Andrew Millard is Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Durham. One of his specialisms is the study of migration using the chemical composition of teeth. His research has included studies of migration in prehistory, the early Anglo-Saxon period, and the Crusades. He has over 25 years experience of genealogical research, with many ancestors who migrated to London over the last half-millennium. He is currently Chair of the Trustees of Genuki and Academic Coordinator for the Guild of One-Name Studies.
Recent talks:
April 2011: Childhood lead exposure in the British Isles during the Industrial Revolution (Re-Visiting the Second Epidemiological Transition Conference, Columbia, South Carolina)
April 2012: On isotopes, fish and the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition (Where the Wild Things Are Conference, Durham)
April 2013: London: ‘Where men can most effectively disappear’ (Guild of One-Name Studies Conference, Cardiff)
Presentation
Prehistoric Migration to the British Isles: from the year dot to 1066
Studying migration in the periods before detailed historical records are available relies on evidence from artefacts, patterns in the genetics of present-day populations and chemical evidence from skeletons themselves. I will review all three strands of evidence to show that there has been a constant flux of people into the British Isles. Recent work has shown that the story of migrations is not simple and previous ideas about invasions of Celts, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings should be revised. There have been many surprises in the study of migrations and there are likely to be more in the years to come.