Brianne Phaff

MA Student

BA (Honours) Anthropology, University of British Columbia (2010)

Email: brephaff@gmail.com

Supervisor: Dr. Michael Richards

Research Interests:
I am interested in the ways in which bioarchaeological approaches can be applied to an understanding of past subsistence, migration, landscape utilization, and social identities.  I am particularly interested in studying the interrelationships between diet, health, gender, status, and movements of individuals in prehistoric communities.  Other interests of mine include the treatment of children in prehistoric contexts, life history analysis, and the process of archaeological collaboration with modern indigenous communities.

My areas of interest include the prehistoric periods of the South Pacific (Melanesia and Polynesia), and western North America.  

Current Projects:
My Masters research will examine the dietary patterns and movements of a prehistoric human population from the Fijian site of Sigatoka, Viti Levu using stable isotope analysis – a technique which is able to directly identify variations in diet and place of origin.

The specific research questions I will address are: 1) what subsistence strategies were being employed in this community and how did they vary over time; 2) can stable isotope analysis be used to identify status or gender related differences in diet; and 3) are there foreign individuals in this population, and if so, does the health, diet, and status of these individuals differ from those of local individuals?

This research is being conducted with the help of Dr. David Burley (SFU) and the Fiji Museum in Suva, Viti Levu.