Thomas J Booth
Biographic Data
| ID | 299701 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomas J Booth |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomas J |
| FAMILY NAME | Booth |
| SIGNATURE | BOOTH T J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Natural History Museum |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8731-818X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 199 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 24 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
Giving and taking
The ethics of destructive sampling of human remains has become a critical debate, in part centred on developing minimally invasive techniques that simultaneously maximize information yield. While widely adopted best-practice guidelines have been developed, the proliferation of diverse analytical techniques results in incremental damage that compounds across studies, necessitating coordinated protocols to minimize cumulative destructive impact. He…
Encountering the Unburied Dead
The treatment of the dead body is a highly social phenomenon, rooted in cultural conventions. Choices in mortuary rites include inhumation, cremation, and excarnation, along with secondary manipulation before or after burial. In the Carpathian Basin between 1600 and 700 b.c., people employed diverse choices in peri- and post-mortem treatment of human remains. Beginning by defining local cremation conventions, including fragmentation of the body, …
Farthest North
The results of research on the human remains and artefacts recently discovered at Heaning Wood Bone Cave, Cumbria, UK are reported. A programme of radiocarbon dating has established that the human remains include the earliest so far discovered in northern Britain, the ‘Ossick Lass’, which date between 9290 and 8925 cal BC. The cave was used for burial during three phases in prehistory: one individual dating to the Early Mesolithic, four to the Ea…
Comment on “Bacterial bioerosion of bones is a post-skeletonisation phenomenon and appears contingent on soil burial” [Quat. Int. 660 (2023) 75–83]
The Ambivalent Dead
This paper sets out the results of radiocarbon, histological, and contextual analysis of human remains from non-mortuary contexts in Middle and Late Bronze Age Britain. In the latter period in particular, human bone (much of it fragmentary and disarticulated) has frequently been recovered from settlement contexts and from other locations, such as waterholes, across the wider landscape. However, the source and post-mortem trajectories of such find…
The Power of Relics
In this article, the authors examine radiocarbon, histo-taphonomic, and contextual evidence for the deliberate curation, manipulation, and redeposition of human bone in British Bronze Age mortuary contexts. New radiocarbon dates and histological analyses are combined with existing data to explore the processes and practices that resulted in the incorporation of ‘relic’ fragments of bone in later graves, including evidence for the deliberate re-op…
The organics revolution
Organic remains from excavated sites include a wide range of materials, from distinct organisms (‘ecofacts’) to biomolecules. Biomolecules provide a variety of new research avenues, while ecofacts with longer histories of study are now being re-harnessed in unexpected ways. These resources are unlocking research potential, transcending what was previously imagined possible. However, this ‘organics revolution’ comes with a salutary corollary: our …
Tales from the Supplementary Information
Large-scale archaeogenetic studies of people from prehistoric Europe tend to be broad in scope and difficult to resolve with local archaeologies. However, accompanying supplementary information often contains useful finer-scale information that is comprehensible without specific genetics expertise. Here, we show how undiscussed details provided in supplementary information of aDNA papers can provide crucial insight into patterns of ancestry chang…
Death is not the end
Cremated and unburnt human remains have been recovered from a variety of British Bronze and earliest Iron Age archaeological contexts (c. 2500-600 BC). Chronological modelling of 189 new and extant radiocarbon dates from a selection of these deposits provides evidence for the curation of human remains for an average of two generations following death, while histological analysis of bone samples indicates mortuary treatment involving both excarnat…
Imagined biodeterminism
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain
A stranger in a strange land
Here I provide a perspective on the palaeogenetic revolution from an archaeologist who has spent the last four years working alongside palaeogeneticists. I address the questions posed for this journal issue by talking through some of the recurrent comments I have encountered from archaeologists regarding the results of palaeogenetic analyses, particular the renewed emphasis on migrations influencing certain cultural transitions in later prehistor…
The problem with petrous? A consideration of the potential biases in the utilization ofpars petrosafor ancient DNA analysis
Advances in NGS sequencing technologies, improved laboratory protocols and new bioinformatic workflows have seen huge increases in ancient DNA (aDNA) research on archaeological materials. A large proportion of aDNA work now utilizes the petrous portion of the temporal bone (pars petrosa), which is recognized as an excellent skeletal element for long-term ancient endogenous (host) DNA survival. This has been significant due to the often low endoge…
