Blessing Chidimuro

Dr Blessing Chidimuro is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Isotope Ecology/Archaeology working with the DNFTA team. This is an interdisciplinary project involving cross-disciplinary and trans-institutional collaborations, examining the drivers and consequences of human proclivity to feed other animals, including the effects this has on the animals, the environment and the humans themselves. The team includes anthropologists, geochemists, sociologists and zooarchaeologists from the National Museum of Scotland and the Universities of Reading, Exeter, and Roehampton.

She has a BSc in Bioarchaeology from the University of York, an MSc in Archaeological Science from Durham University and a PhD in Bioarchaeology from the University of York. Her PhD thesis examined diet in 17th to 19th century individuals from northern England and London using isotope analysis of bone, tooth enamel and dental calculus. She also worked with modern humans from the Forensic Anthropology Center, Tennessee, USA. Her three main areas of focus were: (i) exploring for the first time in England, the application of carbonate carbon-isotope analysis to these tissues, (ii) investigating isotopic analysis of calculus beyond the limited studies already published, and (iii) investigating the consumption of cane sugar and maize by humans and animals.

She is currently an Ordinary Member of Council for The Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology.