Projects per year
Personal profile
Research expertise
My research interests and expertise lie in palaeoeconomic/environmental reconstruction, with a particular geographic emphasis on Scotland and the North Atlantic islands. I have a specific focus on Orkney where I am currently working with faunas spanning the Neolithic to the Late Norse, providing an unparalleled opportunity to explore four millennia of human-animal relations in an island ecosystem and, perhaps more significantly, the resilience of these island communities in the face of at least three significant periods of environmental change. My research interests in sustainability continue into the present day, where I have recently instigated a series of projects concerned with the teaching of ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) within the HE Humanities curriculum.
A further area of research expertise is in the development of innovative methodologies for understanding human-animal interactions in the past. One of my main research themes here is dental microwear analysis and palaeodiet in ungulates. This research has established methodologies for analysing domestic ungulate microwear and is providing important new insights into the impact of grazing animals in North Atlantic ecosystems, pig domestication in Europe and Asia, and early Neolithic herding strategies in southern Europe. I have also explored the potential of bone histology and morphology for reconstructing animal activity levels; this work has significant implications for understanding both the process of domestication and intensification of animal husbandry practices.
Education/Academic qualification
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Sheffield
Award Date: 1 Jan 1995
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- 3 Similar Profiles
Network
Projects
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Landscapes of Change - Skaill farmstead
Lee, D., Mainland, I., Gibbon, S. J. & Harland, J.
1/06/17 → 31/03/18
Project: Research
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Landscapes of Change - Skaill farmstead excavations and outreach
Lee, D., Mainland, I. & Downes, J.
4/07/16 → 8/07/16
Project: Research
Research Output
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Identifying seaweed consumption by sheep using isotope analysis of their bones and teeth: Modern reference δ13C and δ15N values and their archaeological implications
Mainland, I., Blanz, M., Taggart, M., Richards, M., Balasse, M., Ascough, P., Wolfhagen, J. & Feldmann, J., 30 Jun 2020, In : Journal of Archaeological Science.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
2 Citations (Scopus) -
Seaweed fertilisation impacts the chemical and isotopic composition of barley: Implications for analyses of archaeological skeletal remains
Blanz, M., Ascough, P., Mainland, I., Martin, P., Taggart, M. A., Dieterich, B., Wishart, J., Sayle, K. L., Raab, A. & Feldmann, J., 1 Apr 2019, In : Journal of Archaeological Science. 104, p. 34-44 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Open AccessFile4 Citations (Scopus)30 Downloads (Pure) -
The nature of the feast: commensality and the politics of consumption in Viking Age and Early Medieval Northern Europe
Mainland, I. & Batey, C., 1 Jul 2019, In : World Archaeology. p. 1-23 23 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure) -
An isotopic investigation into the origins and husbandry of Mid-Late Bronze Age cattle from Grimes Graves, Norfolk
Mainland, I., Towers, J., Montgomery, J., Evans, J. & Bond, J., Oct 2017, In : Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 15, p. 59-72 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Open AccessFile5 Citations (Scopus)16 Downloads (Pure) -
To cut a long story short: formal chronological modelling for the Late Neolithic site of Ness of Brodgar, Orkney
Card, N., Mainland, I., Timpany, S., Towers, R., Batt, C., Ramsey, C. B., Dunbar, E., Reimer, P., Bayliss, A., Marshall, P. & Whittle, A., 5 Apr 2017, In : European Journal of Archaeology.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Open AccessFile7 Citations (Scopus)109 Downloads (Pure) -
Calving seasonality at Pool, Orkney during the first millennium AD: an investigation using intra-tooth isotope ratio analysis of cattle molar enamel
Towers, J., Mainland, I., Bond, J. & Montgomery, J., 6 Jan 2016, In : Environmental Archaeology. 22, 1, p. 40-55 16 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
6 Citations (Scopus) -
Toiling with teeth: An integrated dental analysis of sheep and cattle dentition in Iron Age and Viking-Late Norse Orkney
Card, N., Mainland, I., Towers, J., Ewens, V., Davis, G., Montgomery, J., Batey, C. & Downes, J., 1 Apr 2016, In : Journal of Archaeological Science. 6, p. 837-855 19 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
Open AccessFile13 Citations (Scopus)15 Downloads (Pure)
Activities
- 2 Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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LIFTE Project Launch Event
Sarah Jane Gibbon (Organiser), , Sarah Jane Gibbon (Speaker), , Sarah Jane Gibbon (Chair), , Jen Harland (Participant), , Ingrid Mainland (Chair), , Julia D Gibson (Chair), , Paul Sharman (Speaker), & Daniel Lee (Participant)
19 Oct 2020 → 21 Oct 2020Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
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Rousay Archaeology Day
Sarah Jane Gibbon (Speaker), , Jen Harland (Speaker), , Ingrid Mainland (Speaker), , Daniel Lee (Speaker), , Sarah Jane Gibbon (Organiser), , Daniel Lee (Organiser), , Jen Harland (Organiser), & Ingrid Mainland (Organiser)
5 Oct 2019Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participation in workshop, seminar, course
File
Press / Media
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Hanseatic League's historic role explored
Ingrid Mainland & Sarah Jane Gibbon
2/11/20
2 items of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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UHI Archaeology Institute Looks Ahead
Jane Downes, Hugo Anderson-Whymark & Ingrid Mainland
9/06/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Orkney, Shetland and The Merchants of Bremen and Hamburg
Ingrid Mainland, Jane Downes & Sarah Jane Gibbon
22/02/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Archaeologists Unearth Hollowed-Out Whale Vertebra Containing Human Jawbone, Remains of Newborn Lambs
8/11/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Whale DNA sheds light on Iron Age life on Orkney
7/11/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Ancient Orcadians used large whale bones as tools
7/11/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
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Top Academic Awards for Orkney’s Thorfinn Rosie and Martha Johnson
9/10/19
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research