Brenna Hassett

• PhD
• Lecturer in Forensic Osteology and Archaeology at University of Central Lancashire

Understanding the factors shaping human crania has long been a goal of biological anthropology, and climate, diet, and population history are three of the most well-established influences. The effects of these factors are, however, rarely compared within a single, variable population, limiting interpretations of their relative contribution to crani...

In this chapter, we will consider how women have worked in archaeology, largely in Anglophone contexts; the methods and means by which they could achieve significant contributions and careers despite considerable obstacles to their participation solely based on their sex. We will examine how the interactions between individuals work to build networ...

With contributions spanning from the Neolithic Age to the Iron Age, this book offers important insights into the religions and ritual practices in ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern communities through the lenses of their material remains. The book begins with a theoretical introduction to the concept of material religion and features editor introdu...

To understand human evolution it is critical to clarify which adaptations enabled our colonisation of novel ecological niches. For any species climate is a fundamental source of environmental stress during range expansion. Mammalian climatic adaptations include changes in size and shape reflected in skeletal dimensions and humans fit general primat...

Ancient human settlements are brought vividly to life in an engaging new analysis

Objectives Deciduous canines are now used increasingly in archaeological and forensic studies to establish the time of birth and as a retrospective source of trace elements incorporated into enamel before and after birth. However, data on the variability of deciduous enamel formation times are scarce. Our objectives were to use daily incremental ma...

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore potential relationships between neonatal line (NNL) width and early life history variables such as maternal health, gestation, the birth process, and perinatal health. Materials and methods: Histological thin sections of deciduous canines were studied from 71 children from the Avon Longitudi...

A new Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded project brings together multiple strands of investigation to probe the relationship between ritual, violence, and early state formation. David Wengrow and Brenna Hassett will coordinate an international team combining biomolecular analysis (stable isotopes, ancient DNA), bioarchaeology, and a...

This article addresses a 250-year episode of human colonisation, community growth and subsequent decline on the small Greek island of Antikythera ( ad 1770 to present), focusing on rich documentary sources from four decades of British rule in the early nineteenth century. In particular, a series of nominal censuses and accompanying agricultural sta...

To understand human evolution it is critical to clarify which adaptations enabled our colonisation of novel ecological niches. For any species climate is a fundamental source of environmental stress during range expansion. Mammalian climatic adaptations include changes in size and shape reflected in skeletal dimensions and humans fit general primat...

This paper focuses on the biological evidence for funerary ritual and construction of meaning through burial practice at the site of Başur Höyük, in the Upper Tigris region of southeastern Turkey. While the entire mound is an incredible resource for understanding the changing nature of human settlements in the region, this paper will focus on the s...

Through the Ilısu Dam Rescue Archaeology Project, we explore ethical and practical aspects of rescue archaeology in contested territory and areas of conflict, at the mound sites of Başur Höyük and Çattepe in Siirt Province, Turkey. We are excavating the sites ahead of the Ilısu Dam’s construction, a controversial project that the state supports but...

Torus mandibularis is a non-metric traitcommonly recorded in bioarcheological investigationand often included in the battery of non-metric traitsused to analyse biological distance among populations.However, there is considerable debate regarding theetiology of the trait, with genetic and environmentalfactors both having been posited as the primary...

Introduction to the Special Issue: Digital Bioarchaeology: New Dimensions, New Methods, New Ethics.

A fluorescence of shape-capture technologies at many different scales, including synchrotron, CT, micro/nano-CT, laser scanning, and photogrammetry, has led to a proliferation of digital data in bioarchaeology. The question remains how these new 3D datasets, alongside traditional bioarchaeological data, can be disseminated, and what ethical concern...

This is the transcript of the panel discussion held at the close of the WAC 8 Digital Bioarchaeological Ethics Panel. Given the rapid pace of emerging technology that allows for the creation of digital bioarchaeological data, including representations of 3d shapes, the panel was convened to discuss common issues and dilemmas that arise from the int...

Human sacrifice has long been associated with the rise of hierarchical centralised societies. Recent excavation of a large cist tomb at third-millennium BC Başur Höyük, in Turkey, shows that state formation in Mesopotamia was accompanied by a fundamental change in the value of human life within local ritual economy. Osteological analysis and study...

The TrowelBlazers project provides an example of how public participation can radically influence an archival heritage project. Conceived as a Tumblr site where a limited group could post content celebrating female archaeologists, geologists, and palaeontologists, we soon allowed ‘guest’ posts, which rapidly broadened the scope of our project. Thro...

http://worldarch.org/blog/wac-8-resolutions/2016

The objective of this study is to compare landmark-based assessment of hominin mandible morphological variation with that from a high-density point cloud, using 3D models constructed from structure-from-motion (SfM) surface capture techniques. Surface models of nine hominin mandible casts were created using SfM photogrammetry. The morphology of the...

It was with great pleasure that I read Sue Hamilton's Forum letter and even greater pleasure that I respond with my own experience and understanding on the experience of 'Under-Representation in Contemporary Archaeology'. As a female early-career academic with a somewhat dilettante sideline in the history of women in archaeology, I will focus my re...

Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH), the presence of linear defects of dental enamel formed during periods of growth disruption, is frequently analyzed in physical anthropology as evidence for childhood health in the past. However, a wide variety of methods for identifying and interpreting these defects in archaeological remains exists, preventing easy...

Assessment and interpretation of the presence of developmental defects of enamel formation that result from childhood experiences of growth disruption, enamel hypoplasia, is a standard part of almost any systematic bioarchaeological assessment. However, different identification methods lead to different results. This study presents a new method of...

The size of the permanent human canine tooth is one of the few sexually dimorphic features to be present in childhood and as such offers the opportunity to assist in the identification of sex in remains where no other appropriate criteria exist, such as in subadults. However, canine odontometrics are often associated with high levels of interobserv...

Intensive surface surveys are a well-established method in the landscape archaeology of many parts of the world, but have remained relatively rare in Southeast Asian research. This article summarizes the contribution of existing surveys in the latter region and offers results from a short but informative survey of a metal-producing landscape in cen...