The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe
Exploring your Inner Hades
Two revolutions in using human genetics to investigate the past are beginning to have a profound effect on how the public regard heritage and their connection to it. Direct-to-consumer genetic ancestry tests (GATs) are becoming a popular way for the public to explore their familial history and ancestry. Major advances in ancient DNA methods mean that the field is beginning to live up to its early promise. Both of these analyses can be considered …
Contextualising the dead – Combining geoarchaeology and osteo-anthropology in a new multi-focus approach in bone histotaphonomy
Ava’
This contribution describes the discovery and subsequent investigation of a cist in a rock-cut pit at Achavanich, Highland. Discovered and excavated in 1987, the cist was found to contain the tightly contracted skeletal remains of a young woman, accompanied by a Beaker, three flint artefacts and a cattle scapula. Initial post excavation work established a date for the skeleton together with details of her age and sex, and preliminary pollen analy…
Holding on to the past
New evidence for diverse secondary burial practices in Iron Age Britain
Iron Age (c. 700 BCe43AD) funerary practice has long been a focus of debate in British archaeology. Formal cemeteries are rare and in central-southern Britain human remains are often unearthed in unusual configurations. They are frequently recovered as isolated fragments, partially articulated body parts or complete skeletons in atypical contexts, often storage pits. In recent years, taphonomic analysis of remains has been more frequently employe…
Immaculate conceptions
An Investigation Into the Relationship Between Funerary Treatment and Bacterial Bioerosion in European Archaeological Human Bone
A central problem in funerary archaeology is interpreting how the corpse was manipulated in the immediate post mortem period. The extent of bacterial bioerosion to the internal bone microstructure has been proposed as a means to infer the early post mortem history of a corpse, as it has been suggested that this form of bone diagenesis is produced by an organism's putrefactive gut bacteria. Under this model, different forms of funerary treatment w…
Wrappings of power
A well-preserved burial, discovered during peat clearing on Langwell Farm in Strath Oykel, Easter Ross, consisted of a stone cist that held the skeleton of a woman who had died in 2200–1960 cal bc. Although the cist contents were disturbed and partly removed before archaeological investigation took place, the burial rite can be interpreted to some extent. The woman, who died in her late 20s, had been wrapped in brown cattle hide, and wooden and w…
Mummification in Bronze Age Britain
The origin of bacteria responsible for bioerosion to the internal bone microstructure
New evidence for diverse secondary burial practices in Iron Age Britain
Iron Age (c. 700 BCe43AD) funerary practice has long been a focus of debate in British archaeology. Formal cemeteries are rare and in central-southern Britain human remains are often unearthed in unusual configurations. They are frequently recovered as isolated fragments, partially articulated body parts or complete skeletons in atypical contexts, often storage pits. In recent years, taphonomic analysis of remains has been more frequently employe…
A stranger in a strange land
Here I provide a perspective on the palaeogenetic revolution from an archaeologist who has spent the last four years working alongside palaeogeneticists. I address the questions posed for this journal issue by talking through some of the recurrent comments I have encountered from archaeologists regarding the results of palaeogenetic analyses, particular the renewed emphasis on migrations influencing certain cultural transitions in later prehistor…
Contextualising the dead – Combining geoarchaeology and osteo-anthropology in a new multi-focus approach in bone histotaphonomy
Immaculate conceptions
An Investigation Into the Relationship Between Funerary Treatment and Bacterial Bioerosion in European Archaeological Human Bone
A central problem in funerary archaeology is interpreting how the corpse was manipulated in the immediate post mortem period. The extent of bacterial bioerosion to the internal bone microstructure has been proposed as a means to infer the early post mortem history of a corpse, as it has been suggested that this form of bone diagenesis is produced by an organism's putrefactive gut bacteria. Under this model, different forms of funerary treatment w…
Mummification in Bronze Age Britain
Death is not the end
Cremated and unburnt human remains have been recovered from a variety of British Bronze and earliest Iron Age archaeological contexts (c. 2500-600 BC). Chronological modelling of 189 new and extant radiocarbon dates from a selection of these deposits provides evidence for the curation of human remains for an average of two generations following death, while histological analysis of bone samples indicates mortuary treatment involving both excarnat…
The Power of Relics
In this article, the authors examine radiocarbon, histo-taphonomic, and contextual evidence for the deliberate curation, manipulation, and redeposition of human bone in British Bronze Age mortuary contexts. New radiocarbon dates and histological analyses are combined with existing data to explore the processes and practices that resulted in the incorporation of ‘relic’ fragments of bone in later graves, including evidence for the deliberate re-op…
Tales from the Supplementary Information
