- Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Archaeology
My research interests focus on human adaptation to diet and disease in the past. Most of my work involves applications of stable isotope analysis to the determination of past diet. Examples include studies of the adoption of maize in southern Ontario, determining the importance of freshwater resources in the diet (Ontario and Siberia) and the use of nitrogen isotopes to determine the timing of weaning in past populations. Our department maintains a laboratory for preparation of bone samples (e.g., isolation of collagen, apatite or bone mineral) with further chemical studies of bone carried out in the Isotope Science Laboratory in the Department of Physics and other facilities on campus. I serve as consultant in forensic anthropology for the Medical Examiner of Alberta (southern division).