MISS SARAH BARAKAT

Biography

Sarah obtained her BA in Archaeology with proficiency in German from the University of Exeter in 2019. During her undergraduate courses, she developed a keen interest in zooarchaeology and isotope studies through her research in early horse husbandry events in Eneolithic Kazakhstan using ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and δ¹⁸O isotope analysis. This research focused on understanding seasonal migration patterns of humans and horses in the Botai Culture which thrived 5500 years BP and results were presented at the The Botai culture and other Eneolithic monuments of Central Asia’ Conference at Al-Farabi Kazak National University.

To further develop her skills in bioarchaeology, Sarah completed her Masters degree in Bioarchaeolgy with a subdiscipline in Zooarchaeology at the University of Exeter in 2020. During her masters degree, Sarah’s main research focused on further understanding Eneolothic Kazakh societies and horse husbandry events by studying horses from Borly, a multiperiod site in north-eastern Kazakhstan. This project also endeavoured to create strontium isoscapes of both Botai and Borly archaeological sites to better understand possible movement patterns. Besides isotope work, Sarah also has a keen interest in palaeobotanical studies and has worked on palaeoenvironmental reconstruction projects using charcoal and phytolith analysis in Russia and Colombia.

In October 2020, Sarah began her QUADRAT funded PhD between the University of Aberdeen and Queens University Belfast. Her project focuses on understanding and reconstructing past faunal migrations through multi-isotope analyses including ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and δ³⁴S. Sulphur is an underused isotope in archaeology but has great potential to help us better understand diet and movement in the past. To further develop sulphur work in archaeology, Sarah will work on case studies dating from the Palaeolithic to modern day samples and create sulphur isoscape maps in different regions across Europe.