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Andrew Wilson

Chair - Arch and Forensic Science

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School of Archaeological & Forensic Sci
Faculty of Life Sciences
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Andrew Wilson

Biography

Professor Andrew S. Wilson, PhD, MCIfA, FHEA is an Archaeologist and Heritage Scientist with wide-ranging research interests in Digital Heritage, Human Bioarchaeology, Conservation, Taphonomy, and Forensic Archaeology. He is based in the School of Archaeological & Forensic Sciences at the University of Bradford. He trained at UCL Institute of Archaeology in Conservation, and at Sheffield and Bradford Universities in Bioarchaeology. He has worked for the Smithsonian Institution, Wiltshire Council Conservation Service and in commercial archaeology. Career highlights include work on the Late Bronze Age Yetholm-type Shield excavated from South Cadbury, Somerset, winning the Museums & Galleries Commission National Conservation Award in 1999; major interdisciplinary publications in Nature, Science, PNAS, Current Biology, Nature Scientific Reports, PLoSONE, including involvement in an article which won the ‘World’s Archaeological Research Awards’ in Shanghai in 2017; and in work with Bog Bodies and frozen Inca child mummies which has received global attention. He is Member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of World Prehistory and a member of the Forensic Archaeology Expert Panel for CIfA. He Co-Directs the Visualising Heritage Team with varied imaging and visualisation capabilities at the University of Bradford and has led landmark Digital Heritage projects, with funding from AHRC, Jisc, GCRF, British Academy, HEIF, The Wellcome Trust, Historic Environment Scotland and Shetland Amenity Trust. These include Digitised Diseases, Fragmented Heritage (Curious Travellers; Fossil Finder), Augmenting Jordanian Heritage, From Cemetery to Clinic, and Visualising Animal Hard Tissues. He has research students funded by the AHRC Heritage Consortium and AHRC Scottish Cultural Heritage Consortium. 

