Dr Katherine French

Publication

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Research

The BONEZ Project: I am the lead researcher on the Horizon 2020 EU-funded BONEZ project. BONEZ stands for “Baltic Paganism, Osteology, and New Evidence from Zooarchaeology” and will run from September 2021-August 2023. We are using a full suite of biomolecular, microscopic, and macroscopic techniques to reconstruct animal deposits in cemetery contexts in the Eastern Baltic region (special focus on modern Poland, Lithuania, and Russian Kaliningrad Oblast). Learn more at www.theBONEZproject.co.uk.

POWinPolska Project: "The Path to the Otherworld: reassessing cult behavior at Paprotki Kolonia, northeast Poland" launches May 2022. The goal of the project is to excavate and reconstruct a horse sacrificial burial associated with the Bogaczewo Culture (Roman period). I manage a team spanning 10 laboratories at seven institutions in Poland and the United Kingdom. Our research is funded by a National Geographic Level I Explorer Grant. Learn more at www.POWinPolska.com.

Pagan Movements in a Christian World: an isotopic approach to Baltic mobility in Kyivan Rus: In partnership with the Institute for Baltic and Scandianavian Archaeology (Schleswig, Germany) and the National Academy of Science of Ukraine in Kiev, this project will conduct strontium isotope analysis on human and animal remains from the cemetery at Ostriv (Ukraine). This cemetery is believed to be the final resting place of pagan, Baltic migrants living and working in Christian-dominated Kyivan Rus during the Viking Age. Our research is funded by a seed funding grant from the British Academy Early Career Researcher Network - Southwest Hub.

Drifting Osteons Project: A drifting osteon is an odd, but not uncommon form of a histological structure in bone that forms during remodelling. Working with colleagues in the United States, we are studying the prevalence of drifting osteons in the long bones of humans relative to other mammals.

Commingled Burials, Commingled Datasets Project: With colleague Dr Flint Dibble, we are building an integrated, user-friendly database designed to seamlessly record and integrate human and animal skeletal data from commingled assemblages.

Teaching

I contribute to teaching on bioarchaeology, mortuary archaeology, bone biology, histology and forensics.

Biography

Before coming to Cardiff, I worked or conducted research in a range of field, laboratory, museum, forensic, and museum contexts. My work as a professional archaeologist has taken me from the West Coast of America to Eastern Poland and many sites in between. Here is a sampling of my experience:

2021-Present: Cardiff University, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellow in Archaeology

2010-2018: New York University, Adjunct Professor in Anthropology, New York City, New York, USA

2014-2018: Archaeology & Historic Resource Services, Managing Archaeologist & Fieldwork Director, New York City, NY, USA

2011-2012, 2015-2016: Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Visiting Researcher, New York City, NY, USA

2011: Denver Museum of Nature and Science, NAGPRA Intern, Denver, CO, USA

2009-2010: University of Nevada-Reno, Archaeology Project Researcher in Klamath Network Fire Program, Seconded to United States National Park Service, Crater Lake National Park (Oregon, USA) and Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (California, USA)

Education

Phd: Anthropology, New York University

MA: Anthropology, New York University

Mphil: European Archaeology, University of Oxford

WHAT: Medieval Studies, Georgetown University

Honours and Awards

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship (2020): Awarded €224,934 for 24-month BONEZ ("Baltic paganism, osteology and new examinations of zooarchaeological evidence") project.
• Global Research Institute Dissertation Writers Fellowship, New York University – Berlin (2016): Received one of six fully funded (travel, housing, stipend) placements for a six-week final stage dissertation writers' workshop at the New York University Global Campus in Berlin, Germany.
• Lane Cooper Fellow, Graduate School of Arts and Science, New York University (2014) Won $25,000 dissertation research award for project entitled "Multispecies Cremations in a Transitional World: evidence from early medieval England."
• MacCracken Fellow, New York University (2009-2014) Five years of full tuition, health insurance, and living stipend by the NYU Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
• Global Research Institute Fellowship, New York University – London (2013) Awarded one semester of funding for dissertation research while a researcher in residence at New York University – London's Global Research Institute.
• Healy Scholar, St. Cross College, University of Oxford (2006) Awarded Georgetown University's Healy Fellowship: single annual winner for two years of full tuition and travel/housing stipend to pursue a master's degree at the University of Oxford.

Summer Fieldwork Grants

• Antonina S. Ranieri International Scholars Fund Grant, New York University (2011)
• Goodwin-Salwen Archaeological Fellowship, New York University (2010)