 2024
•    ZooMS and Zooarchaeology (ASHE 6g). Lecture and Seminar. Winter Semester 2022-2023, 2023-2024
•    ZooMS and Zooarchaeology Lab. Block course. Winter Semester 2022-2023, 2023-2024

Email: megan.saundersspam prevention@ifu.uni-tuebingen.de
Office Address: Room 707, Hauptgebäude, DG. Rümelinstr. 23

Research project

My current project involves applying ZooMS and other palaeoproteomics methods to the highly fragmented faunal assemblage from Middle Palaeolithic sites in the Swabian Jura, Southwest Germany, with the aim of confirming and advancing our current knowledge of the area's taxonomic composition and its implications for human behaviour. I also examine bone collagen degradation patterns and investigate their relationships with various pre- and post-depositional modifications as well as different climatic and burial conditions. My objective is to broaden the range of information extracted from archaeological bone collagen data and to collaborate closely with zooarchaeologists to ensure comprehensive contextualization.

Education

July 2022-Present PhD student

Archaeo and Palaeoproteomics working group

Institute for Archaeological Sciences

Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Nicholas J. Conard, Dr. Samantha Brown

2020-2021 Mphil Archaeological Science                 University of Cambridge

2017-2020 BA Archaeology                                        University of Sheffield

Research interests

ZooMS

Proteomics

Zooarchaeology

Taphonomy

Palaeolithic archaeology

Human behaviour ecology

Scholarship

Faculty undergraduate Scholarship for Academic Achievement 2018-19

Faculty undergraduate Scholarship for Academic Achievement 2017-18

I receieved my Bachelor's in Arts and Science (Hons) from the Australian National University in Canberra in 2020 majoring in Archaeology and Biological Anthropology. My research specifically focused on palaeodemographic processes of Norse populations in the North Atlantic and maternal mortality in ancient Southeast Asia.

As part of the research I am undertaking with Dr Brown I am investigating the application of digestive agents to produce unique peptide markers and as a research assistant (HiWi) for the team I am responsible for sampling osseous and dental material for further molecular analysis. 

Google Scholar  

Email: britta.van-tiel@ student.uni-tuebingen.de

I completed my Bachelor of Arts at the University of Tübingen in prehistoric and early historical archaeology and achaeology of the Middle Ages and scientific archaeology. My bachelor thesis dealt with the ZooMS analysis of Copper Age bone jewelry from Banat, Romania. 
In my current master thesis I am using ZooMS to investigate the faunal remains of a domestic context of a Neolithic Starčevo site in southern Serbia in order to contribute to a deeper understanding of the Neolithization process and lifestyles in the Balkans.
Additionally, I am a Student assistant in the lab and involved with all aspects of protein extraction and data Analysis.