Research

Andrew’s research interests lie at the interface between archaeological science, forensic science and conservation science. He has led a number of digitisation and visualisation projects working with human and animal remains, that include ‘Digitised Diseases’, ‘From Cemetery to Clinic’(both JISC-funded) and ‘Visualising Animal Hard Tissues’ (AHRC/EPSRC Science & Heritage). He is part of the core management team on ‘Fragmented Heritage’ (AHRC Digital Transformations Theme Large Grant) and co-directs the RKT Hub ‘Bradford Visualisation’ (HEIF-supported). Andrew also works within Biological Anthropology on archaeological human remains. He is known in particular for his bioarchaeological studies of ancient keratin remains (hair/ wool, nail). These tissues survive only under exceptional conditions within the archaeological record, which has meant working in the field of Mummy Studies with naturally preserved and artificially mummified human/ faunal remains recovered from extreme environments. These include frozen/ arid-desiccated remains from South America (e.g. frozen Inca child sacrifice victims from Volcán Llullaillaco), Greenland and Egypt; bog remains from NW Europe, cist burials and more recent 19th century archaeological contexts (see also Natasha Powers). Andrew exploits the rapid formation and incremental nature of hair growth (~10 mm per month for Caucasoid scalp hair) to reconstruct recent life-history (e.g. variation in diet connected with seasonal, physiological, geographic and cultural factors) using stable light isotope and other ancient biomolecular information. Andrew also works closely with other researchers on aspects of mtDNA survival, drug metabolites and other toxicological information in hair/ nail used for identification purposes (see also Emma Brown). Andrew has research interests in taphonomy (the study of decay processes), and is interested in the variables affecting the decay of human remains subject to surface exposure, soil burial and other modifications including use of chemicals such as lime and on dismemberment. He has worked on histological changes to hair and fibres and on laboratory microcosm studies. Fieldscale taphonomic experiments have been conducted at the Anthropological Research Facility (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), with the Bioanthropology Foundation in Southern Peru, in Belgium and within the UK (including at our own taphonomic research facility in the Pennines at Oxenhope). He has strong linkages with other researchers active in this area (see also Rob Janaway and Eline Schotsmans). Allied to this research is casework experience in forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, working closely with the Police. Andrew’s conservation background has also supported work on depositional environment fluxes and their impact on preservation of archaeological remains in-situ (including EH-funded agrochemicals on metalwork and the effect of temperature/ re-oxygenation on survival of Neolithic wood in Greek wetlands). Andrew’s research interests lie at the interface between archaeological science, forensic science and conservation science. He has led a number of digitisation and visualisation projects working with human and animal remains, that include ‘Digitised Diseases’, ‘From Cemetery to Clinic’(both JISC-funded) and ‘Visualising Animal Hard Tissues’ (AHRC/EPSRC Science & Heritage). He is part of the core management team on ‘Fragmented Heritage’ (AHRC Digital Transformations Theme Large Grant) and co-directs the RKT Hub ‘Bradford Visualisation’ (HEIF-supported). Andrew also works within Biological Anthropology on archaeological human remains. He is known in particular for his bioarchaeological studies of ancient keratin remains (hair/ wool, nail). These tissues survive only under exceptional conditions within the archaeological record, which has meant working in the field of Mummy Studies with naturally preserved and artificially mummified human/ faunal remains recovered from extreme environments. These include frozen/ arid-desiccated remains from South America (e.g. frozen Inca child sacrifice victims from Volcán Llullaillaco), Greenland and Egypt; bog remains from NW Europe, cist burials and more recent 19th century archaeological contexts (see also Natasha Powers). Andrew exploits the rapid formation and incremental nature of hair growth (~10 mm per month for Caucasoid scalp hair) to reconstruct recent life-history (e.g. variation in diet connected with seasonal, physiological, geographic and cultural factors) using stable light isotope and other ancient biomolecular information. Andrew also works closely with other researchers on aspects of mtDNA survival, drug metabolites and other toxicological information in hair/ nail used for identification purposes (see also Emma Brown). Andrew has research interests in taphonomy (the study of decay processes), and is interested in the variables affecting the decay of human remains subject to surface exposure, soil burial and other modifications including use of chemicals such as lime and on dismemberment. He has worked on histological changes to hair and fibres and on laboratory microcosm studies. Fieldscale taphonomic experiments have been conducted at the Anthropological Research Facility (University of Tennessee, Knoxville), with the Bioanthropology Foundation in Southern Peru, in Belgium and within the UK (including at our own taphonomic research facility in the Pennines at Oxenhope). He has strong linkages with other researchers active in this area (see also Rob Janaway and Eline Schotsmans). Allied to this research is casework experience in forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, working closely with the Police. Andrew’s conservation background has also supported work on depositional environment fluxes and their impact on preservation of archaeological remains in-situ (including EH-funded agrochemicals on metalwork and the effect of temperature/ re-oxygenation on survival of Neolithic wood in Greek wetlands).

Professional activities

  • FHEA (1 January 2011)
  • MCIfA (1 January 2010)

  • UK Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science, (24 September 2019)

  • Conference Organiser: Organising conference session for: The Anatomical Society
  • Network Contributor: Andrew has contributed to the following academic networks: EPSRC Geoforensics and Information Management for Crime Investigations ‘GIMI’ (EPSRC ‘Think Crime Initiative’) Archaeology of Sheep Domestication (ESF Exploratory Workshop) Battlefields Cluster (AHRC/EPSRC Science & Heritage) Ivory Cluster (AHRC/EPSRC Science & Heritage)
  • Invited Lecturer: Andrew has given invited lectures at Cambridge University, University of Copenhagen, University of Leiden, University of York, Dundee University, University of Lincoln, National Museum of Ireland, British Museum, Society of Biology, Institute for Trichologists, TRI-Princeton, Centre for Skin Sciences Inaugural Event and BA Festival of Science.
  • Conference Organiser: Organising conference session for: Mummy Congress
  • Conference Organiser: Organising conference session for: UK Archaeological Sciences

  • Journal of World Prehistory, Editorial Board (1 August 2018)

Publications