Adjunct Faculty, Department of Anthropology
BA (York), MSc (Bournemouth, UK), PhD (James Cook, Australia)
Research interests: bioarchaeology; paleopathology; dental anthropology; sociocultural and environmental impacts on health, Southeast Asia (especially Thailand and Cambodia); Mesoamerica (especially Belize)
Current Research
Dr. Newton is the bioarchaeologist for the Ka’kabish Archaeological Research Project (KARP) in Belize. For further details about this project, please visit: https://kakabish.org/index.html
As part of the larger KARP, the Ka’kabish Archaeological Research Laboratory (KARL) examines the material recovered during the excavations. The research for KARL spans both Peterborough and Durham GTA campuses.
Dr. Newton is currently working on the following as part of KARL:
- Oral health
- Dental modifications
- Dental calculus
- Migration patterns
- Paleopathology
- Mortuary patterns
Image 1: Dr. Newton standing in an excavated chultun (underground chamber) at Ka’kabish, Belize.
Image 2: Dr. Newton examining material in an excavation unit at Ka’kabish, Belize.
Image 3: Looking towards the archaeological site of Ka’kabish, Belize.
Image 4: Entrance into the chultun (underground chamber) at Ka’kabish, Belize.
Image 5: Screens set up at Ka’kabish, Belize.
Selected Publications
Williamson, R.F., Pfeiffer, S., Sealy, J., Newton, J., le Roux, P., Forrest, C., & Lesage, L. (2020). Ontario Iroquoian population movement viewed through strontium isotope analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 33 (2020): 102466.
Halcrow, S. E., Crozier, R., Domett, K. M., Lertcharnrit, T., Newton, J. S., Shewan, L. G., & Ward, S. M. (2019). Ethical Issues of Bioarchaeology in Southeast Asia. In Ethical Approaches to Human Remains (pp. 465-484). Springer, Cham.
Domett, K. M., Evans, C., Chang, N., Tayles, N., & Newton, J. (2017). Interpreting osteoarthritis in bioarchaeology: Highlighting the importance of a clinical approach through case studies from prehistoric Thailand. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 11:762-773.
Newton JS and Domett K. (2017). The biocultural context of dental modification in prehistoric Southeast Asia. In: Burnett SE and Irish JD. (Eds.), A World View of (Bio)Culturally Modified Teeth: Past and Present. University Press of Florida.
Newton, J., Domett, K., Halcrow, S. and Boonlop, K. (2017). Bioarchaeological conservation and ethics in mainland Southeast Asia. Society of American Archaeology Meeting, March, Vancouver, Canada.
Domett K, Newton J, Chang N and Colbert A. (2015). Frail, foreigner or favoured? A contextualized case study from Bronze Age northeast Thailand. In: Oxenham M. and Buckley H. (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Bioarchaeology in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
O'Reilly, D., Shewan, L., Domett, K., Newton, J., Evans, D., Vuthy, V., & Beavan, N. (2015). The Excavation Of Phum Sophy 2009-2010: An Iron Age Site In North-West Cambodia. Journal of Indo-Pacific Archaeology, 39, 57-73.
Newton, JS. (2014). Health, Diet and Migration Prior to the Establishment of the Pre-Angkorian Civilization of Southeast Asia. Australian Archaeology, 79.
Domett, K. M., Newton, J., O'Reilly, D. J. W., Tayles, N., Shewan, L., & Beavan, N. (2013). Cultural modification of the dentition in prehistoric Cambodia. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 23 (3). pp. 274-286.
Newton, J. S., Domett, K. M., O’Reilly, D. J. W., & Shewan, L. (2013). Dental health in Iron Age Cambodia: Temporal variations with rice agriculture. International Journal of Paleopathology, 3 (1). pp. 1-10.