Alumni | paulszpak

LAB ALUMNI

CORRIE HYLAND

Anthropology M.A. Student (2018-20)

M.A. Trent University, 2020

B.Sc. (Honours) Trent University, 2018

Thesis Title: Why fish when you could farm? A stable isotope analysis of changing diet and ritual killing in the Viru Valley, Peru.

TEAL Publications

Hyland C, Scott MB, Routledge J, Szpak P, 2021. Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Variability of Bone Collagen to Determine the Number of Isotopically Distinct Specimens. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 29, 666-686. doi:10.1007/s10816-021-09533-7. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]
Hyland C, Millaire J-F, Szpak P, 2021. Migration and maize in the Virú Valley: Understanding life histories through multi-tissue carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and strontium isotope analyses. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 176, 21-35. doi:10.1002/ajpa.24271. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]
McCormack J, Szpak P, Bourgon N, Richards M, Hyland C, Méjean P, Hublin J-J, Jaouen K, 2021. Zinc isotopes from archaeological bones provide reliable tropic level information for marine mammals. Communications Biology 4, 683. doi:10.1038/s42003-021-02212-z. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]

TEAL Awards and Honours

🏆 2017 Lowest δ15N Value

🏆 2017 Highest δ15N Value

🏆 2019 Highest δ15N Value

Corrie is currently a DPhil student at the University of Oxford.

MICHAEL SCOTT

Anthropology M.A. Student (2018-20)

B.A. (Honours) Simon Fraser University, 2018

Thesis Title: Chew the fat: An examination of the preservation of fatty acids in archaeological bone.

TEAL Publications

Skovrind M, Louis M, Ferguson SH, Glazov DM, Litovka DI, Loseto L, Meschersky IG, Miller MM, Petr M, Postma L, Rozhnov VV, Scott M, Westbury MV, Szpak P, Friesen TM, Lorenzen ED, 2024. Elucidating the sustainability of 700 y of Inuvialuit beluga whale hunting in the Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121, e2405993121. doi:10.1073/pnas.2405993121. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]
Westbury MV, Brown SC, Lorenzen J, O’Neill S, Scott MB, McCuaig J, Cheung C, Armstrong E, Valdes PJ, Samaniego Castruita JA, Cabrera AA, Blom SK, Dietz R, Sonne C, Louis M, Galatius A, Fordham DA, Ribeiro S, Szpak P, Lorenzen ED, Impact of Holocene environmental change on the evolutionary ecology of an Arctic top predator. Science Advances 9, eadf3326. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adf3326. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]
Hyland C, Scott MB, Routledge J, Szpak P, 2021. Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Variability of Bone Collagen to Determine the Number of Isotopically Distinct Specimens. Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory. doi:10.1007/s10816-021-09533-7. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]

TEAL Awards and Honours

2019 People's Choice Award (Sample of the Year)

Michael is currently a DPhil student at the University of Oxford.

ADRIÁN GONZÁLEZ GÓMEZ DE AGÜERO

Anthropology M.Sc. Student (2020-22)

M.A. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2019

B.A. Universitat de Barcelona, 2016

Thesis Title: Agricultural Intensification at Cerro de Oro (Cañete Valley, Peru): Exploring the Use of Fertilizers through Stable Isotope Analysis

Adrian is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

TEAL Awards and Honours

🏆 2021 Lowest δ15N Value

🏆 2021 Highest δ13C Value

🥇 2022 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Reagent Weighing

🥇 2022 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Microbalance Accuracy

🥇 2022 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Parafilm Shotput

🥈 2022 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Microbalance Speed

🥉 2022 Lab Olympics Bronze Medal: Pipette Transfer

TESSA GROGAN

Anthropology M.A. Student (2019-23)

B.A. (Honours) The University of British Columbia, 2019

Thesis Title: Camelids on the Coast? Investigating Trade and Early Camelid Herding through Stable Isotope Analysis of Formative to Late Intermediate Period Textiles from the Atacama Desert, Chile

TEAL Awards and Honours

🥈 2021 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Microbalance Accuracy

MARIAH MILLER

Anthropology M.A. Student (2021-23)

B.A., University of Lethbridge, 2019

Thesis Title: Changes in Inuit Hunting Practices Associated with the Introduction of Firearms in Nunatsiavut: Evidence from a Stable Isotope Analysis of Ringed Seals

Mariah is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Toronto.

