Dr Jasmine Lundy
Postdoctoral Research Associate

Profile

Biography

Jasmine is an archaeological scientist whose research has investigated a range of archaeological periods from prehistoric to medieval over broad geographical regions by applying various scientific techniques. However, her research is predominantly focused on understanding past culinary habits through the application and development of organic residue analysis techniques. She is particularly interested in how our understanding of cuisines can inform us about lifeways of people in the past.

Jasmine undertook her PhD at the University of York (2022 graduation), which investigated culinary habits in early medieval Sicily using organic residue analysis techniques applied to domestic containers. Her PhD entitled ‘Cuisine in Transition: Organic residue analysis of domestic containers from 9th-14th century AD Sicily' was part of the wider ERC funded project Sicily in Transition. Jasmine has since worked as a research Technician for the INDUCE project at the University of York (BioArCH).

Jasmine is now employed at the University of York as a postdoctoral research associate where she is part of the ERC funded project ENCOUNTER.

Career

2022-Present:

Postdoctoral Research Associate on the ERC funded project ENCOUNTER. In this project, Jasmine will use and develop organic residue analysis techniques to help identify the use of pottery in Japan over the Late Jomon to Yayoi transition. Understanding the use of pottery over this significant period of transition will aid our understanding of the dietary and economic impact of the introduction of rice and millet agriculture in different parts of the archipelago.

2021-2022:

ORA technician for the ERC funded project INDUCE In this role Jasmine provided technical and scientific support for INDUCE project, The Innovation, Dispersal and Use of Ceramics in NE Europe. Jasmine undertook organic residue analysis of a large corpus of ceramics and contributed to the final stages of research of this five-year project whilst providing technical support in the BioArCH labs and maintaining and operating GC-MS instruments.

2021:

Studentship- In Veronensium Mensa. Food And Wine In Ancient Verona. Jasmine worked on the project ‘In Veronensium Mensa. Food And Wine In Ancient Verona’ with the University of Verona through a student scholarship funded by the Bank of Verona. Here Jasmine analysed residues from ceramic vessels from Proto-historic, Roman and Medieval contexts in Verona.

2017-2021:

University of York PhD in Archaeology Thesis: ‘Cuisine in transition: organic residue analysis of 9th - 14th century cooking pots and other domestic containers in Sicily’ As part of the ERC funded Sicily in Transition project, this PhD assessed the impact of multiple socio-political transformations in Sicily from the 6th – 14th century AD through the lens of Cuisine. A multi-faceted organic residue analysis approach was applied to extract and identify absorbed residues from cooking pots and domestic containers.

2015-2016:

University of Oxford MSc in Archaeological Science Thesis: ‘Extraction and characterisation of absorbed organic residues from South African archaeological ceramics using CO2 supercritical fluid extraction and gas chromatography techniques’. This research focused on the methodological development of the use supercritical fluids as an alternative to conventional extraction techniques in the extraction of organic residues from archaeological ceramics.

2012-2015:

University of York BSc in Bioarcheology Thesis: ‘An isotopic investigation of charred food remains obtained from early Jomon pottery’ This study investigated the use of Jomon pottery from the site of Torihama in Japan through the Late Pleistocene to Holocene transition, through carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of charred food remains and associated faunal remains.

Research

Overview

Jasmine is currently working as a PDRA for the ERC funded research project ENCOUNTER, which is investigating the patterns and processes that transformed the society of incumbent complex hunter-gatherers of prehistoric Japan about 3000 years ago as a result of migratory events from mainland Asia which brought a package of new cultural elements. In this role, Jasmine will use organic residue analysis to help identify the use of pottery in Japan over the Late Jomon to Yayoi transition. Understanding the use of pottery over this significant period of transition will aid our understanding of the dietary and economic impact of the introduction of rice and millet agriculture in different parts of the archipelago.

Projects

ENCOUNTER: Demography, Cultural change, and the Diffusion of Rice and Millet during the Jomon-Yayoi transition in prehistoric Japan.

An ERC funded project led by Enrico Crema at the University of Cambridge in collaboration with Japanese researchers.