Dr Mélanie Roffet-Salque

My main research has been focussing on the study of lipids preserved in archaeological artefacts, in order to reconstruct past exploitation of natural resources by ancient populations, using the molecular composition of extracts and compound-specific C isotope composition of fatty acids. I have been particularly interested in developing and validating new biomarker and compound-specific stable isotope proxies to investigate subsistence practices.

My Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship recognises the untapped potential of archaeological pottery vessels to serve as a novel proxy for palaeoprecipitation and explores the link between climate change and human responses in the past, and will be held in the Organic Geochemistry Unit, School of Chemistry, in collaboration with Professor Paul Valdes (climate modeller, BRIDGE, UoB), Professor Michael Lee (ruminant dietician, Bristol Veterinary School, UoB and North Wyke Farm Platform), Dr Marie Balasse(isotopic archaeozoologist, MNHN, Paris), Professor Arek Marciniak (archaeozoologist, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland) and Dr Olivier Nieuwenhuyse (Humboldt Fellow at the Institut für Vorderasiatische Archäologie, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany).