Staff profiles

Dr Sean Doherty

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Sean specialises in exploring deep-time human-animal-environment interactions through the synthesis of zooarchaeological, biomolecular (isotope analysis, proteomics and genetics), historical and anthropological research. His research focusses on using archaeology to help tackle modern environmental and societal challenges, including biodiversity, animal health, wildlife managment and marine plastic pollution.

He holds a PhD in Archaeology from the University of York where his AHRC-funded research focussed on the proteomic and isotopic analysis of parchment to investigate the British 'Agricultural Revolution'. Currently, Sean is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow on the Wellcome Trust funded From 'Feed the Birds' to 'Do Not Feed the Animals'

Research collaborations

From 'Feed the Birds' to 'Do Not Feed the Animals', PI Prof. Naomi Sykes (Wellcome Trust)

Exploring the Easter E.g.- Shifting Baselines and Changing Perceptions of Cultural and Biological ‘Aliens’, PI Prof. Naomi Sykes (AHRC)

Beasts to Craft: Biocodicology as a new approach to the study of parchmet manuscripts, PI Prof. Matthew Collins (ERC)

Research students

Current and Past Graduate Students

Felix Sadebeck - 'Conquest by Cattle: Evaluating the meaning, impact and legacy of cattle husbandry in the Roman world, PhD expected 2025.

Rachael Saunders - 'Human and dog diets in Roman Britain', MSc expected 2022.

Nina Herer - 'Morphological and isotopic analysis of pig and wild boar diets in Roman Europe', MSc expected 2022.

Alisha Barker - 'Exploring changes in horse management in Iron Age and Roman Britain through morphological and isotope anysis'. MSc expected 2022.

Bethan Roberts - 'Morphological and isotopic analysis of red squirrel populations to determine the influence of anthropogenic feeding', MSc awarded 2021.

Jack Sudds - 'Felis & Felix The Changing Fortunes of Cats in Britain', MSc awarded 2020.

Media

Selected recent media activity

Current Archaeology, November Issue, 2021 - Biocodicology and the proteomics of parchment

Current Archaeology, August Issue, 2021 - Count your chickens: a new ageing technique for domesticated fowl

The Times, 8 June 2021 - Iron Age farmers believed a chicken was for life, not just for dinner

New York Times, 6 May 2021 - Humans have been sharing food with Animals for Centuries. Why is that?

New Scientist, March Issue, 2021 - British legal deeds were once written on sheepskin to prevent fraud

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