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Team

Group photo author: Maarja Liiv

Team

Photo credits to Maarja Liiv

Ester Oras

Professor of Archaeochemistry, Director of Archemy

Bioarchaeologist specialising in organic residue analysis and paleoproteomics, with special interest in ancient dietary and disease reconstructions.

ester.oras@ut.ee
Photo credits to Maarja Liiv

Mari Tõrv

Associate Professor of Archaeology, Research Fellow in Analytical and Physical Chemistry, Board Member

Bioarchaeologist focused on human osteology, dietary stable isotopes, and prehistoric mortuary practices, combining archaeological and biochemical methods. She also leads transdisciplinary initiatives and develops stable‑isotope research capacity.

mari.torv@ut.e

Eve Rannamäe

Associate Professor of Archaeology, Board Member

Zooarchaeologist specializing in archaeological animal remains from Estonia, with a wide interest in both domestic and wild animals. Her main research focus is on domestic livestock and their population history, breed development, and connection to today’s autochthonous breeds.

eve.rannamae@ut.ee
Photo credits to Maarja Liiv

Kristiina Johanson

Research Fellow in Archaeology, Board Member

Archeobotanist specializing in archaeological plant remains, working with macroremains and microremains (phytoliths, starch grains) and building reference collections.

kristiina.johanson@ut.e

Shidong Chen

Archemy Lab Technician

Analytical chemist specialized in organic residue analysis and ancient diet reconstruction. GC-MS technician skilled with multiple analytical techniques.

Alessandra Morrone

Research Fellow in Archaeology

A human osteologist specialized in paleopathology. Her expertise covers the analysis of archaeological and forensic human remains, particularly non-adults. She also conducts collagen extraction and stable isotope analyses to investigate diet, physiological stress, and infant feeding practices in past populations.

Photo credits to Maarja Liiv

Holar Sepp

IRMS Lab Operator and Manager

Environmental technology specialist with extensive experience in isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), working with these systems since 2009. His work encompasses a wide range of analytical applications in geology, archaeology, environmental science, biology, and related disciplines. He is responsible for stable isotope measurements, laboratory management, and the maintenance and repair of IRMS instrumentation.

Photo credits to Maarja Liiv

Helery Hindriksoo

Lab Technician

Kaarel Sikk

Research Fellow in Archaeology and Complex Systems

Data Scientist

Rémi Barbieri

Research Fellow of Ancient DNA and Paleoproteomics

Microbiologist

Silvia-Kristiin Kask

Junior Research Fellow in Archaeology

Silvia-Kristiin’s research focuses on Estonian hunter-fisher-gatherer bone tools.

Agnes Unt

Archaeobotanist

Raivo Suni

Junior Research Fellow in Archaeology

Raivo is the lead author of Estonia’s bioavailable strontium baseline map and applies isotope analysis to study prehistoric mobility and societal dynamics.

Naila Nasirova

Lab Technician

Naila is currently pursuing a PhD in analytical chemistry, focusing on a multidisciplinary topic that spans microfluidics, biochemistry, and analytical chemistry.

Lola Sõukand

Junior Research Fellow in Analytical Chemistry

Lola is focusing her research on organic residue analysis from ceramics.

John Alphonsus Matthews

Research Fellow in Archaeology

Al is a researcher with a focus on data analysis and computational methods. He has a particular interest in applying mathematical and statistical methods to humanities data.

Photo credits to Maarja Liiv

Ülle Aguraijuja-Lätti

Bioarchaeologist

Ülle focuses on studying past diets and environments using isotope analyses of human and animal skeletal remains.

Photo credits to Maarja Liiv

Diana Veersalu

Project Manager

Diana contributes to the team by performing day-to-day administrative tasks and helps with PR and social media.

* Photo credits to Maarja Liiv and Archemy

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