Camilla Speller
Biographic Data
| ID | 83570 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Camilla Speller |
| GIVEN NAMES | Camilla |
| FAMILY NAME | Speller |
| SIGNATURE | SPELLER C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of British Columbia |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7128-9903 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 42 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 153 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 42 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 8 |
The Oral Microbiome of King Richard III of England
The Elephant in the Room
During the Upper Paleolithic of southwestern France, the working of mammoth ivory is widely documented, but the use of mammoth bone has not been identified except for one possible Gravettian case. Here we report six worked objects made of mammoth bone from five sites in southwestern France, which have been identified taxonomically by proteomics using ZooMS. They were radiocarbon dated and their chronological distribution spans the Upper Paleolith…
Ancient sea turtle (Chelonioidea) ZooMS identifications illuminate species-specific human interactions and long-term populations changes for Curaçao and Bonaire
Caribbean sea turtle histories are deeply intertwined with past human societies, with zooarchaeological evidence suggesting their dietary and socio-cultural importance from as early as 3370 BCE. However, the high fragmentation typical of archaeological sea turtle bones has generally limited morphological identifications to higher taxonomic levels, hindering species-specific assessments of interaction with humans and their legacy effects. We appli…
ZooMS Analysis of Archaeological Bone Tools From the South American Lowlands in the Paraná Basin
During the Late Holocene, hunter‐gatherers in the Lower Paraná wetland crafted a wide variety of bone tools. Although traditionally assumed as standardized, recently we found certain morphological, stylistic, and technological variability. Traditional taxonomic identifications based on morphology identified mainly the use of local deer species, but also camelids from the Pampas and non‐dietary carnivore species were detected as secondary bone mat…
A tale of two turkeys
Assessing the applicability of protein residues in combination with lipid residues to reconstruct Indus foodways from Gujarat
When extracted and analysed in tandem, proteomics and lipid residue analysis can provide high resolution identification of ancient foodstuff. Here, we apply lipid residue and shotgun proteomic analyses to 11 ceramic vessel sherds from the Gujarat, India-based Indus Valley Civilization site of Kotada Bhadli. Our results demonstrate variable success. Lipids were successfully recovered from each ceramic vessel and suggest the presence of dairy and m…
Leave no stone unturned
In archaeological contexts, identifying processes of beer production and consumption has contributed to our understanding of agriculture, labor mobilization, economic surplus, feasting, gender dynamics, social structure, tribute, community, identity and politics. Nevertheless, in the absence of pictorial representations and characteristic objects, beer brewing is difficult to identify in the archaeological record, and molecular methods are often …
Native American use of cetaceans in pre-contact Oregon
This study characterizes how Native Americans living on the Oregon coast used whales and small cetaceans prior to European contact. We present an original analysis of a large subsample (NISP = 1177) of archaeological cetacean remains from the Palmrose (35CLT47) site, and new identifications from the previously analyzed Par-Tee (35CLT20; NISP = 31) and Tahkenitch Landing (35DO130; NISP = 33) sites. Using zooarchaeological and biomolecular analyses…
A Fish-Focused Menu
The study of past subsistence offers archeologists a lens through which we can understand relationships between people and their homelands. səl̓ilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) is a Coast Salish Nation whose traditional and unceded territory centers on səl̓ilwət (Tsleil-Wat, Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, Canada). səl̓ilwətaɬ people were fish specialists whose traditional diet focused primarily on marine and tidal protein sources. In this research, we …
Dental calculus in the industrial age
The analysis of dental calculus (mineralised dental plaque) has become an increasingly important facet of bioarchaeological research. Although microscopic analysis of microdebris entrapped within dental calculus has revealed important insights into the diet, health, and environment of multiple prehistoric populations, relatively few studies have examined the contributions of this approach to more recent historical periods. In this study, we analy…
Active Whaling, Opportunistic Scavenging or Long-Distance Trading
THE ANGLO-SAXON SITE OF HAMWIC (modern Southampton, Hampshire, UK) has been identified as a major bone-working centre. Besides antler and terrestrial mammal bone, cetacean bone has been recovered in high quantities. These specimens primarily represent working waste. Using peptide mass fingerprinting of bone collagen (ZooMS), it was determined that the majority of these specimens derive from the currently highly endangered population of North Atla…
A comparison of minimally-invasive sampling techniques for ZooMS analysis of bone artifacts
DNA-based species identification of ancient salmonid remains provides new insight into pre-contact Coast Salish salmon fisheries in Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, Canada
Testing for Mississippian Period Turkey Management in the Archaeological Record of the Southeastern United States
People living in Mesoamerica and what is now the eastern and southwestern United States used turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) as sources of meat, eggs, bones, and feathers. Turkey husbandry and domestication are confirmed in two of these regions (Mesoamerica and the American Southwest), but human-turkey interactions in Eastern North American (eastern United States and Canada) are not fully explored. We apply stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) and ancient m…
Medieval Whalers in the Netherlands and Flanders
Medieval historical sources suggest that cetacean exploitation was, for large parts of Europe, restricted to the social elite. This appears to have also been the case for the Netherlands and Flanders. It remains unclear, however, how frequently active hunting was undertaken, and which species were targeted. Zooarchaeological cetacean remains are often recovered from Medieval (AD 400-1600) sites in the Netherlands and Flanders, however the majorit…
Antler Combs From the Salme Ship Burials
In 2008 and 2010, two partly destroyed ship burials were discovered near Salme on the island of Saaremaa. During the archaeological excavations, at least 41 wholly or partially preserved skeletons were discovered, and a large number of artefacts were found, including a dozen single-sided antler combs. On the basis of the finds, as well as radiocarbon dating, the ship burials were dated to the Pre-Viking Period, while both the isotopic and archaeo…
What's the catch? Archaeological application of rapid collagen-based species identification for Pacific Salmon
A unified protocol for simultaneous extraction of DNA and proteins from archaeological dental calculus
Archaeological materials are a finite resource, and efforts should be made to minimize destructive analyses. This can be achieved by using protocols combining extraction of several types of biomolecules or microparticles, which decreases the material needed for analyses while maximizing the information yield. Archaeological dental calculus is a source of several different types of biomolecules, as well as microfossils, and can tell us about the h…
DeamiDate 1.0
Contamination is a potential problem in the study of ancient proteins, either from prior handling of the sample, laboratory consumables, or cross-sample carryover from mass spectrometers. Recently, deamidation of glutamine has been proposed as a measure for assessing the degradation of ancient proteins. Here, we present deamiDATE 1.0, a method for the authentication of ancient proteins using measure of site-specific deamidation rates. We test thi…
Middle Neolithic pits and a burial at West Amesbury, Wiltshire
Excavations on the south-eastern slopes of King Barrow Ridge, 1.5 km east of Stonehenge, revealed five pits, a grave and other features of Middle Neolithic date. Analysis of the pit assemblages and the partial inhumation interred in the grave has provided insights into lifeways in this landscape in the late fourth millennium cal BC. Evidence suggests that the area was visited by a pastoralist, mobile community on a semi-regular basis for a signif…
Toward a geography of foodways in the southern Gulf Islands, Pacific Northwest Coast
Fine-screen animal bone and Pacific salmon ancient DNA (aDNA) results from Northwest Coast shell midden sites, together with other kinds of material culture, can provide detailed information on foodways, site-specific activities, and sociality. Seasonal use of the landscape may also be revealed through an understanding of place in the southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Canada. New results from column sample faunal analysis at the Pender C…
A Gray Whale in Magdalenian Perigord. Species identification of a bone projectile point from La Madeleine (Dordogne, France) using collagen fingerprinting
