Nicole Hultquist

Areas of Interest

Stable Isotope Analysis; Biogeochemistry; Environmental Archaeology; Animal Domestication; Animal Husbandry; Mobility; Agricultural Intensification

Research Interests & Fieldwork

I am interested in using stable isotope analysis to help us understand animal use and husbandry strategies. I am additionally interested in using isotopic analysis to determine agricultural intensification and environmental reconstruction. I am currently working on the isotopic analysis of caprine bioapatite from the archaeological site Gordion in central Turkey, primarily focused on the Late Bronze Age to the Iron Age.

Through the course of my Master of Science at Trent University, I performed strontium isotopic analysis on camelids from the Viru Valley to determine their geographic origin and mobility. These camelids were associated with the Early Intermediate occupation and the Middle Horizon sacrifices. I also examined the use of ultrafilters in isolating collagen and optimized the refluxing temperature and pH across modern and archaeological samples to provide a general recommendation for collagen extraction across different labs.

Projects

Gordion Archaeological Project, Turkey

Publications

Haghnegahdar, M. A., J. Sun, N. Hultquist, N. D. Hamovit, N. Kitchen, J. Eiler, S. Ono, S. Yarwood, A. J. Kaufman, R. Dickerson, A. Bouyon, C. Magen, and J. Farquhar. 2023. Tracing sources of atmospheric methane using clumped isotopes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 120(47):e2305574120.

Papers Presented

Nicole Hultquist, David C. Meiggs, Petra Vaiglova, Ethan F. Baxter, John M. Marston. 2024. Isotopic Analysis of Caprine Management from Archaeological Remains at the Ancient Urban Center of Gordion, Turkey. Paper presented at the 13th International Conference on the Application of Stable Isotope Techniques in Ecological Studies (IsoEcol2024), Fredricton, NB.

Nicole Hultquist, David C. Meiggs, Petra Vaiglova, Ethan F. Baxter, John M. Marston. 2024. Isotopic Analysis of Caprine Management at Gordion, Central Anatolia. Paper presented at the 2024 Annual Meeting of ASOR, Boston, MA.