BABAO 2025 Annual Conference

BABAO is an active supporter of public engagement and events in archaeology, and we want to hear about your ideas for our teaching programmes, and any research you’ve done that you think our members would like to hear about — so don’t hesitate to get in touch!

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We welcome you — and indeed encourage all our members — to join our Sub-Groups and our Board of Trustees💀

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Are you interested in bioarchaeology?

THEN BABAO NEEDS YOU!

Become a member of our fantastic association — and get involved in our research, conferences, workshops and outreach activities!

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And finally...

A MASSIVE THANK YOU to all the brilliant speakers and poster presenters at #BABAO2025 — you put on the most impressive and fabulously engaging showcase of the value and importance of continuing researching in the fields of biological anthropology & osteoarchaeology!

#TheBestPeople

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PRIZES

And congratulations to Rachael Hall for her fabulous research on 'Exploring proteomic analysis as a method for identifying brucellosis in archaeological human skeletons' — which won the best Student Podium presentation at #BABAO2025! 💀🎤🏆

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PRIZES

Congratulations to our two brilliant winners of the #BABAO2025 Student Poster prize! 💀📜🏆

Fin Taylor et al. — 'Not one way to file: Microscopic variation in Viking-Age tooth filing'

Sarina Riechmann — 'Identifying and tracking scavengers of remains in a forensic context'

3.35 — Our final talk of #BABAO2025 examines ‘Evidence of anatomisation from the 19th century Bristol Union workhouse cemetery’ with Sharon Clough et al. 🪦💀🏛️

3.34 — The penultimate talk of #BABAO2025 sees Lauren McIntyre et al. questioning [if] “… many would rather die” (?) when investigating ‘Osteological evidence for deprivation in post-medieval Hull’ 🍴💀🪦

3.33 — Next Isobel Grimley et al. consider the price of progress through their work on ‘Childhood frailty in England across the medieval (11th-15th centuries) to post-medieval (16th-19th century) transition’ 👧🏻🩺💀 #BABAO2025

3.32 — The final session of #BABAO2025 (7B) on ‘Marginalisations, childhood, and the life course: Britain through time’ is chaired by Malin Holst; and Mackenzie Masters and Jordi Ruiz Ventura et al. look at ‘Bioarchaeological insights into a catastrophic population from medieval Leicester’ 💀🌋📜

#BABAO2025 Poster Sessions:

4 — ‘Insights in the fields of osteoarchaeology and forensics’ 🔍💀⚖️

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BREAK TIME & POSTER SESSION 4

We now have our final break and #PosterSession4 on ‘Insights in the fields of osteoarchaeology and forensics’ 💀🔍⚖️

Come find us in the Poster Room next to the Registration desk in Brookfield House!

#BABAO2025

3.31 — Before the break, Chris Chinnock et al. argue that collaboration is key (!) in their study and ‘Analysis of a 5th-7th century cemetery in Northamptonshire’ 🪦🤝🏼🗝️ #BABAO2025

3.30 — Following this, we turn ‘Towards an integrated bioarchaeological perspective on York in the Roman Empire’ with Elisha Meadows et al. 🏺💀🔍 #BABAO2025

3.29 — Session 7(A), chaired by Sharon Clough, is on ‘Marginalisations, childhood, and the life course: Britain through time’; Katie Erin Faillace et al. discuss ‘Using biodistance to investigate social networks & mobility from the Iron Age to Early Medieval period in Wessex, England’ 💀🧬🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 #BABAO2025

3.28 — Last in session 6B we are ‘Assessing bias in cremated remains deposits: The role of fragmentation and deposit size in skeletal element identification’ with Elżbieta Jaskulska 💀🔥⚱️ #BABAO2025

3.27 — Our session on ‘The state of our bones: mortuary practices, taphonomy, and the conundrum of commingling’ continues now (6B); where Catherine Roberts et al. are ‘Testing the waters: The effect of deposition environment on dental diagenesis’ 🌊🦷🔬 #BABAO2025

HAPPENING NOW ❗️

#BABAO2025

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ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of BABAO

Don’t miss the BABAO AGM, which will take place after lunch, from 1PM-2PM in the Brookfield House Lecture Theatre!

#BABAO2025

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It’s been another fantastic morning at #BABAO2025 with so many stellar research talks and great questions!

But we could all do with some food right about now, so let’s have lunch!

Normal service will resume at 2PM ❗️

3.26 — Last in Session 6A we have Haley Goren et al. looking at ‘Mortuary treatments in early Bronze Age Britain: A micro-CT evaluation of bacterial diagenesis in bone to investigate burial practices’ 🛖💀🩻 #BABAO2025

3.25 — Now we look at caring for the dead with Iseabail Wilks and their research ‘Results of archaeothanatological analysis of burials from the early Neolithic of central Europe’ 💀⛅️🌿 #BABAO2025

3.24 — Next Xander King et al. discusses ‘Refitting in dry dock: Considering archaeological naval cemetery populations through commingling and fragmented human remains’ 🪖🪦🦴 #BABAO2025

3.23 — Jess Thompson chairs Session 6(A) which focuses on ‘The state of our bones: mortuary practices, taphonomy, & the conundrum of commingling’; and first up we get to hear about ‘The Winchester Cathedral mortuary chests: Curating the bones of Kings?’ with Heidi Dawson-Hobbis et al. 🏛️⚰️💀 #BABAO2025

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KEYNOTE 3

Our last Keynote Lecture of #BABAO2025 is given by Prof. Mary Lewis, who asks ‘Where have all our skeletons gone?’, considering and reflecting on ‘The legal, ethical and research imperatives for a centralised human remains database in the UK to manage legacy collections’ 💀⚖️🏛️