Meredith Laing

Thesis title:

Growing up and starting work in later British prehistory

I am investigating children and childhood in later British Prehistory through combining analysis of children’s mortuary rites with evidence for their participation in communities of practice engaged in forming pottery. I have devised bespoke methologies for studying finger impressions and fingerprints left on Bronze and Iron Age pottery, which allows an assessment to be made of the age of the person leaving the prints or impression.

Research Area

Archaeology

Publications

Review of 'Crafting Identities' LPFG conference October 2019. LPFG Newsletter (Summer 2020)

Making an impression: using fingerprint analysis to investigate the demographics of pottery production' LPFG newsletter (Winter 2018/19)

Conferences

The Matter in Hand: Prehistoric Society and Later Prehistoric Finds Group conference October 2018

Iron Age Research Student Symposium 2018. Paper presented on results of research into Iron Age briquetage. Prize won for the "best finds related paper"

Iron Age Research Student Symposium 2016 – paper presented on initial fingerprint research.

Public Engagement & Impact

I'm a happy and confident public speaker and have presented workshops for children of all ages, given talks to adult groups, run undergraduate seminars and presented at academic conferences.

Other Research Interests

Archaeology

Public Archaeology

Heritage

Legal protections for heritage and archaeology

Memberships

Later Prehistoric Finds Group

Prehistoric Society

Museums Association

Society for Museum Archaeologists