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Position
PhD Student
Department
Department of Anatomy
Qualifications
BA BA(Hons) MSc
Research summary
Investigating childhood physiological stress through paleohistological examination of dental enamel
Teaching
Demonstrator BIOA201, BIOA301, CELS191 and Tutor for BIOA201/301
Memberships
ERG Committee Member (Postgraduate Biological Anthropology Representative)

Research

New Zealand was meant to offer a land of plenty to early non-Māori immigrants. Was this dream realised, and were their children offered better living conditions and life prospects than back 'home'?

My research focuses on elucidating the early lived experiences of physiological stress resulting in enamel formation disruption in early Otago settlers through the histological analysis of dentition.

By considering these results in a grounded framework of concurrent bioarchaeological research a bigger picture of health during the mid-nineteenth century can be drawn, highlighting the nuanced individual life histories that can often be lost to the historical record.

Publications

Kavale-Henderson, L. A., Buckberry, J., Buckley, H., Cameron, C., King, C., Koon, H., … Loch, C. (2026). “An injurious and utterly unfit environment”: A case study comparing dental evidence of childhood stress in nineteenth century working-class peoples from British and colonial New Zealand contexts. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 190, e70315. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.70315 Journal - Research Article

Kavale-Henderson, L. A., Loch, C., Buckley, H., Petchey, P., King, C., Cameron, C., & Snoddy, A. M. E. (2026). Reflections of their homelands: Early life enamel formation disruption in nineteenth century settlers of Otago, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 56, e70022. doi: 10.1002/snz2.70022 Journal - Research Article

Kavale-Henderson, L., King, C., Cameron, C., Sohler-Snoddy, A., & Loch, C. (2025, September). Enamel formation disruption in children with known histories from Dunedin, New Zealand. Verbal presentation at the Faculty of Dentistry Clinical and Research Excellence Symposium, Dunedin, New Zealand. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Kavale-Henderson, L. A., Buckley, H. R., King, C. L., Petchey, P., & Snoddy, A. M. E. (2024). Nostalgia for the old country: A histological exploration of early childhood physiological stress experiences in colonial Otago, New Zealand. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, e3281. doi: 10.1002/oa.3281 Journal - Research Article

Kavale-Henderson, L., & Sohler-Snoddy, A. (2023). Dental enamel diagenesis: What can histological investigations of poorly preserved teeth tell us about health in the past? Proceedings of the Graduate Research Student Symposium. (pp. 16-17). Retrieved from https://www.otago.ac.nz/graduate-research Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

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