TEAL Publications

Guiry E, Kennedy JR, Malcom C, Miller M, Hall O, Buckley M, Szpak P, 2024. Archaeological evidence for long-term human impacts on sea turtle foraging behaviour. Royal Society Open Science 11, 240120. doi:10.1098/rsos.240120. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]
Skovrind M, Louis M, Ferguson SH, Glazov DM, Litovka DI, Loseto L, Meschersky IG, Miller MM, Petr M, Postma L, Rozhnov VV, Scott M, Westbury MV, Szpak P, Friesen TM, Lorenzen ED, 2024. Elucidating the sustainability of 700 y of Inuvialuit beluga whale hunting in the Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121, e2405993121. doi:10.1073/pnas.2405993121. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]

TEAL Awards and Honours

🎖️2021 Special Recognition for Social Media (Lab TikTok, Shared with 2021-22 MA Students)

🥈 2022 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Microbalance Accuracy

🥉 2022 Lab Olympics Bronze Medal: Microbalance Speed

🏆 2022 Lowest δ15N Value (Shared with 2021-22 Graduate Class)

🏆 2022 Early Worm Award

🏆 2022 Tess Wilson Award for Perserverance in the Face of Instrumental Adversity

🏆 2022 Matt Teeter Award

🥈 2023 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Reagent Weighing

🥇 2023 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Parafilm Shotput

BROOKE DRISCOLL

Anthropology M.A. Student (2021-23)

B.Sc., Trent University, 2021

Thesis Title: Working like a Dog: δ13C and δ15N analysis of canids from the Canadian Arctic.

Brooke is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of New Brunswick.

TEAL Awards and Honours

🎖️ 2021 Special Recognition for Social Media (Lab TikTok, Shared with 2021-22 MA Students)

🥈 2022 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Bone Cutting

🏆 2022 Eric Guiry Award (1,530 samples analyzed for δ13C and δ15N)

🏆 2022 Sample of the Year Award

🏆 2022 Best Analytical Session (September 23, 2022)

🏆 2022 Lowest δ15N Value (Shared with 2021-22 Graduate Class)

🥈 2023 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Pipette Transfer

🥈 2023 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Microbalance Accuracy

NICOLE HULTQUIST

Anthropology M.Sc. Student (2021-23)

B.Sc., University of Maryland, 2021

Thesis Title: Strontium Isotopes and The Geographic Origins of Camelids in the Virú Valley

Nicole is currently a Ph.D. student at Boston University.

TEAL Publications

Hultquist N, Millaire J-F, Szpak P. 2025 Strontium isotopes and the geographic origins of camelids in the Virú Valley, Peru. Journal of Archaeological Science 174, 106142. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2024.106142. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]

TEAL Awards and Honours

🎖️ 2021 Special Recognition for Social Media (Lab TikTok, Shared with 2021-22 MA Students)

🏆 2022 Lowest δ15N Value (Shared with 2021-22 Graduate Class)

🏆 2022 Eric Guiry Award (576 δ13C and δ15N analyses, 607 Sr isotope analyses)

🎖️ 2022 Special Recognition for Social Media (Shared with Julia McCuaig)

ANAHI MATURANA-FERNANDEZ

Anthropology M.Sc. Student (2021-24)

B.A., Universidad de Chile, 2012

Thesis Title: Investigating Agricultural Intensification Through Stable Isotope Analysis in The Atacama Desert, Northern Chile

TEAL Publications

Quilter J, Rengifo C, Tufinio M, Zavaleta E, Oakland A, Munoz LP, Szpak P, Mieties Alonso M, Shibayama N, Maturana-Fernandez A. 2024. Continuity and change, dating the late cemetery of Huaca del Sol, Huacas de Moche, Peru. Antiquity. doi: 10.15184/aqy.2024.138. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]

TEAL Awards and Honours

🎖️ 2021 Special Recognition for Social Media (Lab TikTok, Shared with 2021-22 MA Students)

🥉 2022 Lab Olympics Bronze Medal: Microbalance Accuracy

🏆 2022 Lowest δ15N Value (Shared with 2021-22 Graduate Class)

🏆 2022 Highest δ13C Value

🥉 2023 Lab Olympics Bronze Medal: Microbalance Speed

🥉 2023 Lab Olympics Bronze Medal: Microbalance Accuracy

🏆 2023 Lowest δ13C Value

🏆 2023 Lowest δ15N Value

🏆 2023 Highest δ15N Value

OLIVIA HALL

Anthropology M.Sc. Student (2022-24)

B.Sc. Thesis Student (2021-22)

B.Sc. Trent University, 2022

Thesis Title: Assessing human bone collagen turnover rate.

TEAL Publications

Guiry E, Kennedy R, Orton D, Armitage P, Bratten J, Dagneau C, Dawdy S, deFrance S, Gaulton B, Givens D, Hall O, Kenyon K, Laberge An, Lavin M, Miller H, Minkoff MF, Niculescu T, Noel S, Pavao-Zuckerman B, Stricker L, Teeter M, Welker M, Wilkoski J, Szpak P, Buckley M. The ratting of North America: A 350-year retrospective on Rattus species compositions and competition. Science Advances 10, eadm6755. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adm6755. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]
Guiry E, Kennedy JR, Malcom C, Miller M, Hall O, Buckley M, Szpak P, 2024. Archaeological evidence for long-term human impacts on sea turtle foraging behaviour. Royal Society Open Science 11, 240120. doi:10.1098/rsos.240120. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]

TEAL Awards and Honours

🏆 2022 Best New Taxon

🥉 2022 Lab Olympics Bronze Medal: Bone Cutting

🏆 2022 Highest δ15N Value

🥈 2023 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Microbalance Speed

🥉 2023 Lab Olympics Bronze Medal: Parafilm Shotput

🥉 2023 Lab Olympics Bronze Medal: Spigot Control

🏆 2023 Best Sample Replicate (with 2022-23 Graduate Class)

