Sonia O’Connor
Biographic Data
| ID | 5405924 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sonia O’Connor |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sonia |
| FAMILY NAME | O’Connor |
| SIGNATURE | O’CONNOR S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Bradford |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4317-8645 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 27 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 9 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
The Perforated Spoons of Roman Britain
Perforated spoons manufactured from animal bone have been recognised and discussed since the mid-nineteenth century. Geographically they are mainly found in Yorkshire and surrounding counties. Fifty percent of known finds come from caves in the Settle area occupied in the Roman period. Chronologically they appear to have been used principally from the late first to second centuries AD. They are a varied group of objects linked by their spoon-shap…
High performance mass spectrometry reveals possible kerogen substructures in persistent ancient human brain
A conscious rethink
Brain tissue is ubiquitous in the archaeological record. Multiple, independent studies report the finding of black, resinous or shiny brain tissue, and Petrone et al. [2020 “Heat-induced Brain Vitrification from the Vesuvius Eruption in C.E. 79.” N Engl J Med. 382: 383–384; doi:10.1056/NEJMc1909867] raise the intriguing prospect of a role for vitrification in the preservation of ancient biomolecules. However, Petrone et al. (2020) have not made t…
Fragments of Faith
This paper uses evidence from a previously unresearched ecclesiastical textile associated with Archbishop John Morton ( c 1420−1500) to generate new insights into the material culture of the Roman Catholic faith before, during and after the penal period in England ( c 1558−1829). This composite textile was initially thought to be made up of fragments of a late 1400s cope bearing Morton’s rebus, reconfigured as an altar frontal, which had survived…
From These Bare Bones
An Interim Investigation of the Potential of Vibrational Spectroscopy for the Dating of Cultural Objects in Ivory
Radiocarbon dating of ivory requires destructive sampling on a scale not always compatible with the requirements of the preservation and curation of cultural objects. The development of a minimally-destructive dating technique is urgently needed. Raman spectroscopy can detect the changes in the organic and inorganic molecular components of ivory that occur with time. It has been suggested that these vibrational spectroscopic changes could be used…
Exceptional preservation of a prehistoric human brain from Heslington, Yorkshire, UK
Gristhorpe Man
A log-coffin excavated in the early nineteenth century proved to be well enough preserved in the early twenty-first century for the full armoury of modern scientific investigation to give its occupants and contents new identity, new origins and a new date. In many ways the interpretation is much the same as before: a local big man buried looking out to sea. Modern analytical techniques can create a person more real, more human and more securely a…
The use of Baleen for Arms, Armour and Heraldic Crests in Medieval Britain
The recent identification of whale baleen from a medieval archaeological context in Perth raises the issue of what uses were made of baleen in the medieval period. This note investigates the military uses to which this unusual material was put
A Middle Palaeolithic Site at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk
In late February and early March 2002, an archaeological watching brief at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk revealed a palaeochannel with a dark organic fill containing in situ mammoth remains and associated Mousterian stone tools and debitage buried under 2–3 m of bedded sands and gravels. Well-preserved in situ Middle Palaeolithic open air sites are very unusal in Europe and exceedingly rare within a British context. As such, the site was iden…
Exceptional preservation of a prehistoric human brain from Heslington, Yorkshire, UK
A Middle Palaeolithic Site at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk
In late February and early March 2002, an archaeological watching brief at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk revealed a palaeochannel with a dark organic fill containing in situ mammoth remains and associated Mousterian stone tools and debitage buried under 2–3 m of bedded sands and gravels. Well-preserved in situ Middle Palaeolithic open air sites are very unusal in Europe and exceedingly rare within a British context. As such, the site was iden…
Gristhorpe Man
