Dr Rachel Ives
Curator, Anthropology
Division: ES Vertebrates and Anthropology Palaeobiology
Summary
I'm the Curator of Anthropology in the department of Earth Sciences and I am responsible for the day to day curation and documentation of our Palaeoanthropology, Fossil Primate, Human Remains and Artefact collections. I promote and supervise scientific research, exhibitions and outreach access to the collections, manage collections enquiries and databasing and contribute to collections management.
I also carry out scientific research and am interested in bone cell biology, juvenile skeletal growth and the effects of adult ageing, together with skeletal evidence of disease (palaeopathology). I'm particularly interested in the group of metabolic bone diseases, which are conditions mediated by the lifestyle, environment and diet of a population group, and include vitamin D deficiency, vitamin C deficiency and osteoporosis. Identifying these diseases, and the relationships between them, can help us to develop a better understanding of what life and health was like in the past. I previously worked on the NHMUK Calleva Child Health project which investigated how the skeleton changes during childhood development and in response to pathology.
I'm an osteoarchaeologist and have supervised several burial ground excavations and conducted osteological analyses and reporting on human remains and burial archaeology, and I carry out consultancy for osteoarchaeological projects. I also undertake Master's level teaching as well as public outreach events, including NHMUK Nature Live: A Skeleton Health Check.
Qualifications
- PhD, Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom
Degrees
Employment history
- Postdoctoral Researcher, Natural History Museum, London, 2016 - 2018
- Curatorial Assistant Spitalfields, Natural History Museum, London, 2015 - 2016
- Research Associate, Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, 2003 - 2004
Academic
Non-academic
Osteoarchaeologist Project Officer, AOC Archaeology Group, United Kingdom, 2008 - 2015
Memberships
Chartered Institute for Archaeologists (ACIfA).
British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology.
Paleopathology Association.
Events
Organisation
Organiser, British Association for Biological Anthropology & Osteoarchaeology Conference 2019, (Conference),
Publications
Swan KR, Ives R, Humphrey LT (2021) Femoral angle development and locomotor progression in children from 18th and 19th century London. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 31 (2) : 263 - 272. doi: 10.1002/oa.2945
Brickley MB, Ives R, Mays S (2020) The Bioarchaeology of Metabolic Bone Disease. Academic Press : 328.
Swan KR, Ives R, Wilson LAB, Humphrey LT (2020) Ontogenetic changes in femoral cross‐sectional geometry during childhood locomotor development. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 173 (1) : 80 - 95. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.24080
Ives R, Humphrey L (2020) Exploring Patterns of Appositional Growth Amongst Urban Children, In: The Bioarchaeology of Urbanization. The Biological, Demographic, and Social Consequences of Living in Cities, Betsinger T, DeWitte S (Eds). Springer : 317 - 339.
Mant M, de la Cova C, Ives R, Brickley MB (2019) Perimortem fracture manifestations and mortality after hip fracture in a documented skeletal series. International Journal of Paleopathology, 27 : 56 - 65. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2019.09.002
Ives R, Humphrey L (2018) Endochondral growth disruption during vitamin D deficiency rickets in a mid-19th century series from Bethnal Green, London, UK. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 167 (3) : 585 - 601. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23687
Ives R (2018) Rare paleopathological insights into vitamin D deficiency rickets, co-occurring illnesses, and documented cause of death in mid-19th century London, UK. International Journal of Paleopathology, 23 : 76 - 87. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2017.11.004
Ives R, Humphrey L (2017) Patterns of long bone growth in a mid-19th century documented sample of the urban poor from Bethnal Green, London, UK. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 163 (1) : 173 - 186. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23198
Ives R, Mant M, de la Cova C, Brickley M (2017) A Large-Scale Palaeopathological Study of Hip Fractures from Post-Medieval Urban England. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 27 (2) : 261 - 275. doi: 10.1002/oa.2536
Wilson LAB, Ives R, Humphrey LT (2017) Quantification of 3D curvature in the iliac crest: Ontogeny and implications for sex determination in juveniles. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 162 (2) : 255 - 266. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.23114
Ives R (2015) Insights into Health, Life and Death in Victorian London’s East End.. London Archaeologist, 14 : 150 - 154.
Wilson LAB, Ives R, Cardoso HFV, Humphrey LT (2015) Shape, size, and maturity trajectories of the human ilium. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 156 (1) : 19 - 34. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22625
Ives R, Brickley M (2014) New findings in the identification of adult vitamin D deficiency osteomalacia: Results from a large-scale study. International Journal of Paleopathology, 7 : 45 - 56. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2014.06.004
Ives R (2014) An unusual double supernumerary maxillary mesiodens in a Middle Iron Age skeleton from South Uist, Western Isles, Scotland. Archives of Oral Biology, 59 (6) : 625 - 630. doi: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2014.03.009
Brickley M, Mays S, Ives R (2010) Evaluation and interpretation of residual rickets deformities in adults. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 20 (1) : 54 - 66. doi: 10.1002/oa.1007
Mays S, Ives R, Brickley M (2009) The effects of socioeconomic status on endochondral and appositional bone growth, and acquisition of cortical bone in children from 19th century Birmingham, England. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 140 (3) : 410 - 416. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.21076
Mays S, Brickley M, Ives R (2009) Growth and vitamin D deficiency in a population from 19thcentury Birmingham, England. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 19 (3) : 406 - 415. doi: 10.1002/oa.976
Mays S, Brickley M, Ives R (2008) Growth in an English population from the Industrial Revolution. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 136 (1) : 85 - 92. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.20780
Brickley M, Ives R (2008) The Bioarchaeology of Metabolic Bone Disease. Academic Press : 333.
Brickley M, Mays S, Ives R (2007) An investigation of skeletal indicators of vitamin D deficiency in adults: Effective markers for interpreting past living conditions and pollution levels in 18th and 19th century Birmingham, England. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 132 (1) : 67 - 79. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.20491
Mays S, Brickley M, Ives R (2007) Skeletal evidence for hyperparathyroidism in a 19th century child with rickets. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 17 (1) : 73 - 81. doi: 10.1002/oa.854
Mays S, Brickley M, Ives R (2006) Skeletal manifestations of rickets in infants and young children in a historic population from England. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 129 (3) : 362 - 374. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.20292
Brickley M, Ives R (2006) Skeletal manifestations of infantile scurvy. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 129 (2) : 163 - 172. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.20265
Brickley M, Mays S, Ives R (2005) Skeletal manifestations of vitamin D deficiency osteomalacia in documented historical collections. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 15 (6) : 389 - 403. doi: 10.1002/oa.794
Ives R, Brickley M (2005) Metacarpal radiogrammetry: a useful indicator of bone loss throughout the skeleton?. Journal of Archaeological Science, 32 (10) : 1552 - 1559. doi: 10.1016/j.jas.2005.04.008
Ives R, Brickley MB (2004) A procedural guide to metacarpal radiogrammetry in archaeology. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 14 (1) : 7 - 17. doi: 10.1002/oa.709