The Cetacean bone artifact described in this paper is the result of excavations carried out in La Madeleine (Tursac, Dordogne) under the direction of D. Peyrony, between 1910-1913. It was discovered in the middle layer (“couche moyenne”) of the stratigraphy described by Capitan and Peyrony and subsequently attributed to the “Magdalenian V” by H. Breuil (i.e the beginning of the Upper Magdalenian). This layer corresponds to layers C25 to C20 of th…
New insights into Neolithic milk consumption through proteomic analysis of dental calculus
There has long been debate over the origins of dairy consumption within European populations. Whilst it was previously assumed that lactase persistence (LP) was under positive selection following the advent of agriculture, recent genetic studies of prehistoric human remains have revealed LP may have only emerged in Europe in the last 4000 years. These findings stand in contrast to organic residue analysis of Neolithic pottery indicating the utili…
Ancient mitochondrial DNA and population dynamics in postclassic Central Mexico
Multidisciplinary investigations of the diets of two post-medieval populations from London using stable isotopes and microdebris analysis
Ancient DNA investigation of prehistoric salmon resource utilization at Keatley Creek, British Columbia, Canada
Wild or domesticated
Stable isotope and ancient DNA analysis of dog remains from Cathlapotle (45CL1), a contact-era site on the Lower Columbia River
Ancient human microbiomes
Ancient Maya turkey husbandry
Ancient DNA provides new insights into the origin of the Chinese domestic horse
What's the catch? Archaeological application of rapid collagen-based species identification for Pacific Salmon
New insights into Neolithic milk consumption through proteomic analysis of dental calculus
There has long been debate over the origins of dairy consumption within European populations. Whilst it was previously assumed that lactase persistence (LP) was under positive selection following the advent of agriculture, recent genetic studies of prehistoric human remains have revealed LP may have only emerged in Europe in the last 4000 years. These findings stand in contrast to organic residue analysis of Neolithic pottery indicating the utili…
Ancient mitochondrial DNA and population dynamics in postclassic Central Mexico
DeamiDate 1.0
Contamination is a potential problem in the study of ancient proteins, either from prior handling of the sample, laboratory consumables, or cross-sample carryover from mass spectrometers. Recently, deamidation of glutamine has been proposed as a measure for assessing the degradation of ancient proteins. Here, we present deamiDATE 1.0, a method for the authentication of ancient proteins using measure of site-specific deamidation rates. We test thi…
Middle Neolithic pits and a burial at West Amesbury, Wiltshire
Excavations on the south-eastern slopes of King Barrow Ridge, 1.5 km east of Stonehenge, revealed five pits, a grave and other features of Middle Neolithic date. Analysis of the pit assemblages and the partial inhumation interred in the grave has provided insights into lifeways in this landscape in the late fourth millennium cal BC. Evidence suggests that the area was visited by a pastoralist, mobile community on a semi-regular basis for a signif…
Multidisciplinary investigations of the diets of two post-medieval populations from London using stable isotopes and microdebris analysis
Historical Ecology and Biogeography of North Pacific Pinnipeds
Zooarchaeology has the potential to make significant contributions to knowledge of pinniped biogeography of import to both archaeologists and environmental scientists. We analyzed northern fur seal remains found in three archaeological sites located along the outer coast of the Northeast Pacific Ocean: Cape Addington Rockshelter in southeast Alaska, Ts’ishaa on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and the Netarts Sandspit site on the Oregon Coast.…
Using combined biomolecular methods to explore whale exploitation and social aggregation in hunter–gatherer–fisher society in Tierra del Fuego
Cetaceans were an important food and raw material resource for the South American hunter–gatherer–fisher (HGF) communities of Tierra del Fuego. Historic ethnographic evidence suggests that relatively mobile HGF groups came together in large numbers to exploit carcasses from individual cetacean stranding events. Substantial accumulations of whale bones within shell middens in the Lanashuaia locality of the Beagle Channel suggests that these social…
A comparison of minimally-invasive sampling techniques for ZooMS analysis of bone artifacts
DNA-based species identification of ancient salmonid remains provides new insight into pre-contact Coast Salish salmon fisheries in Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, Canada
