Milestones
1000+
Number of samples prepared for stable isotope analysis
20+
Number of undergraduate student volunteers, research students, honurs thesis students, paid research assistants.
25+
Number of conference presentations with undergraduate or masters students
10+
Number of Masters students supervised
Members of the lab
Director
Dr. Jocelyn S. Williams
Currently co-directing the Mummies as Microcosm Project with Andrew Nelson and Lucía Watson.
2nd year MSc student
Courtney Geddes
Investigating the Appearance of Tuberculosis in Medical Images of Peruvian Mummies
1st year MSc Student
Bethany White
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Undergraduate Research Student
Kaitlyn Ross
Stable Isotope Analysis of Mummified Hair from Peru
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Accepting MSc and
honours thesis students in 2026 & 2027
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Honours students to conduct experimental research with stable isotope analysis with a focus on hair growth rates, weaning and breastfeeding, bone pathology.
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MSc projects investigating disease, mortuary practices and stable isotope analysis of mummified tissues from the central coast of Peru.
If you're interested, please email me at jocelynwilliams@trentu.ca
Thanks to my undergraduate student volunteers!
2025: Jaidyn Picco, Alexie Roy and Meghan Pidskalny. Alexie and Jaidyn helped section and clean hair samples from Peruvian mummies and Meghan helped organize, weigh and repackage bone and tooth samples from Peruvian mummies. Both Meghan and Alexie also worked as research assistants in the winter term preparing bone samples for stable isotope analysis.
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2024: Tasha Godin, Everett McIntyre, Sarah Antymis, Anna Thomson-Roberts. With their help we cleaned, prepped and sampled over 200 hair samples from Peruvian mummies. Thanks also to Emma Hechler for their help with data management.
Images of student volunteers in the THumB lab and also fieldwork images from the Mummies as Microcosm project.
From left to right: Dr. Williams with Lauren Poeta (Western University undergraduate studen) doing fieldwork at Pachacamac, Peru, Mummies as Microcosm project. Undergraduate student volunteer, Sarah Antymis, preparing samples for isotope analysis. Dr. Andrew Nelson (Western University) with Dr. Gauld, Sarita Fuentes (from the Pachacamac site museum) and Lauren Poeta, working at the Pachacamac archaeological site, Mummies as Microcosm project. Undergraduate student volunteer, Tasha Godin, preparing samples for isotope analysis. Four graduate students from Western University working on material from Puruchuco at the National Museum in Lima, Peru, Mummies as Microcosm project.
Past graduate and honours thesis students
2025 Maxime Petit (Honours thesis)
Reconstructing Early Life Nutrition Using Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Analysis of Tooth Dentine Micro Punches
2022 Victoria Tait
Isotopes of the Caribbean: An Investigation of Pretreatment and Human Paleodiet at the Escape Site (AD 300-1000) on Saint Vincent, Lesser Antilles
2020 Grant Smith
Postclassic Maya Diet: Stable Isotope and Osteological Analysis of Human Remains from Ka'Kabish, Belize.
2020 Svetlana Komrova (co-supervised with Lisa Janz)
Examining the Diet of Bronze Age Nomadic Pastoralists in Southern Mongolia Using Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Analysis.
2016 Peter Hammersley
Stable Isotope Analysis of Archaeological Faunal Remains from the Middle Trent Valley, Ontario
2015 Abigail Górkiewicz
Reassessing Bioarchaeological Sex Determination and Research into Gender at the Early Anglo-Saxon Worthy Park Burial Ground in Hampshire, England
2014 Jessica Sutinen
Identifying Non-local Individuals at the Ancient Maya Centre of Minanha, Belize Through the use of Strontium Isotope Analysis
2014 Shannen Stronge
Examining Chronological Trends in Ancient Maya Diet at Minanha, Belize, Using the Stable Isotopes of Carbon and Nitrogen
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Williams, J. S., Stronge, S. M., Iannone, G., & Longstaffe, F. J. (2017). Examining chronological trends in ancient Maya diet at Minanha, Belize, using the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen. Latin American Antiquity, 28(2), 269-287.
2011 Megan Bower
An Osteological and Stable Isotopic Investigation of Diet and Health During the Late Woodland Period at Hidden Spring in Richmond Hill, Ontario