Vaughan Grimes

Academics

Ph.D. University of Bradford, UK 2007
MSc. University of Bradford, UK 2002
BA (Honours) Memorial University of Newfoundland 1998

Position

Assistant Professor

Research Interests

My research encompasses the fields of archaeological science, biomolecular archaeology and human skeletal biology. Topically, my interests generally involve the exploration of ancient human and animal behaviour and interactions. More specifically my research focuses on how biological adaptations and climate change have influenced settlement, migration and mobility patterns in the past. The primary analytical tool I use to address these issues is the analysis of stable and radiogenic isotopes from biological tissues (bone, teeth and hair), which are complemented by traditional morphologic-based methods of analyzing skeletal remains. I have applied these techniques to numerous projects, such as research into hominin mobility, the Ancient Human Occupation of Britain (AHOB) project, mapping palaeo-isotopic landscapes in South Africa and revealing aspects of prehistoric Incan child sacrifice (see publications). Other areas of my research include the development of stable and radiogenic isotope analytical methodologies and unraveling the complex nature of isotopic and morphological variability within and between animal species.

Keywords

Bioarchaeology; isotopes; osteology; bone and tooth chemistry; diagenesis; migration; prehistory; human evolution; palaeodiet

Contact Info

Email: vgrimes@mun.ca
Room: QC
Phone:

Employment

Since January 2009 Memorial University, Department of Archaeology, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada

Assistant Professor

2006 – 2008 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Leipzig, Germany

Post-doctoral Research Associate

Affiliations, Professional Memberships and Service

2009 Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution [http://www.eva.mpg.de/evolution/]

Associated Scientist

2008 Society for American Archaeology

2008 Canadian Association for Physical Anthropology

2007 European Association for Archaeology

Reviewer

Journal of Archaeological Science

American Journal of Physical Anthropology

Publications

Journals

Copeland, S.R., Sponheimer, M., Lee-Thorp, J.A., de Ruiter, D.J., le Roux, P.J., Grimes, V., Codron, D., Codron, J., Berger, L.R. and Richards, M.P. (in press) Using strontium isotopes to study site accumulation processes. Journal of Taphonomy

Richards, M., Grimes, V., Smith, C., Smith, T., Harvati, K., Hublin, J.J., Karkanas, P., and Panagopoulou, E. (2009) Response to Nowell and Horstwood (2009). Journal of Archaeological Science, 36:1657-1658

Briton, K., Grimes, V., Dau, J. and Richards, M.P. (2009) Reconstructing faunal mirgrations using intra-tooth sampling and strontium and oxygen isotope analyses: a case study of modern caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti). Journal of Archaeological Science, 36:1163-1172.

Copeland, S.R., Sponheimer, M., le Roux, P.J., Grimes, V., Lee-Throp, J.A., de Ruiter, D.J., and Richards, M.P. (2008) Strontium isotope ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) of tooth enamel: a comparison of solution and laser ablation multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry methods. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 22:3187-3194.

Richards, M.P., Harvati, K., Grimes, V., Smith, C., Smith, T., Hublin, J. J., Karkanas, P., and Panagopoulou, E. (2008) Strontium isotope evidence of Neanderthal mobility at the site of Lakonis, Greece using laser-ablation PIMMS. Journal of Archaeological Sciences, 35:1251-1256.

Wilson, A.S., Taylor, T., Ceruti, M.A., Chavez, J.A., Reinhard, J. Grimes, V., Meier-Augenstein, W., Cartmell, L., Stern, B., Richards, M.P., Worobey, M. Barnes, I., and Gilbert, T.P. (2007) Stable isotope and DNA evidence for ritual sequences in Inca child sacrifice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(42):16456-16461.

Edited Volumes

Stallo, J. R., Shepartz, L.A., Grimes, V. and Richards, M.P. (2008) Strontium isotopes ratios and mobility reconstruction. In Amore, M.G. (Ed.) Necropolis of Apollonia. Tumulus 9. Tiranë: International Center for Albanian Archeology Monograph Series No. 2.

Müldner, G. and Grimes, V. (2007) Stable Isotope Analysis of Cetaceans and Fish from Flixborough - Preliminary Results. In Dobney, K., Jaques, D., Barrett, J. & Johnstone, C. (Eds.). Farmers Monks & Aristocrats. The environmental archaeology of an Anglo-Saxon estate centre at Flixborough, North Lincolnshire, U.K. Oxford, Oxbow/English Heritage.

Jay, M., Grimes, V., Montgomery, J., Lakin, K. and Evans, J. (2007) Multi-isotope analysis, Chapter 8: Environmental Evidence. pp. 351-354. In Brown, F., Howard-Davis, C., Evans, T., O’Connor, S., Spence, A., Heawood, R. and Lupton, A. (Eds.) The archaeology of the A1 (M) Darrington to Dishforth DBFO Road Scheme. Lancaster, Oxford Archaeology North.

Jay, M., Grimes, V. and Richards, M.P. (in press) Stable isotope analysis of animal bone from Pontnewydd Cave. In Aldhouse-Green, S., Peterson, R. & Walker, E. (Eds.) Pontnewydd and the Elwy Valley Caves. Cardiff, University of Wales Press.

Richards, M.P., Grimes, V. and Blockley, S.M. (in press) Stable isotope analysis (C,N,O) of Lynford Quarry faunal samples. In Boisemeir, W. (Ed.) A Middle Palaeolithic Site at Lynford Quarry, Mundford, Norfolk. English Heritage.

Submitted or In Review

Grimes, V. and Pellegrini, M. (in review) A comparison of pretreatment methods for the analysis of phosphate oxygen isotope ratios in hydroxyapatite. Chemical Geology

Published Abstracts

Steele, T., Niven, L., Britton, K., Grimes, V., Mallye, J.-B., Rendu, W. and Richards, M. (2009) Neandertal exploitation of reindeer in the Quina Mousterian at Chez Pinaud, Jonzac (France): zooarchaeological and isotopic evidence. PaleoAnthropology 2009:A34.

Sandberg, P., Grimes, V., Smith, C., Richards, M., Sponheimer, M., Van Gerven, D. (2008) Biogeochemical evidence of human mobility in medieval Nubia. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 135(S46):184-185.

In Preparation

Grimes, V., Montgomery, J., Barrett, J. and Richards, M.P. Identifying Norse migration throughout northwest Europe using oxygen and strontium isotope ratios in bones and teeth.Antiquity

Grimes, V. and Richards, M.P. Reconstructing British Middle to Late Pleistocene environments using isotope analysis (d18O, d13C d15N) in faunal remains. Journal of Quaternary Science

Grimes, V., Montgomery, J., Sponheimer, M, Robinson, T. and Richards, M.P. Oxygen and strontium isotope variation in bones and teeth from an experimental feeding study. Oecologia

Presentations

‘Recent developments in micro-sampling techniques of modern and archaeological dental tissues for strontium isotope ratios.’ Canadian Association for Physical Anthropology, 5-8 November 2008, Hamilton, Canada. (With S.R. Copeland, P. le Roux, M. Sponheimer, J. Lee-Thorp, D. de Ruiter, and M.P. Richards)

‘Mapping herd movements and migrations: a case study of modern caribou and bison using multiple-isotopic measurements of serial-sections of tooth enamel and dentine.’International Symposium on Biomolecular Archaeology (ISBA3), York, England, 14 – 16 September 2008. (With K. Britton, O. Nehlich and M. Richards)

‘Strontium isotope ratios of modern and fossil teeth measured by solution and laser ablation PIMMS.’ 9^th European Workshop on Laser Ablation in Elemental and Isotopic Analysis, 7-9 July 2008, Prague, Czech Republic. (With S.R. Copeland, M. Sponheimer, P.J. le Roux, J.A. Lee-Thorp, D.J. de Ruiter and M.P. Richards)

‘New strontium isotope evidence for hominin residence and ranging in the Serkfontein Valley, South Africa.’ Paleoanthropology Society Meetings, 25-26 March 2008. Vancouver, Canada. (With S.R. Copeland, M. Sponheimer, P.J. le Roux, J.A. Lee-Thorp, D.J. de Ruiter, D. Codron, J. Codron and M.P. Richards)

‘A comparison of pretreatment and silver phosphate (Ag₃PO₄) precipitation methods: implications for the analysis of phosphate oxygen isotope ratios in bioapatite.’ Society for American Archaeology 73^rd Annual Meeting, 26-30 March 2008, Vancouver, Canada. (With M. Pellegrini, T. Tütken, and M.P. Richards)

‘Mapping herd movements and migrations: preliminary investigations using multi-element isotopic analysis of modern herbivore teeth.’ Society for American Archaeology 73^rd Annual Meeting, 26-30 March 2008, Vancouver, Canada. (With K. Britton, A. Millard, O. Nehlich and M.P. Richards)

‘A multi-isotopic approach to mobility and diet in Minoan Crete.’ Society for American Archaeology 73^rd Annual Meeting, 26-30 March 2008, Vancouver, Canada. (With C. Smith, O. Nehlich, H. Martlew and M.P. Richards)

‘Diet and migration at the early LBK cemetery site of Vedrovice, Czech Republic: a report on recent isotopic analyses of human remains.’ European Association of Archaeologists Annual Meeting, 18 – 23 September 2007, University of Zadar, Croatia. (With J. Montgomery, O. Nehlich and M.P. Richards)

‘A Viking we will go: identifying Norse migration in northwest Europe using oxygen and strontium isotope analyses of bones and teeth.’ UK Archaeological Sciences Conference, 31 August – 3 September 2007, Cambridge University. (With J. Montgomery, J. Evans, J. Barrett and M.P. Richards)

‘Strontium isotope ratios of bedrock, soils, plants, and animals in Sterkfontein Valley, South Africa.’ UK Archaeological Sciences Conference, 31 August – 3 September 2007, Cambridge University. (With S.R. Copeland, M. Sponheimer, D.J. de Ruiter, J. Lee-Thorp, P. LeRoux and M.P. Richards)

‘Dietary analysis using stable isotopes of humans and animals from two Minoan sites: the Cave of Aghios Charalambos, and the Cemetery of Armenoi.’ Archaeological Institute of America Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, USA. (With M.P. Richards, C.H. Martlew, P. Betancourt, C. Smith and Y. Tzedakis)

‘Isotopes: Is one sample ever enough?’ European Association of Archaeologists AnnualMeeting, 5-11 September 2005, University College Cork, Ireland. (With M. Jay and J. Montgomery)

‘Deriving climate signals through the isotopic analysis of fossil fauna. Session: The Role of Environmental Change in Human Evolution and Dispersal.’ The British Academy Festival of Science, 4-11 September 2004, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK. (With M.P. Richards)

‘Can we determine diet using oxygen isotope ratios of bone apatite?’ International Symposium on Biomolecular Archaeology (ISBA1), 18-20 March 2004, Institute for Geo and Bioarchaeology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands. (With M.P. Richards)

Invited Lectures

‘Stable and radiogenic isotopes in bones and teeth: reconstructing climate and detecting migration.’ IMPRS lecture for PhD students in Leipzig School of Human Origins, Leipzig, Germany. September 2006; 2007; 2008.

‘Isotope analysis of archaeological bone and teeth: oxygen and strontium isotope ratios for reconstructing climate and migration.’ Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel. May 2007.

‘Reconstructing palaeoclimate and migration patterns from oxygen isotope ratios in animal remains.’ (FABS) Research Seminar Series. Archaeology Unit, Department of Anthropology,Memorial University, Canada. March 2006

‘Oxygen and strontium isotope ratios in mammalian bioapatite: investigating diet, environment and natural variation.’ First international workshop on taphonomy and biochemistry applied to human and environmental Sciences. 30 May – 1 June 2005, University of Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris, France. (With J. Montgomery, M.P. Richards, K. Lakin, M. Sponheimer and T. Robinson)

Posters

‘Neandertal exploitation of reindeer in the Quina Mousterian at Chez Pinaud, Jonzac (France): zooarchaeological and isotopic evidence.’ Paleoanthropology Society Meetings, Chicago, 31 March – 1 April 2009. (With T. Steele, L. Niven, K. Britton, J.-B. Mallye, W. Rendu, and M. Richards)

‘Strontium isotope analysis (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) of dental tissues: comparison of solution and LAM-PIMMS.’ International Symposium on Biomolecular Archaeology (ISBA3), York, England, 14 – 16 September 2008. (With S. Copeland, P. le Roux, M. Sponheimer, J. Lee-Thorp, D. de Ruiter and M. Richards)

‘Status, diet and child sacrifice: diachronic isotopic data on Inca capacocha.’ International Symposium on Biomolecular Archaeology (ISBA3), York, England, 14 – 16 September 2008. (With A. Wilson, T. Taylor, M.C. Ceruti, J. A. Chavez, J. Reinhard, W. Meier-Augenstein, L. Cartmell, B. Stern, M. Richards, M. Worobey, I. Barnes and T. Gilbert)

‘Biogeochemical evidence of human mobility in medieval Nubia. American Association of Physical Anthropologists, 77^th Annual Meeting, Columbus, Ohio, USA, 9-12 April 2008. (With Sandberg, P., Smith, C., Richards, M., Sponheimer, M. and D. Van Gerven)

‘ Mapping herd movements and migrations: preliminary investigations using multi-elemental isotopic analysis of modern herbivore teeth. UK Archaeological Sciences Conference, 31 August – 3 September, Cambridge University, UK. (With Britton, K.H., Millard, A., Nehlich, O., Rowley-Conwy, P. and M.P. Richards)