Join us on Friday 8 December 2023 (start at 12.30) for the third lunch lecture session of this academic year, at which we will hear Dr. Jessica Palmer speak on ‘Diet in post-medieval Aalst: a biomolecular analysis of the impact of age and socio-economic status‘. This third lunch lecture is conceived as a ‘Meet the new Ghent team’-session, as it will provide the audience with the opportunity to not only learn about Dr. Palmer’s fascinating research, but also about the research facility she works for: the ArcheOs Lab for biological anthropology, founded in 2020-2021.

Dr Jessica Palmer is a FWO-funded senior postdoctoral researcher at the ArcheOs Lab at Ghent University, who currently leads the project ‘NonSurvivors: Childhood diet, disease, and death as tell-tale signs of the physical and social environment in post-medieval Aalst‘. This project aims to assess the physical stress children in post-medieval Aalst faced, in relation to socio-economic status and living conditions. Historical sources show a low child survivor rate in poor families in this context, yet do not elucidate why. NonSurvivors will analyse the children’s skeletal remains for direct data on disease, diet, and death.