The 15th Meeting of the Britisch Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology

From 13 until 15 September, the 15th BABAO conference was held at York University, consisting of a wide range of talks and poster presentations. Researchers from the lab were well-represented with two talks and two posters. All talks and posters were well recieved. Rachel Schats even won the runner-up prize for her poster entitled: Cribra Oribitalia in Alkmaar: Considering Malaria. Abstracts of the podium presentations and pdf's of the posters can be found here.
Barge's Forum (2013)

Once a year, the so-called Barge Forum is held. During this meeting, in honor of the late professor Barge, the ethic responsibilities of physical anthropologists form the centre-point of a lecture by an invited speaker. The lecture is followed by an open debate. Every year, a different speaker is challenged to present a stimulating lecture. This year the lecture was presented by Simone Lemmers entitled: 'Verbrand maar niet verloren: Crematiepraktijken in de Europese Prehistorie'.
Transformation through Destruction (2013)

On 27th of March 2013, the Faculty of Archaeology in cooperation with the Museum of Antiquities in Leiden (RMO) organised of symposium focusing on the results of the research carried out in Oss-Zevenbergen. All the studies are combined in one book which was presented during the symposium. Simone Lemmers gave a presentation about the research she has carried out on the skeletal remains of the Chieftain of Oss. The book chapter by Simone Lemmers and colleagues can be found in the section 'Publications'
The 78th Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (2013)

The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) is an international organization dedicated to the research, interpretation, and protection of the archaeological heritage of the Americas. With more than 7,000 members, the society represents professional, student, and avocational archaeologists working in a variety of settings including government agencies, colleges and universities, museums, and the private sector. The Society organised their 78th meeting in Honulu, Hawaii between 3rd and 7th of April. Dr. Menno Hoogland, Dr. Andrea Waters-Rist and Dr. Jason Laffoon gave presentations about their research. A summary of their talk can be found under 'Abstracts'.
Isotopen voor Dummies (2013)

On March 13th, 2013, the Biological Archaeological Platform organised a symposium on isotopes to make archaeologist working in the Netherlands more familiar with possibilities of isotopic research. The focus of the symposium was on 14C dating, diet reconstruction with stable isotopes, and provenance studies with strontium isotopes. Rachel Schats gave a lecture on the strontium isotopes research performed on the individuals buried in the mass graves found in Alkmaar. An summary of the talk (in Dutch) can be found in under Abstracts.
Lunula (2012)

The 'Cel Archeologie van de Metaaltijden' and 'Études Celtologiques et Comparatives’ organised the 20th Lunula meeting on 24 and 25 February 2012 in Nmur/Namen (Belgium). The meeting focused on the archaeology of the metal-ages in Belgium and surrounding areas, with a range of talks and poster-presentations. Simone Lemmers, specialised in the investigation of cremated human remains from archaeological cotexts, presented her RMA thesis research entitled 'Burned Culture (Osteological research into Urnfield cremation technology and ritual; A case study of Maastricht-Ambyerveld)'. The abstract of her presentation can be found under 'Abstracts', and a full article was published in the conference proceedings (LUNULA, Archaeologia protohistorica XX (2012), 81-88).
The 19th European Meeting of the Paleopathology Association (2012)

The 19th EPPA meeting was held from 27 untill 29 August in Lille (France) with a variety of talks and poster presentations covering topics from the paleopathological field of research, from case-study results to innovative techniques. The Leiden laboratory was present with a large delegation and provided 3 talks and 3 posters! Jaap Saers and Jessica Palmer presented their thesis research in a poster with the titles 'Limb Bone Morphology in an Archaeological Case of Achrondroplastic Dwarfism' and 'Busy Bones: Osteoarthritis and musculoskeletal markers as evidence of physical stress in a rural Dutch community' respectively. Simone Lemmers als presented a poster about her recent research: 'The Chieftain of Oss: New perspectives on an Iron-Age individual with DISH'. Presentations about their recent research were given by Dr. Andrea Waters-Rist: 'Osteological Evidence of Achondroplastic Dwarfism in a Nineteenth Century Dutch Family', Rachel Schats: 'A Forensic Approach to Medieval Gunshot Trauma' and Barbara Veselka: 'Rural rickets. Beemster, a farming community in post-medieval Netherlands'. The available abstracts and poster can be downloaded under 'Abstracts'.
14th Annual Conference of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (2012)

From 14 until 16 September the 14th BABAO conference was held at Bournemouth University, consisting of a wide range of talks and poster presentations. Researchers from Leiden University were well-represented with 3 talks and one poster. Dr. Andrea Waters-Rist gave a presentation about 'Health and Diet at the Prehispanic Site of El Rayo, Nicaragua', Hayley Mickelburgh gave a presentation entitled 'Talkin’ Teeth: dental anthropology of the pre-Columbian Caribbean', and Rachel Schats about 'The Physical Anthropological and Isotopic Investigation of a Violent Historical Event in Medieval Alkmaar, The Netherlands'. A poster was presented by Simone Lemmers with the title 'Histomorphological alterations of the femoral midshaft in an Iron Age individual with DISH: Diagnosis with Paleohistopathology?'. The abstracts and poster can be found under the 'Abstracts' section.