A unified protocol for simultaneous extraction of DNA and proteins from archaeological dental calculus
Archaeological materials are a finite resource, and efforts should be made to minimize destructive analyses. This can be achieved by using protocols combining extraction of several types of biomolecules or microparticles, which decreases the material needed for analyses while maximizing the information yield. Archaeological dental calculus is a source of several different types of biomolecules, as well as microfossils, and can tell us about the h…
A sixteenth-century turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) from Puerto Real, Hispaniola
Testing for Mississippian Period Turkey Management in the Archaeological Record of the Southeastern United States
People living in Mesoamerica and what is now the eastern and southwestern United States used turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) as sources of meat, eggs, bones, and feathers. Turkey husbandry and domestication are confirmed in two of these regions (Mesoamerica and the American Southwest), but human-turkey interactions in Eastern North American (eastern United States and Canada) are not fully explored. We apply stable isotope (δ13C, δ15N) and ancient m…
Medieval Whalers in the Netherlands and Flanders
Medieval historical sources suggest that cetacean exploitation was, for large parts of Europe, restricted to the social elite. This appears to have also been the case for the Netherlands and Flanders. It remains unclear, however, how frequently active hunting was undertaken, and which species were targeted. Zooarchaeological cetacean remains are often recovered from Medieval (AD 400-1600) sites in the Netherlands and Flanders, however the majorit…
Lives before and after Stonehenge
Osteobiographies of four individuals whose skeletal remains were recovered in 2015–16 from the Stonehenge World Heritage Site are constructed, drawing upon evidence from funerary taphonomy, radiocarbon dating, osteological study, stable isotope analyses, and microscopic and biomolecular analyses of dental calculus. The burials comprise an adult from the Middle Neolithic period, immediately prior to the building of Stonehenge, and two adults and a…
Native American use of cetaceans in pre-contact Oregon
This study characterizes how Native Americans living on the Oregon coast used whales and small cetaceans prior to European contact. We present an original analysis of a large subsample (NISP = 1177) of archaeological cetacean remains from the Palmrose (35CLT47) site, and new identifications from the previously analyzed Par-Tee (35CLT20; NISP = 31) and Tahkenitch Landing (35DO130; NISP = 33) sites. Using zooarchaeological and biomolecular analyses…
Antler Combs From the Salme Ship Burials
In 2008 and 2010, two partly destroyed ship burials were discovered near Salme on the island of Saaremaa. During the archaeological excavations, at least 41 wholly or partially preserved skeletons were discovered, and a large number of artefacts were found, including a dozen single-sided antler combs. On the basis of the finds, as well as radiocarbon dating, the ship burials were dated to the Pre-Viking Period, while both the isotopic and archaeo…
The historical ecology of Pacific herring
Ancient DNA investigation of prehistoric salmon resource utilization at Keatley Creek, British Columbia, Canada
Historical Ecology and Biogeography of North Pacific Pinnipeds
Zooarchaeology has the potential to make significant contributions to knowledge of pinniped biogeography of import to both archaeologists and environmental scientists. We analyzed northern fur seal remains found in three archaeological sites located along the outer coast of the Northeast Pacific Ocean: Cape Addington Rockshelter in southeast Alaska, Ts’ishaa on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and the Netarts Sandspit site on the Oregon Coast.…
Wild or domesticated
Ancient DNA provides new insights into the origin of the Chinese domestic horse
Pathogens and host immunity in the ancient human oral cavity
The historical ecology of Pacific herring
Using combined biomolecular methods to explore whale exploitation and social aggregation in hunter–gatherer–fisher society in Tierra del Fuego
Cetaceans were an important food and raw material resource for the South American hunter–gatherer–fisher (HGF) communities of Tierra del Fuego. Historic ethnographic evidence suggests that relatively mobile HGF groups came together in large numbers to exploit carcasses from individual cetacean stranding events. Substantial accumulations of whale bones within shell middens in the Lanashuaia locality of the Beagle Channel suggests that these social…
