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Health Sciences staff profiles

Dr Charlotte King

PositionLecturer
DepartmentDepartment of Anatomy
QualificationsPhD(Dunelm)
Research summaryUsing isotopic systems to investigate questions of diet and mobility in prehistoric populations

Research

My research focuses on the use of bone and tooth chemistry to solve forensic and archaeological problems. I use isotopic systems and trace elements relating to place of origin, dietary intake, exposure to toxins, and stress experiences to reconstruct the lives of unknown individuals.

At the moment my main research focuses on using these techniques to help us to understand the everyday lives of historic New Zealanders living during Otago’s goldrush era.

I am also involved in repatriation research, exploring the use of these techniques to identify and return peoples to their places of origin.

Publications

Parker, R. M., King, C. L., Buckley, H. R., Petchey, P., Girvan, E., & Reid, M. (2023). Hair today, gone tomorrow: Analysing potential mercury exposure in 19th century New Zealand goldminers using LA-ICP-MS. Archaeometry, 12861. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/arcm.12861

Willis, A., Roberts, P., Kyaw, M. M., Win, T. T., Pradier, B., King, C., … Pryce, T. O. (2023). Living in the dry zone: Stable isotope insights into palaeodiet in ancient Myanmar. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 48, 103900. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103900

Petchey, P., Buckley, H., Wong, L., King, C., & Snoddy, A. M. E. (2023). Death on the goldfields: Preliminary report on excavations at the Drybread Cemetery, Central Otago. Journal of Pacific Archaeology. Advance online publication.

Kramer, R. T., Greig, K., Campbell, M., Pillay, P., Allen, M., King, C., Buckley, H., … Barr, D., Reid, M., Stirling, C., Matisoo-Smith, L., & Kinaston, R. (2022). An exploratory and integrative study of Māori kurī (Canis familiaris) at the NRD archaeological site in Aotearoa New Zealand. Journal of Pacific Archaeology, 13(1), 8-27. doi: 10.1353/asi.2022.0036

King, C. L. (2022). [Review of the book Small bites: Biocultural dimensions of children’s food and nutrition]. Childhood in the Past. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/17585716.2022.2100577

Adams, A. B., Halcrow, S. E., King, C. L., Miller, M. J., Vlok, M., Millard, A. R., … Buckley, H., … Oxenham, M. F. (2021). We’re all in this together: Accessing the maternal-infant relationship in prehistoric Vietnam. In E. J. Kendall & R. Kendall (Eds.), The family in past perspective: An interdisciplinary exploration of familial relationships through time. (pp. 191-221). Abingdon, UK: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429355912

Chapter in Book - Research

Snoddy, A. M. E., King, C. L., Halcrow, S. E., Millard, A. R., Buckley, H. R., Standen, V. G., & Arriaza, B. T. (2021). Living on the edge: Climate-induced micronutrient famines in the ancient Atacama Desert? In G. Robbins Schug (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of the bioarchaeology of climate and environmental change. (pp. 60-82). Abingdon, UK: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781351030465

Chapter in Book - Research

Halcrow, S. E., King, C. L., Millard, A. R., Snoddy, A. M. E., Scott, R. M., Elliott, G. E., … Buckley, H. R., … Arriaza, B. T. (2018). Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings: Breastfeeding and weaning in the past. In C. Tomori, A. E. L. Palmquist & E. A. Quinn (Eds.), Breastfeeding: New anthropological approaches. (pp. 155-169). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Chapter in Book - Research

Halcrow, S. E., Tayles, N., & King, C. L. (2016). Infant and child health and disease with agricultural intensification in mainland Southeast Asia. In M. Oxenham & H. Buckley (Eds.), Routledge handbook of boarchaeology in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands. (pp. 158-186). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.

Chapter in Book - Research

Parker, R. M., King, C. L., Buckley, H. R., Petchey, P., Girvan, E., & Reid, M. (2023). Hair today, gone tomorrow: Analysing potential mercury exposure in 19th century New Zealand goldminers using LA-ICP-MS. Archaeometry, 12861. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/arcm.12861

Journal - Research Article

Petchey, P., Buckley, H., Wong, L., King, C., & Snoddy, A. M. E. (2023). Death on the goldfields: Preliminary report on excavations at the Drybread Cemetery, Central Otago. Journal of Pacific Archaeology. Advance online publication.

