Martin Smith

Dr Martin Smith

  • Associate Professor in Forensic and Biological Anthropology
  • Christchurch House C134, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB
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Biography

Dr Martin Smith is Associate Professor of Biological Anthropology at Bournemouth University, UK. He has over 20 years experience training Undergraduate, Masters and Doctoral students to excavate, analyse and interpret human remains from archaeological and forensic contexts. His research has involved analysis of human remains dating from the dawn of agriculture (c.4000 BC), through to the Bronze Age and Iron Ages and Roman through to the post-medieval period. His research focuses on the ways past peoples treated their dead, created social worlds for the living and engaged in conflict, as well as considerations of ethical treatments of human remains. He has authored over 60 publications including two books People of the Long Barrows: Life, Death and Burial in the Earlier Neolithic and Mortal Wounds: the Human Skeleton as Evidence for Conflict in the Past. He also co-edited The Routledge Handbook of the Bioarchaeology of Human Conflict with Christopher Knüsel (University of Bordeaux). He is a member of APABE (Advisory Panel on Burials in England) and a former member of the Board of Trustees of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute...

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Research

Martin’s research has focused on remains dating from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, through historic periods to modern forensic contexts dealing with individuals who by rights should still be alive. He has led projects involving conventional osteology, experimentation, excavation of funerary contexts, three-dimensional modelling, microscopy, radiography and chemical analysis. Martin has interests in addressing questions using datasets generated at different scales, varying from Europe wide considerations of prehistoric conflict to detailed osteobiographical approaches focusing on the lives and experiences of single individuals.

Journal Articles

Books

  • Smith, M., 2017. Mortal Wounds: The Human Skeleton as Evidence for Conflict in the Past. Pen & Sword Books.
  • The Routledge Handbook of the Bioarchaeology of Human Conflict. Routledge.
  • Smith, M.J., Brickley, M.B., 2009. People of the Long Barrows: Life, Death and Burial in the Earlier Neolithic. Stroud, England: The History Press.
  • Proceedings of the 8th Annual Conference of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology. Oxford: Archaeopress.

Chapters

  • Gerdau-Radonić, K., Sperrevik, J., Smith, M., Cheetham, P.N., Russell, M., 2022. Deathways of the durotriges: Reconstructing identity through archaeothanatology in later Iron Age southern Britain. Routledge Handbook of Archaeothanatology Bioarchaeology of Mortuary Behaviour. 243-262.
  • Smith, M.J., Schulting, R.J., Fibiger, L., 2020. Settled lives, unsettled times: Neolithic violence in Europe. Cambridge World History of Violence. 79-98.
  • McKinley, J., Smith, M., 2017. Compiling a skeletal inventory: disarticulated and commingled remains. In: Mitchell, P.D., Brickley, M.B., eds. Updated Guidelines to the Standards for Recording Human Remains. London: BABAO/CIfA, 20-24.
  • Knüsel, C., Smith, M.J., 2013. Introduction: The bioarchaeology of conflict. Routledge Handbook of the Bioarchaeology of Human Conflict. 3-24.
  • Smith, M.J., 2013. The war to begin all wars? Contextualizing violence in Neolithic Britain. Routledge Handbook of the Bioarchaeology of Human Conflict. 109-126.
  • Knüsel, C., Smith, M.J., 2013. The osteology of conflict: What does it all mean? Routledge Handbook of the Bioarchaeology of Human Conflict. 656-694.
  • Slater, R.J., Smith, M., 2012. A Study of Interobserver Variation in Cranial Measurements and the Resulting Consequences when Analysed using CranID. In: Mitchell, P.D., Buckberry, J., eds. Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology. Oxford: Archaeopress.
  • Smith, M.J., Brickley, M.B., Leach, S.L., 2011. A Shot in the Dark: Interpreting Evidence for Prehistoric Conflict. In: Saville, A., eds. Flint and Stone in the Neolithic Period. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
  • Smith, M.J., Brickley, M.B., Adams, J., Mould, Q., 2009. Death and Burial. In: Forster, M., eds. Life, Work and Death in Birmingham City Centre. London: English Heritage and Birmingham City Council.
  • Mays, S., Smith, M., 2009. Ethical dimensions of reburial, retention and repatriation of archaeological human remains: a British perspective. In: Clegg, M., Lewis, M., eds. Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Conference of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology. Oxford: Archaeopress, 107-117.
  • Jones, L., Woodward, A., Buteux, S., Smith, M.J., 2006. Human Remains. Iron age, Roman and Saxon occupation at Grange Park: excavations at Courteenhall, Northamptonshire, 1999. Oxford: Archaeopress, 173.

