Dr Anna Davies-Barrett

Headshot of Anna Davies BarrettResearch Associate

  • PhD
  • MSc
  • BA
  • AFHEA

a.daviesbarrett@leicester.ac.uk

Personal details

Anna is a Research Associate in human palaeopathology on the UKRI-funded project ‘Tobacco Health and History’. She is an osteoarchaeologist, specialising in the analysis and curation of human remains with a focus on the study of ancient diseases (palaeopathology). She has a particular interest in respiratory conditions, including the effect of air pollution, environment, living conditions, and cultural behaviours on respiratory health in different past societies. Prior to coming to Leicester, she worked as a Lecturer in human osteology at Cardiff University and as a Bioarchaeologist at the British Museum, where she investigated respiratory diseases in populations from Ancient Sudan.

Research

  • Palaeopathology
  • Bone taphonomy
  • Respiratory disease
  • Infectious disease
  • Osteological recording methods
  • Sudanese/Nubian archaeology

Current and recent projects 

  • Tobacco Health and History (current)
  • Respiratory Disease in the Middle Nile Valley

Publications

Davies-Barrett, A. M., Antoine, D., & Roberts, C. A. (2020). Respiratory disease in the Middle Nile Valley: the impact of environment and aridification. In G. Robbins Schug (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Bioarchaeology of Climate and Environmental Change (pp. 122-140). Abingdon: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351030465-8 

Davies-Barrett, A. M., Antoine, D., & Roberts, C. A. (2019). Inflammatory periosteal reaction on ribs associated with lower respiratory tract disease: a method for recording prevalence from sites with differing preservation. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 168(3), 530-542. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23769 

Davies-Barrett, A. M., Whiting, R., & Antoine, D. (2018). New insights into disease prevalence in two Medieval cemeteries from the Fourth Cataract. In S. Tipper & G. Tully (Eds.), Current Research in Nubian Archaeology (pp. 129-154). Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press.