Journal - Research Article

Willis, A., Roberts, P., Kyaw, M. M., Win, T. T., Pradier, B., King, C., … Pryce, T. O. (2023). Living in the dry zone: Stable isotope insights into palaeodiet in ancient Myanmar. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 48, 103900. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2023.103900

Journal - Research Article

Buckley, H. R., Petchey, P., Ritchie, N., Kinaston, R. L., King, C., Geber, J., Matisoo-Smith, E., Snoddy, A. M., … Gröcke, D. R. (2022). 'Buried with his boots on': An integrated life course case-study of a liminal burial from the New Zealand goldrushes. Journal of Pacific Archaeology, 12(2), 92-109. Retrieved from https://pacificarchaeology.org/index.php/journal/article/view/335

Journal - Research Article

Buckley, H. R., Roberts, P., Kinaston, R., Petchey, P., King, C., Domett, K., Snoddy, A. M., & Matisoo-Smith, E. (2022). Living and dying on the edge of the Empire: A bioarchaeological examination of Otago’s early European settlers. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 52(1), 68-94. doi: 10.1080/03036758.2020.1837189

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Kinaston, R. L., Snoddy, A. M. E., Buckley, H. R., Petchey, P., Millard, A. R., & Gröcke, D. R. (2022). Childhood in colonial Otago, New Zealand: Integrating isotopic and dental evidence for growth disturbance and oral health. Childhood in the Past, 15(1), 15-43. doi: 10.1080/17585716.2021.1989211

Journal - Research Article

Kramer, R. T., Greig, K., Campbell, M., Pillay, P., Allen, M., King, C., Buckley, H., … Barr, D., Reid, M., Stirling, C., Matisoo-Smith, L., & Kinaston, R. (2022). An exploratory and integrative study of Māori kurī (Canis familiaris) at the NRD archaeological site in Aotearoa New Zealand. Journal of Pacific Archaeology, 13(1), 8-27. doi: 10.1353/asi.2022.0036

Journal - Research Article

Kramer, R. T., Kinaston, R. L., Holder, P. W., Armstrong, K. F., King, C. L., Sipple, W. D. K., … Reid, M., Barr, D., Wijenayake, K. G., Buckley, H. R., Stirling, C. H., & Bataille, C. P. (2022). A bioavailable strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isoscape for Aotearoa New Zealand: Implications for food forensics and biosecurity. PLoS ONE, 17(3), e0264458. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264458

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Buckley, H. R., Petchey, P., Roberts, P., Zech, J., Kinaston, R., Collins, C., Kardailsky, O., Matisoo-Smith, E., & Nowell, G. (2021). An isotopic and genetic study of multi-cultural colonial New Zealand. Journal of Archaeological Science, 128, 105337. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2021.105337

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Petchey, P., Kinaston, R., Gröcke, D. R., Millard, A. R., Wanhalla, A., Brooking, T., Matisoo-Smith, E., & Buckley, H. R. (2021). A land of plenty? Colonial diet in rural New Zealand. Historical Archaeology, 55, 250-268. doi: 10.1007/s41636-020-00276-y

Journal - Research Article

Kramer, R. T., King, C. L., Buckley, H. R., Jaouen, K., Boyd, D. A., Kiko, L., … Kinaston, R. L. (2021). Strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope analysis of the Namu skeletal assemblage: A study of past human migration on Taumako, a Polynesian Outlier in the eastern Solomon Islands. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 4, 479-499. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.24179

Journal - Research Article

Petchey, P., Buckley, H. R., Ritchie, N., & King, C. (2021). Death and dark deeds on the goldfields: The tragedies of an unknown miner. Journal of Pacific Archaeology, 12(2), 79-91.

Journal - Research Article

Snoddy, A. M. E., King, C. L., Petchey, P., Miszkiewicz, J. J., Kinaston, R. L., & Buckley, H. R. (2021). Disability and difference on the New Zealand frontier: Possible skeletal dysplasia in nineteenth-century Milton, Otago. Bioarchaeology International, 5(3-4), 157-174. doi: 10.5744/bi.2021.0004

Journal - Research Article

Allen, R., Ryan, H., Davis, B. W., King, C., Frantz, L., Irving-Pease, E., … Larson, G. (2020). A mitochondrial genetic divergence proxy predicts the reproductive compatibility of mammalian hybrids. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Series B, 287(1928), 20200690. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0690

Journal - Research Article

Duxfield, T., King, C., Buckley, H., Petchey, P., Nowell, G. M., & Kinaston, R. L. (2020). Establishing a strontium isotope baseline in New Zealand for future archaeological migration studies: A case study. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 32, 102412. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102412

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Buckley, H. R., Petchey, P., Kinaston, R., Millard, A., Zech, J., … Matisoo-Smith, E., … Gröcke, D. R. (2020). A multi-isotope, multi-tissue study of colonial origins and diet in New Zealand. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 172, 605-620. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.24077

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Petchey, P., Buckley, H. R., Girvan, E., & Nowell, G. M. (2020). Lead astray: The potentials and pitfalls of lead isotopes in a New Zealand colonial burial context. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 30, 102213. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102213

