Tell Leilan Zooarchaeological Project

In partnership with with Professor Harvey Weiss (Yale University), PhD candidate Asa Cameron (Yale University) and I co-manage the zooarchaeological analysis of faunal collections recovered from the site of Tell Leilan (NE Syria). This includes standard faunal analysis of the complete collection as well as pursuit of sub-projects dedicated to a range of finer grained inquiries and analytical methods (e.g. isotopic and dental calculus analyses). A description of the project can be found here within the dedicated zooarchaeological project informational page on the official Yale-hosted Tell Leilan website (leilan.yale.edu).

Isotopic Investigation

This sub-project focuses on isotopic investigation of dietary and mobility patterns of livestock prior to, during, and after Akkadian imperialization, with particular interest in changes prior to the site’s sudden abandonment. This research has thus far included supervision of several Yale undergraduate senior theses.

Ancient DNA

One of our most recent sub-projects has focused on the aDNA identification of early equid remains within the collection. These remains (both E. caballus and E. hemionus) are currently under ancient DNA analysis in partnership with Dr. Ludovic Orlando and the Orlando Group.

Tell Leilan Isotope Project

Prof. Harvey Weiss, Asa Cameron, and I co-manage a broader collaborative isotope project that includes researchers at Trent University and the University of Connecticut. This project produces and integrates isotopic data from human, faunal, and botanical remains in order to generate a picture of local social and environmental histories. This work also aims to situate Tell Leilan within a larger body of Mesopotamian isotopic investigations.

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