Conferences

  • Smith, M., Russell, M., Cheetham, P., Cassidy, L., Bradley, D., Delbarre, G., Lawson, D., Endicott, P., 2025. A People Apart…New insights into life, death and society in Iron Age Dorset. In: Iron Age Dialogues 30/04/2025 Cardiff University.
  • Mikulski, R., Schutkowski, H., Smith, M.J., Mitchell, P.D., 2018. Urban warfare in the Crusades: Weapon injuries in 13th century mass grave deposits at the fortified town of Sidon (Lebanon). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, 165, 177-178.
  • Smith, M., Fibiger, L., Schulting, R., 2017. Settled Lives –Unsettled Times: Violence in the Neolithic. In: The Cambridge World History of Violence 20/06/2016 University of Notre Dame, Rome.
  • Smith, M., Allen, M.J., Booth, T., Madgwick, R., Bailey, L., O'Malley, F., Delbarre, G., Cheetham, P., Green, M., 2014. Keeping the Family Together: Curation, Imitation and Veneration of the Dead in a British Prehistoric Landscape. In: European Association of Archaeologists 20th Annual Meeting 11/09/2014 Istanbul Turkey.
  • Gerdau Radonic, K., Smith, M., Russell, M., Cheetham, P., Hambleton, E., Manley, H., Evans, D., 2014. Death Ways of the Durotriges: Dealing with the Dead in Late Iron Age and Early Roman Dorset. In: European Association of Archaeologists 20th Annual Meeting 11/09/2014 Istanbul University, Turkey.
  • Gerdau-Radonic, K., Smith, M., Russell, M., Cheetham, P., Hambleton, E., Manley, H., Evans, D., 2014. Death Ways of the Durotriges: Dealing with the Dead in Late Iron Age and Early Roman Dorset. In: European Association of Archaeologists 10/09/2014 Istanbul, Tukey.
  • Smith, M.J., 2014. Fantastic Plastic? Investigating the potential of polyurethane bone substitutes in ballistic experiments. In: 8th Experimental Archaeology Conference UK 10/01/2014 Oxford University.
  • Smith, M., 2013. Context isn’t Quite Everything: Interpreting complex prehistoric mortuary rituals at Cranborne Chase, Dorset, England. In: Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference (TAG on Sea 2013) 16/12/2013 Bournemouth University.
  • Smith, M.J., Allen, M., 2013. Bones of Unknown and Hoary Antiquity: re-assessment of the Neolithic primary burials at Wor Barrow, Cranborne Chase, Dorset. In: 15th Annual Conference of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Ostearchaeology 13/09/2013 York University.
  • Starkie, A., 2013. Mort aux Commissaires! Analysis of the preserved, tattooed skin of an adult male from 19th century France. In: 15th Annual Conference of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology 13/12/2013 York University.
  • Smith, M., 2013. CSI Egypt? Assessing the potential of computerised tomography of mummified remains for developing forensic techniques. In: 15th Annual Conference of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology 13/09/2013 York University.
  • Smith, M.J., Petford, N., Xiao, L., 2006. Planetary remote sensing and GIS: the convergence of software techniques and data. In: 37th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 13/03/2006 League City, Texas. Lunar and Planetary Institute.

Reports

  • Smith, M., Allen, M.J., Jay, M., Montgomery, J., Bronk Ramsey, C., Cook, G., Marshall, P., 2016. Wor Barrow, Cranborne Chase, Dorset: Chronological Modelling. Portsmouth: Historic England.

Others

  • Smith, M.J., 2007. Book Review: The Archaeology of Warfare: Prehistories of Raiding and Conquest (Eds. E. Arkush & M.W. Allen) Florida University Press,2006. Published.

PhD Students

  • Heather Tamminen, 2021. Virtual modelling of human remains using photogrammetry for presentation and preservation by record
  • Alexandria Young. An Investigation of patterns of mammalian scavenging in relation to vertebrate skeletal remains in a Northwestern European context: forensic applications

Grants

  • The End of prehistory: Bringing the people of Iron Age southern Britain into focus (British Academy/ Leverhulme, 01 Sep 2025). Awarded

External Responsibilities

  • University of Reading, External Examiner MSc Prof Human Osteoarchaeology (2020-)
  • Advisory Panel on the Archaeology of Burials in England, Consultative Forum member (2020-), https://www.archaeologyuk.org/apabe/

Qualifications

  • PhD in Archaeology (University of Birmingham, 2005)
  • BA (Hons) in Archaeology (University of Birmingham, 2001)

Memberships

  • Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences, Member (2016-), http://www.csofs.org/
  • Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences, Member (2016-), http://www.csofs.org/
  • The Royal Anthropological Institute, Fellow,
  • American Association of Physical Anthropologists, Member,
  • The Prehistoric Society, Member,
  • The Palaeopathology Association, Member,
The data on this page was last updated at 22:00 on February 11, 2026.