Journal - Research Article

Snoddy, A. M. E., Buckley, H. R., King, C. L., Kinaston, R. L., Nowell, G., Gröcke, D. R., Duncan, W. J., & Petchey, P. (2019). "Captain of All These Men of Death": An integrated case study of tuberculosis in nineteenth-century Otago, New Zealand. Bioarchaeology International, 3(4). doi: 10.5744/bi.2019.1014

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Arriaza, B. T., Standen, V. G., Millard, A. R., Gröcke, D. R., Muñoz, I., & Halcrow, S. E. (2018). Estudio isotópico del consumo de recursos marítimos y terrestres en la prehistoria del desierto de Atacama [Isotopic study of marine and terrestrial resources in the prehistory of the Atacama desert]. Chungara Revista de Antropología Chilena, 50(3), 369-396. doi: 10.4067/S0717-73562018005000802

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Halcrow, S. E., Millard, A. R., Gröcke, D. R., Standen, V. G., Portilla, M., & Arriaza, B. T. (2018). Let's talk about stress, baby! Infant-feeding practices and stress in the ancient Atacama desert, Northern Chile. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 166(1), 139-155. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23411

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Millard, A. R., Gröcke, D. R., Standen, V. G., Arriaza, B. T., & Halcrow, S. E. (2018). Marine resource reliance in the human populations of the Atacama Desert, northern Chile: A view from prehistory. Quaternary Science Reviews, 182, 163-174. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.12.009

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Millard, A. R., Gröcke, D. R., Standen, V. G., Arriaza, B. T., & Halcrow, S. E. (2018). A comparison of using bulk and incremental isotopic analyses to establish weaning practices in the past. STAR: Science & Technology of Archaeological Research [2017], 3(1), 126-134. doi: 10.1080/20548923.2018.1443548

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Snoddy, A. M., Millard, A. R., Gröcke, D. R., Standen, V. G., Arriaza, B. T., & Halcrow, S. E. (2018). A multi‐faceted approach towards interpreting early life experience and infant feeding practices in the ancient Atacama Desert, Northern Chile. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 28(5), 599-612. doi: 10.1002/oa.2671

Journal - Research Article

Petchey, P., Buckley, H., Hil, G., Kelly, A., Kinaston, R., King, C., & Scott, R. (2018). Life & death on the Otago frontier: Preliminary report on the Lawrence Cemeteries. Archaeology in New Zealand, 61(2), 22-40.

Journal - Research Article

Clark, A. L., King, C. L., Buckley, H. R., Collins, C. J., Dhavale, N., Elliott, G. E., Gosling, A., Halcrow, S. E., … Matisoo-Smith, E., … Tromp, M., Ward, S., & West, K. (2017). Biological anthropology in the indo-pacific region: New approaches to age-old questions. Journal of Indo-Pacific Archaeology, 41, 78-94.

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Halcrow, S. E., Tayles, N., & Shkrum, S. (2017). Considering the palaeoepidemiological implications of socioeconomic and environmental change in Southeast Asia. Archaeological Research in Asia, 11, 27-37. doi: 10.1016/j.ara.2017.05.003

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Tayles, N., Higham, C., Strand-Viđarsdóttir, U., Bentley, R. A., Macpherson, C. G., & Nowell, G. (2015). Using isotopic evidence to assess the impact of migration and the two-layer hypothesis in prehistoric Northeast Thailand. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 158(1), 141-150. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22772

Journal - Research Article

Blake, M., Naish, D., Larson, G., King, C. L., Nowell, G., Sakamoto, M., & Barnett, R. (2014). Multidisciplinary investigation of a 'British big cat': A lynx killed in southern England c. 1903. Historical Biology, 26(4), 441-448. doi: 10.1080/08912963.2013.785541

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Bentley, R. A., Higham, C., Tayles, N., Viðarsdóttir, U. S., Layton, R., … Nowell, G. (2014). Economic change after the agricultural revolution in Southeast Asia? Antiquity, 88, 112-125.

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Bentley, R. A., Tayles, N., Viðarsdóttir, U. S., Nowell, G., & Macpherson, C. G. (2013). Moving peoples, changing diets: Isotopic differences highlight migration and subsistence changes in the Upper Mun River Valley, Thailand. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40(4), 1681-1688. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2012.11.013

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L., Tayles, N., & Gordon, K. C. (2011). Re-examining the chemical evaluation of diagenesis in human bone apatite. Journal of Archaeological Science, 38(9), 2222-2230. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2011.03.023

Journal - Research Article

King, C. L. (2022). [Review of the book Small bites: Biocultural dimensions of children’s food and nutrition]. Childhood in the Past. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/17585716.2022.2100577

Journal - Research Other

King, C. L., Tayles, N., Higham, C., Strand-Viđarsdóttir, U., Bentley, R. A., Macpherson, C. G., & Nowell, G. (2016). Letter to the editor: Response to Oxenham and Matsumura. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 159(2), 352-354. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22875

Journal - Research Other

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