🏆 2023 Best Analytical Session (with 2022-23 Graduate Class)

🏆 2023 Best New Taxon (Syncerus antiquus)

🏆 2023 Sample of the Year (110,000+ year old sample yielding good collagen)

🏆 2023 Social Media Award (Viral TikTok)

🏆 2023 Early Worm Award for Most Early Instrument Starts

🏆 2023 Tess Wilson Award for Instrumental Perseverance (shared with Olivia Hall)

🥈 2024 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Microbalance Speed

🥉 2024 Lab Olympics Bronze Medal: Microbalance Accuracy

🥇 2024 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Spigot Control

JULIA McCUAIG

Anthropology M.Sc. Student (2022-)

B.Sc. Thesis Student (2021-22)

B.Sc. Trent University, 2022

Project: Agricultural Intensification at Galindo, Moche Valley

Julia is currently at PhD student at the University of Michigan.

TEAL Publications

Westbury MV, Brown SC, Lorenzen J, O’Neill S, Scott MB, McCuaig J, Cheung C, Armstrong E, Valdes PJ, Samaniego Castruita JA, Cabrera AA, Blom SK, Dietz R, Sonne C, Louis M, Galatius A, Fordham DA, Ribeiro S, Szpak P, Lorenzen ED, Impact of Holocene environmental change on the evolutionary ecology of an Arctic top predator. Science Advances 9, eadf3326. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adf3326. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]

TEAL Awards and Honours

🏆 2021 Corrie Hyland Award for Positivity

🥇 2021 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Microbalance Speed

🥇 2022 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Microbalance Speed

🥈 2022 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Pipette Transfer

🏆 2022 Lowest δ13C Value

🏆 2022 Special Recognition in Social Media Award (Shared with Nicole Hulquist)

🥇 2022 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Pipette Transfer

🥇 2023 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Microbalance Speed

🏆 2023 Best Sample Replicate (with 2022-23 Graduate Class)

🏆 2023 Best Analytical Session (with 2022-23 Graduate Class)

🏆 2023 Matt Teeter Award

🏆 2023 Corrie Hyland Award for Positivity (shared with Rachel Dickenson)

🥈 2024 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Pipette Transfer

🥈 2024 Lab Olympics Silver Medal: Bone Cutting

🥇 2024 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Pipette Transfer

🥇 2024 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Microbalance Speed

🥇 2024 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Microbalance Accuracy

MELISSA MERTSIS

Archaeology B.Sc. Student (2018-19)

B.A. (Honours) Trent University, 2019

Thesis title: Assessing Camelid Management Practices in Northern Chile: Evidence from Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Analyses.

DELANEY PARENT

Archaeology B.Sc. Student (2019-21)

B.Sc. (Honours) Trent University, 2021

Project: Stable isotope analysis of macrobotanical remains from the Colonial occupation at Carrizales, Peru

T. WILSON

Forensic Science B.Sc. Thesis Student (2020-21), NSERC USRA (2021)

B.Sc. Trent University, 2021

Project: Examining the impact of demineralization methods on the stable isotope composition of bone collagen

Currently a Ph.D. Candidate at McMaster University.

TEAL Awards and Honours

🥇 2021 Lab Olympics Gold Medal: Reagent Weighing

🏆 2021 Lowest δ13C Value

🏆 2021 Highest δ15N Value

🏆 2021 Eric Guiry Award for Processing and Analyzing 654 Samples

TEAL Publications

Wilson T, Szpak P. 2022. Acidification does not alter the stable isotope composition of bone collagen. PeerJ 10, e13593. doi:10.7717/peerj.13593. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]
Wilson T, Szpak P. 2022. Examining the use of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid for humic extraction of ancient bone. American Journal of Biological Anthropology. doi:10.1002/ajpa.24577. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]
Wilson T, Szpak P. 2023. Comparing the performance of demineralization agents (HCl and EDTA) for stable isotope analysis of bone collagen with implications for quality control criteria and collagen yield. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. doi:10.1002/oa.3222. [DOWNLOAD .pdf]
Rey-Iglesia A, Pryor AJ, de Jager D, Wilson T, Teeter MA, Margaryan A, Khaskhanov R, Le Meillour L, Troché G, Welker F, Szpak P, Dudin AE, Lorenzen ED. 2024 Ancient biomolecular analysis of 39 mammoth individuals from Kostenki 11-Ia elucidates Upper Palaeolithic human resource use. Quaternary Environments and Humans 3, 100049. doi:10.1016/j.qeh.2024.100049 [DOWNLOAD .pdf]
Rey-Iglesia A, Wilson T, Routledge J, Skovrind M, Garde E, Heide-Jørgensen MP, Szpak P, Lorenzen ED, 2022. Combining δ13C and δ15N from bone and dentine in marine mammal palaeoecological research: insights from toothed whales. Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies, 1-12. doi:10.1080/10256016.2022.2145285.