Archemy research group – merging archaeology and analytical chemistry
Contact and PI: Dr Ester Oras, ester.oras@ut.ee
Archemy is a hybrid research group intertwining archaeology and analytical chemistry. It is the first dedicated archeochemistry lab in the eastern Baltics founded in 2020. We specialise in archaeological sciences, especially biomolecular archaeology, and our major focus is on ancient dietary and health reconstructions in the Baltic Sea region. Archemy aims to bridge humanities and natural sciences and has wide expertise in biomolecular analysis, material culture studies, human osteology, zooarchaeology, and archaeobotany. We work closely with the Cultural Heritage research group and are actively collaborating with various analytical facilities at the UT (aDNA research group, Department of Geology, Proteomics Core Facility) and abroad.
Our main analytical expertise includes:
• Organic residue analysis from pottery, incl. the identification of absorbed lipids and carbonised food remains (GC-MS/FID and GC-C-IRMS analysis);
• Stable isotope analysis of carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur from bone collagen (bulk collagen EA-IRMS);
• Plant micro- and macrofossil analysis;
• Osteological and palaeopathological analysis (incl. archaeotanatology);
• Zooarchaeological analysis incl. morphology, morphometrics, taphonomy, and ancient DNA;
• Radiocarbon dating, provenance, and human migration studies.
We are engaged in several local and international research projects and networks, collaborate with numerous museums, and are actively involved in scientific outreach activities.
For further details about our group and lab, incl. an updated list of projects and publications, please see HERE
If you are interested in collaboration or working with us, please feel free to contact us at archemy@ut.ee