Stable isotope and ancient DNA analysis of dog remains from Cathlapotle (45CL1), a contact-era site on the Lower Columbia River
Ancient human microbiomes
Identifying the sex of archaeological turkey remains using ancient DNA techniques
A sixteenth-century turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) from Puerto Real, Hispaniola
Ancient Maya turkey husbandry
Preservation of the metaproteome
Proteomic analysis of dental calculus is emerging as a powerful tool for disease and dietary characterisation of archaeological populations. To better understand the variability in protein results from dental calculus, we analysed 21 samples from three Roman-period populations to compare: 1) the quantity of extracted protein; 2) the number of mass spectral queries; and 3) the number of peptide spectral matches and protein identifications. We foun…
Genomic and proteomic identification of Late Holocene remains
Turkey
A guide to ancient protein studies
Lives before and after Stonehenge
Osteobiographies of four individuals whose skeletal remains were recovered in 2015–16 from the Stonehenge World Heritage Site are constructed, drawing upon evidence from funerary taphonomy, radiocarbon dating, osteological study, stable isotope analyses, and microscopic and biomolecular analyses of dental calculus. The burials comprise an adult from the Middle Neolithic period, immediately prior to the building of Stonehenge, and two adults and a…
A Gray Whale in Magdalenian Perigord. Species identification of a bone projectile point from La Madeleine (Dordogne, France) using collagen fingerprinting
The Cetacean bone artifact described in this paper is the result of excavations carried out in La Madeleine (Tursac, Dordogne) under the direction of D. Peyrony, between 1910-1913. It was discovered in the middle layer (“couche moyenne”) of the stratigraphy described by Capitan and Peyrony and subsequently attributed to the “Magdalenian V” by H. Breuil (i.e the beginning of the Upper Magdalenian). This layer corresponds to layers C25 to C20 of th…
New insights into Neolithic milk consumption through proteomic analysis of dental calculus
There has long been debate over the origins of dairy consumption within European populations. Whilst it was previously assumed that lactase persistence (LP) was under positive selection following the advent of agriculture, recent genetic studies of prehistoric human remains have revealed LP may have only emerged in Europe in the last 4000 years. These findings stand in contrast to organic residue analysis of Neolithic pottery indicating the utili…
Ancient mitochondrial DNA and population dynamics in postclassic Central Mexico
Multidisciplinary investigations of the diets of two post-medieval populations from London using stable isotopes and microdebris analysis
Medieval Whalers in the Netherlands and Flanders
Medieval historical sources suggest that cetacean exploitation was, for large parts of Europe, restricted to the social elite. This appears to have also been the case for the Netherlands and Flanders. It remains unclear, however, how frequently active hunting was undertaken, and which species were targeted. Zooarchaeological cetacean remains are often recovered from Medieval (AD 400-1600) sites in the Netherlands and Flanders, however the majorit…
Antler Combs From the Salme Ship Burials
In 2008 and 2010, two partly destroyed ship burials were discovered near Salme on the island of Saaremaa. During the archaeological excavations, at least 41 wholly or partially preserved skeletons were discovered, and a large number of artefacts were found, including a dozen single-sided antler combs. On the basis of the finds, as well as radiocarbon dating, the ship burials were dated to the Pre-Viking Period, while both the isotopic and archaeo…
What's the catch? Archaeological application of rapid collagen-based species identification for Pacific Salmon
A unified protocol for simultaneous extraction of DNA and proteins from archaeological dental calculus
Archaeological materials are a finite resource, and efforts should be made to minimize destructive analyses. This can be achieved by using protocols combining extraction of several types of biomolecules or microparticles, which decreases the material needed for analyses while maximizing the information yield. Archaeological dental calculus is a source of several different types of biomolecules, as well as microfossils, and can tell us about the h…
Geography (32 works) · Biology (31 works) · Archaeology (28 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (23 works) · Ecology (16 works) · Ancient DNA (15 works) · Forensic and Genetic Research (13 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (11 works) · Fishery (9 works) · Population (9 works)