Embedded Files
Ivy Notterpek
Ivy Notterpek
My research investigates the chemical and molecular characterisation of organic residues associated with combustion features, and applies a combined approach with lipid biomarker and benzene polycarboxylic acid analysis. The insights provided by these methods are mobilised to reconstruct the characteristics of past fire traces -- including possible fuel selection strategies employed by Palaeolithic commuities, the function(s) of their combustion features, paleoenvironmental conditions during soil pedogenesis, and the diagenetic processes affecting the preservation and distribution of pyrogenic organic matter.
Photo (left): E. Lesvignes
My PhD Project
My PhD Project
Hearths fulfill a range of functions, from cooking to transforming raw materials. Despite their central role in human technical and symbolic activities throughout the Palaeolithic, little is known about their function and management — i.e., the range of fuels used, or the function and duration of combustion structures. The objective of this thesis is to test the potential of several biochemical methods for the recovery and characterization of organic residues associated with combustion features. Issues of preservation and the representativeness of the organic matter will be addressed through laboratory experimentation. Applied to the study of several Palaeolithic sequences, this project will provide information on fire-related activities and the development of these practices through a diachronic perspective.
CV
CV
MSc. (Distinction), Archaeological Science, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
Thesis: Testing and developing non-invasive Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) for the analysis of Palaeolithic osseous remains [Supervisors: Dr. Thomas Higham and Dr. Katerina Douka]
B.A. (summa cum laude), Anthropology (Archaeology), Barnard College of Columbia University
Excavator/laboratory technician at Palaeolithic sites including Le Moustier, Hohle Fels, Les Cottés, La Grotte Bouyssonie, Ormesson, and Rocher de l'Impératrice
Bone Sampling Technician, Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit
Publications
Publications
Selected publications
Notterpek, I., Craig, O.E., Garberi, P., Lucquin, A., Théry-Parisot, I., Abiven, S., 2025. BPChAr—a Benzene Polycarboxylic Acid database to describe the molecular characteristics of laboratory-produced charcoal: Implications for soil science and archaeology. PLOS One 20(5), e0321584. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321584
Notterpek, I., 2022. The Materiality of Perforated Human Teeth and Ivory Skeuomorphs in the European Upper Palaeolithic, in: Innovative Approaches to Archaeology: Proceedings of the Graduate Archaeology at Oxford Conference 2020, BAR International Series. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford, pp. 29–45.
Agostini, M.R., Notterpek, I., 2020. Cosmological Expressions and Medicine Stones in the Ancestral Pueblo World. KIVA 86, 403–427. https://doi.org/10.1080/00231940.2020.1832406
Supervisor
Supervisor
Isabelle Théry-Parisot (CEPAM)
Co-supervisor
Co-supervisor
Oliver Craig (UoY)
Page updated
Report abuse