I am a chemist focussing on biomolecular archaeology and isotopic analysis in archaeological and ecological contexts. I welcome enquiries from researchers who are interested in working with me (please read note below).
Please note that Dr Tamsin O'Connell will be on sabbatical for the academic year 2025-26.
Biography
I started academic life as a chemist at the University of Oxford. The lure of applied science led me to archaeology, working with Prof Robert Hedges at the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art in Oxford, firstly for my undergraduate dissertation followed by a SERC/NERC-funded DPhil. I had a Wellcome Trust Post-doctoral Fellowship, then two post-doctoral positions at the RLAHA. I joined the Department in Cambridge in 2004, with a Wellcome Trust University Award, to set up an isotope and palaeodiet laboratory, now called the Dorothy Garrod Laboratory.
I am a Fellow of the Sociey of Antiquaries, and a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the British Mass Spectrometry Society and the Society of Archaeological Sciences.
Research
My research traces signals of diet and climate in human and animal tissues, using isotopic analysis. As well as application to archaeological, ecological and epidemiological case studies, my work focuses on developing our understanding of the underlying principles, so as to improve the resolution of interpretations and conclusions that we can draw from isotopic analyses.
- Topics
- Stable isotope analysis
- Palaeodiet
- Palaeoclimate
- Ecological studies of foodwebs
- Nutrition and epidemiology
- Biomolecular analysis of human and animal remains
I am presently involved in the following research projects:
- After the Plague, a Wellcome-funded multi-disciplinary project on life in Mediaeval Cambridge
- IsoBank, a multi-organization NSF-funded effort to build a common repository for stable isotope data
- Subsilience, an ERC project led by Dr Ana Maria Belen, University of Cantabria & Instituto Internacional de Investigaciones Prehistóricas de Cantabria
- The Portus Project
- The FRAGSUS Project
- Two Rains
- food-web studies in the Antarctic, with Dr Tracey Rogers and the Predator group at the University of New South Wales
Analytical Equipment used
Continuous flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry: Thermo Finnigan Delta V and MAT253 mass specs with various peripherals including EA, TCEA, gas bench and Kiel device.
We carry out our analyses in the Godwin Laboratory in Earth Sciences.
Collaborators
Information for Prospective Postgraduate Students
Before making a speculative approach to me, please think about a few questions:
- Why do you want to work with me in particular? I need to be convinced that you are actively interested in working with me, not attracted by the appeal of a degree from Cambridge. Straight “applications” of isotopic analyses to archaeological questions are of less interest to me, and for such work, there needs to be another Cambridge-based supervisor to cover the archaeological dimension.
- What will you bring to the isotope group? I like people who can bring unusual skills into isotopic studies, who want to tackle underpinning assumptions and to take new approaches to isotopic data. A strong degree of numeracy, a willingness to do a lot of benchwork and an interest in archaeology/trophic ecology are expectations, not qualifications in themselves.
- How will you fund your position? I do not take self-funded students, because of the need to cover research expenses. Please make the effort to look for opportunities. I’m willing to help good applicants to develop proposals and track down funding but the primary motivation needs to come from you. Having independent funding isn’t enough on its own either; see (1.) above.
- Why do you want to do a PhD? In case you’re not already aware, most PhD graduates don’t end up working in academia (although fair few of my former students do). A PhD is difficult, intensive - the highest academic qualification for a reason. It brings you no glory, no financial rewards. If you’re aware of all this and still want to embark on this, then it might be for you.
Key Publications
For full publications, see Google Scholar
Selected publications
| [1] | O'Connell TC (2017) ‘Trophic’ and ‘source’ amino acids in trophic estimation: a likely metabolic explanation. Oecologia 184:317-326. doi: 10.1007/s00442-017-3881-9 |
| [2] | O'Connell T.C., Kneale C.J., Tasevska N. and Kuhnle G.G.C. (2012). The diet-body offset in human nitrogen isotopic values: A controlled dietary study. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 149(3), 426-434. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22140. |
Teaching and Supervisions
At undergraduate level, I contribute to core and optional courses in the Archaeology tripos.
At masters level, I contribute to core and optional courses in the MSc, including practical projects, covering aspects of archaeological science.
I supervise students on a range of topics covering archaeological and ecological applications of isotopic analyses, usually as a co-supervisor with an archaeological or ecological expert. I am interested in supervising students who wish to study for an MPhil or a PhD in the following topics: nitrogen metabolism, anthropological and epidemiological studies, 'big isotopic data'.
As well as the research students listed below, I supervise Masters and undergraduate projects on a range of bioarchaeological topics.
Current Students:
- Tiago Hermenegildo
- Laura Courto
- Emily Tilby
- Danny Buss
Past Students:
- Kate Boulden
- Lauren Cadwallader
- Michael Campana
- Maria Ana Correia
- Lindsey Friedman
- Catherine Horswill (British Antarctic Survey) (co-supervisor)
- Penny Jones
- Sam Leggett
- Emma Lightfoot
- Suzie Pilaar-Birch
- Amy Prendergast
- Alexander Pryor
- Hazel Reade
- Alice Rose
- Akshyeta Suryanarayan
- Nicola Rodgers (Anglia Ruskin University) (co-supervisor)
- Pre-Cambridge: Karen Privat (Oxford), Rebecca Lewis (Durham)
Other Professional Activities
- NERC Peer Review College Member: 2020-
- NERC Environmental Isotope Facility Strategy Group Member: 2020-2024
- NERC Isotope Geosciences Facility Steering Committee Member: 2016-2020
- NERC Radiocarbon Facility Steering Committee Member: 2010-2016
- NERC Services Review Group Committee Member: 2012
- Regular peer reviewer for grant applications to NERC, AHRC, the Wellcome Trust, Leakey Foundation
- Associate Editor of the journal Archaeometry (since 2004)
- Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry
- Member of the British Mass Spectrometry Society
- Member of the Society of Archaeological Sciences
