Ingrid Mainland

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.