Large-scale archaeogenetic studies of people from prehistoric Europe tend to be broad in scope and difficult to resolve with local archaeologies. However, accompanying supplementary information often contains useful finer-scale information that is comprehensible without specific genetics expertise. Here, we show how undiscussed details provided in supplementary information of aDNA papers can provide crucial insight into patterns of ancestry chang…
The problem with petrous? A consideration of the potential biases in the utilization ofpars petrosafor ancient DNA analysis
Advances in NGS sequencing technologies, improved laboratory protocols and new bioinformatic workflows have seen huge increases in ancient DNA (aDNA) research on archaeological materials. A large proportion of aDNA work now utilizes the petrous portion of the temporal bone (pars petrosa), which is recognized as an excellent skeletal element for long-term ancient endogenous (host) DNA survival. This has been significant due to the often low endoge…
The organics revolution
Organic remains from excavated sites include a wide range of materials, from distinct organisms (‘ecofacts’) to biomolecules. Biomolecules provide a variety of new research avenues, while ecofacts with longer histories of study are now being re-harnessed in unexpected ways. These resources are unlocking research potential, transcending what was previously imagined possible. However, this ‘organics revolution’ comes with a salutary corollary: our …
The Ambivalent Dead
This paper sets out the results of radiocarbon, histological, and contextual analysis of human remains from non-mortuary contexts in Middle and Late Bronze Age Britain. In the latter period in particular, human bone (much of it fragmentary and disarticulated) has frequently been recovered from settlement contexts and from other locations, such as waterholes, across the wider landscape. However, the source and post-mortem trajectories of such find…
Wrappings of power
A well-preserved burial, discovered during peat clearing on Langwell Farm in Strath Oykel, Easter Ross, consisted of a stone cist that held the skeleton of a woman who had died in 2200–1960 cal bc. Although the cist contents were disturbed and partly removed before archaeological investigation took place, the burial rite can be interpreted to some extent. The woman, who died in her late 20s, had been wrapped in brown cattle hide, and wooden and w…
Imagined biodeterminism
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Ava’
This contribution describes the discovery and subsequent investigation of a cist in a rock-cut pit at Achavanich, Highland. Discovered and excavated in 1987, the cist was found to contain the tightly contracted skeletal remains of a young woman, accompanied by a Beaker, three flint artefacts and a cattle scapula. Initial post excavation work established a date for the skeleton together with details of her age and sex, and preliminary pollen analy…
Holding on to the past
The origin of bacteria responsible for bioerosion to the internal bone microstructure
Wrappings of power
A well-preserved burial, discovered during peat clearing on Langwell Farm in Strath Oykel, Easter Ross, consisted of a stone cist that held the skeleton of a woman who had died in 2200–1960 cal bc. Although the cist contents were disturbed and partly removed before archaeological investigation took place, the burial rite can be interpreted to some extent. The woman, who died in her late 20s, had been wrapped in brown cattle hide, and wooden and w…
Mummification in Bronze Age Britain
Holding on to the past
New evidence for diverse secondary burial practices in Iron Age Britain
Iron Age (c. 700 BCe43AD) funerary practice has long been a focus of debate in British archaeology. Formal cemeteries are rare and in central-southern Britain human remains are often unearthed in unusual configurations. They are frequently recovered as isolated fragments, partially articulated body parts or complete skeletons in atypical contexts, often storage pits. In recent years, taphonomic analysis of remains has been more frequently employe…
Immaculate conceptions
An Investigation Into the Relationship Between Funerary Treatment and Bacterial Bioerosion in European Archaeological Human Bone
A central problem in funerary archaeology is interpreting how the corpse was manipulated in the immediate post mortem period. The extent of bacterial bioerosion to the internal bone microstructure has been proposed as a means to infer the early post mortem history of a corpse, as it has been suggested that this form of bone diagenesis is produced by an organism's putrefactive gut bacteria. Under this model, different forms of funerary treatment w…
The Beaker phenomenon and the genomic transformation of northwest Europe
Exploring your Inner Hades
Two revolutions in using human genetics to investigate the past are beginning to have a profound effect on how the public regard heritage and their connection to it. Direct-to-consumer genetic ancestry tests (GATs) are becoming a popular way for the public to explore their familial history and ancestry. Major advances in ancient DNA methods mean that the field is beginning to live up to its early promise. Both of these analyses can be considered …
Contextualising the dead – Combining geoarchaeology and osteo-anthropology in a new multi-focus approach in bone histotaphonomy
Ava’
This contribution describes the discovery and subsequent investigation of a cist in a rock-cut pit at Achavanich, Highland. Discovered and excavated in 1987, the cist was found to contain the tightly contracted skeletal remains of a young woman, accompanied by a Beaker, three flint artefacts and a cattle scapula. Initial post excavation work established a date for the skeleton together with details of her age and sex, and preliminary pollen analy…
Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain
A stranger in a strange land
Here I provide a perspective on the palaeogenetic revolution from an archaeologist who has spent the last four years working alongside palaeogeneticists. I address the questions posed for this journal issue by talking through some of the recurrent comments I have encountered from archaeologists regarding the results of palaeogenetic analyses, particular the renewed emphasis on migrations influencing certain cultural transitions in later prehistor…
The problem with petrous? A consideration of the potential biases in the utilization ofpars petrosafor ancient DNA analysis
Advances in NGS sequencing technologies, improved laboratory protocols and new bioinformatic workflows have seen huge increases in ancient DNA (aDNA) research on archaeological materials. A large proportion of aDNA work now utilizes the petrous portion of the temporal bone (pars petrosa), which is recognized as an excellent skeletal element for long-term ancient endogenous (host) DNA survival. This has been significant due to the often low endoge…
Death is not the end
Cremated and unburnt human remains have been recovered from a variety of British Bronze and earliest Iron Age archaeological contexts (c. 2500-600 BC). Chronological modelling of 189 new and extant radiocarbon dates from a selection of these deposits provides evidence for the curation of human remains for an average of two generations following death, while histological analysis of bone samples indicates mortuary treatment involving both excarnat…
Imagined biodeterminism
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Tales from the Supplementary Information
Large-scale archaeogenetic studies of people from prehistoric Europe tend to be broad in scope and difficult to resolve with local archaeologies. However, accompanying supplementary information often contains useful finer-scale information that is comprehensible without specific genetics expertise. Here, we show how undiscussed details provided in supplementary information of aDNA papers can provide crucial insight into patterns of ancestry chang…
The Ambivalent Dead
This paper sets out the results of radiocarbon, histological, and contextual analysis of human remains from non-mortuary contexts in Middle and Late Bronze Age Britain. In the latter period in particular, human bone (much of it fragmentary and disarticulated) has frequently been recovered from settlement contexts and from other locations, such as waterholes, across the wider landscape. However, the source and post-mortem trajectories of such find…
The Power of Relics
In this article, the authors examine radiocarbon, histo-taphonomic, and contextual evidence for the deliberate curation, manipulation, and redeposition of human bone in British Bronze Age mortuary contexts. New radiocarbon dates and histological analyses are combined with existing data to explore the processes and practices that resulted in the incorporation of ‘relic’ fragments of bone in later graves, including evidence for the deliberate re-op…
The organics revolution
Organic remains from excavated sites include a wide range of materials, from distinct organisms (‘ecofacts’) to biomolecules. Biomolecules provide a variety of new research avenues, while ecofacts with longer histories of study are now being re-harnessed in unexpected ways. These resources are unlocking research potential, transcending what was previously imagined possible. However, this ‘organics revolution’ comes with a salutary corollary: our …
Comment on “Bacterial bioerosion of bones is a post-skeletonisation phenomenon and appears contingent on soil burial” [Quat. Int. 660 (2023) 75–83]
Farthest North
The results of research on the human remains and artefacts recently discovered at Heaning Wood Bone Cave, Cumbria, UK are reported. A programme of radiocarbon dating has established that the human remains include the earliest so far discovered in northern Britain, the ‘Ossick Lass’, which date between 9290 and 8925 cal BC. The cave was used for burial during three phases in prehistory: one individual dating to the Early Mesolithic, four to the Ea…
Giving and taking
The ethics of destructive sampling of human remains has become a critical debate, in part centred on developing minimally invasive techniques that simultaneously maximize information yield. While widely adopted best-practice guidelines have been developed, the proliferation of diverse analytical techniques results in incremental damage that compounds across studies, necessitating coordinated protocols to minimize cumulative destructive impact. He…
Encountering the Unburied Dead
The treatment of the dead body is a highly social phenomenon, rooted in cultural conventions. Choices in mortuary rites include inhumation, cremation, and excarnation, along with secondary manipulation before or after burial. In the Carpathian Basin between 1600 and 700 b.c., people employed diverse choices in peri- and post-mortem treatment of human remains. Beginning by defining local cremation conventions, including fragmentation of the body, …
Archaeology (17 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (17 works) · History (15 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (14 works) · Paleopathology and ancient diseases (13 works) · Geography (10 works) · History (10 works) · Taphonomy (9 works) · Biology (8 works) · Bronze Age (8 works)