A log-coffin excavated in the early nineteenth century proved to be well enough preserved in the early twenty-first century for the full armoury of modern scientific investigation to give its occupants and contents new identity, new origins and a new date. In many ways the interpretation is much the same as before: a local big man buried looking out to sea. Modern analytical techniques can create a person more real, more human and more securely a…
The use of Baleen for Arms, Armour and Heraldic Crests in Medieval Britain
The recent identification of whale baleen from a medieval archaeological context in Perth raises the issue of what uses were made of baleen in the medieval period. This note investigates the military uses to which this unusual material was put
Fragments of Faith
This paper uses evidence from a previously unresearched ecclesiastical textile associated with Archbishop John Morton ( c 1420−1500) to generate new insights into the material culture of the Roman Catholic faith before, during and after the penal period in England ( c 1558−1829). This composite textile was initially thought to be made up of fragments of a late 1400s cope bearing Morton’s rebus, reconfigured as an altar frontal, which had survived…
A Middle Palaeolithic Site at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk
In late February and early March 2002, an archaeological watching brief at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk revealed a palaeochannel with a dark organic fill containing in situ mammoth remains and associated Mousterian stone tools and debitage buried under 2–3 m of bedded sands and gravels. Well-preserved in situ Middle Palaeolithic open air sites are very unusal in Europe and exceedingly rare within a British context. As such, the site was iden…
The use of Baleen for Arms, Armour and Heraldic Crests in Medieval Britain
The recent identification of whale baleen from a medieval archaeological context in Perth raises the issue of what uses were made of baleen in the medieval period. This note investigates the military uses to which this unusual material was put
Gristhorpe Man
A log-coffin excavated in the early nineteenth century proved to be well enough preserved in the early twenty-first century for the full armoury of modern scientific investigation to give its occupants and contents new identity, new origins and a new date. In many ways the interpretation is much the same as before: a local big man buried looking out to sea. Modern analytical techniques can create a person more real, more human and more securely a…
An Interim Investigation of the Potential of Vibrational Spectroscopy for the Dating of Cultural Objects in Ivory
Radiocarbon dating of ivory requires destructive sampling on a scale not always compatible with the requirements of the preservation and curation of cultural objects. The development of a minimally-destructive dating technique is urgently needed. Raman spectroscopy can detect the changes in the organic and inorganic molecular components of ivory that occur with time. It has been suggested that these vibrational spectroscopic changes could be used…
Exceptional preservation of a prehistoric human brain from Heslington, Yorkshire, UK
From These Bare Bones
A conscious rethink
Brain tissue is ubiquitous in the archaeological record. Multiple, independent studies report the finding of black, resinous or shiny brain tissue, and Petrone et al. [2020 “Heat-induced Brain Vitrification from the Vesuvius Eruption in C.E. 79.” N Engl J Med. 382: 383–384; doi:10.1056/NEJMc1909867] raise the intriguing prospect of a role for vitrification in the preservation of ancient biomolecules. However, Petrone et al. (2020) have not made t…
Fragments of Faith
This paper uses evidence from a previously unresearched ecclesiastical textile associated with Archbishop John Morton ( c 1420−1500) to generate new insights into the material culture of the Roman Catholic faith before, during and after the penal period in England ( c 1558−1829). This composite textile was initially thought to be made up of fragments of a late 1400s cope bearing Morton’s rebus, reconfigured as an altar frontal, which had survived…
High performance mass spectrometry reveals possible kerogen substructures in persistent ancient human brain
The Perforated Spoons of Roman Britain
Perforated spoons manufactured from animal bone have been recognised and discussed since the mid-nineteenth century. Geographically they are mainly found in Yorkshire and surrounding counties. Fifty percent of known finds come from caves in the Settle area occupied in the Roman period. Chronologically they appear to have been used principally from the late first to second centuries AD. They are a varied group of objects linked by their spoon-shap…
Archaeology (7 works) · History (7 works) · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies (4 works) · Biology (4 works) · Geology (4 works) · History (4 works) · Art (3 works) · Geography (3 works) · Ancient history (2 works) · Context (archaeology (2 works)