Dr Samantha Purchase

School of Biosciences

º£½ÇÉçÇø Teaching Associate

Sam Purchase
Profile picture of Sam Purchase
samantha.purchase@sheffield.ac.uk
Addison Building

Full contact details

Dr Samantha Purchase
School of Biosciences
Addison Building
Sheffield
S10 2TN
Profile

I was awarded my PhD in archaeology from the º£½ÇÉçÇø of Sheffield in 2023 for my dissertation entitled Point and Shoot: A Radiographic Analysis of Mastoiditis in Archaeological Populations from England’s North-East. Previously, I graduated from the º£½ÇÉçÇø of Saskatchewan, Canada, with both my MA (2012–2016) and BA High Honours (2008–2012) in archaeology. While in Canada, I studied bioarchaeology and Classical and Near Eastern archaeology, I was a member of the Baikal-Hokkaido Archaeology Project, and I worked as an archaeological technician over the spring and summer for Past Recovery Archaeological Services Inc. (2018, 2010–2012). 

I worked for the º£½ÇÉçÇø of Saskatchewan as a Sessional Lecturer in Human Osteology (Autumn 2016) and as a Laboratory Technician, teaching Human Evolution and caring for the osteological collection (Autumn 2017, 2016, 2013). I designed and taught a course for Saskatoon Seniors and Continued Learning Inc. (Spring 2016), was a teaching assistant for various modules (2011–2021), and secured numerous volunteer and casual roles as a speaker and demonstrator.

Today, I work as a º£½ÇÉçÇø Teaching Associate in human anatomy and bioarchaeology at the º£½ÇÉçÇø of Sheffield (2021–today). I teach across multiple cross-disciplinary undergraduate modules and am the module coordinator for numerous postgraduate taught (PGT) modules. I co-supervise undergraduate research projects and supervise PGT student dissertations. I am an active member of the Education Cluster, involved in multiple scholastic research projects, and am working to develop new modules in-line with the goals of the School of Biosciences. I am a founding member of the Bioarchaeology of Urbanization Research Group (BURG), a member of the Bioarchaeology Respiratory Network (BRN), the Midlands Bioarchaeology and Osteology Network (M-BONE), and the Northern Biosciences Teachers’ Network (NBTN), and I am the communications lead for the EDI sub-group of the British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO). 
 

Qualifications

PhD Candidate Archaeology – Department of Archaeology, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Sheffield, UK

  • Dissertation – Point and Shoot: A Radiographic Analysis of Mastoiditis in Archaeological Populations from England’s North-East

MA Archaeology – Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Saskatchewan, Canada

  • Dissertation – Infectious Disease as an Indicator of Physiological Stress in the Middle Holocene Cis-Baikal

BA Archaeology (High Honours) – Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Saskatchewan, Canada

Research interests

My interests include digital anatomy teaching, authentic assessment, EDI in academia and heritage, the paleopathology of respiratory-related disease, the human health implications of urbanisation, and paleoradiology. 

Grants


• 2022: Student Success Project funding, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Sheffield Faculty of Arts and Humanities Careers and Alumni Relations
• 2022: Publication Scholarship, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Sheffield
• 2021: British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO) Symposia/Workshop Grant for the Bioarchaeology of Urbanization Research Group
• 2013–2014: º£½ÇÉçÇø of Saskatchewan Master’s Scholarship
• 2012–2013: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Master’s Scholarship, Government of Canada
• 2012–2013: Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP) Funding, Government of Canada
• 2012–2013: History Travel Award, History Department, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Saskatchewan
• 2012: Fr. Henry Carr Award, St. Thomas More College, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Saskatchewan
• 2010 and 2011: Dean’s List, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Saskatchewan
• 2010 and 2011: Leadership Award, St. Thomas More College, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Saskatchewan
 

Teaching activities

School of Biosciences, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Sheffield
• October 2025 – today – Level 1–3 and Year in Industry Academic Tutor 
• October 2025 – today – BIS4101: Research Design 
• October 2023 – today – BIS233/4: Introduction to Human Anatomy 
• October 2021 – today – BIS332: Forensic Anatomy 
• October 2021 – today – BIS497: Applied Bioarchaeological Science (formerly of the Department of Archaeology)
• October 2021 – today – BIS495: Human Osteology (formerly of the Department of Archaeology)
• October 2021 – today – BIS493: Human Anatomy (formerly of the Department of Archaeology)
School of History, Philosophy, and Digital Humanities, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Sheffield
• February 2025 – today – HST109: The Long View: An Introduction to Archaeology


Department of Archaeology, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Sheffield
• April 2019 – 2023 (2020 cancelled due to the pandemic) – Human Osteology Short Course – Teaching Associate or staff organiser
• October 2020 – January 2021 – AAP683: Human Anatomy – Graduate Teaching Assistant
• October 2019 – January 2019; October 2020 – January 2021 – AAP685: Human Osteology – Graduate Teaching Assistant
Saskatoon Seniors Continued Learning (SSCL) Program
• January 11, 2018 – March 8, 2018 – Bones: An Introduction to Human Osteology – Instructor


Department of Archaeology, º£½ÇÉçÇø of Saskatchewan
• September 2017 – December 2017; September 2016 – December 2016; September 2013 – December 2013 – Archaeology 270: Human Evolution – Laboratory demonstrator
• September 2016 – December 201 6 – Archaeology 470: Human Osteology – Instructor
• September 2014 – Archaeology 270: Human Evolution – Substitute instructor
• January 2016 – May 2016 – Archaeology 112: The Human Journey, Introduction to Archaeology and Biological Anthropology – Teaching assistant
• September 2015 – December 2015 – Archaeology 270: Human Evolution –Teaching assistant
• September 2013 – December 2013; September 2011 – December 2011 – Archaeology 470: Human Osteology – Teaching assistant
• January 2012 – May 2012; January 2011 – May 2011 – Archaeology 116: Introduction to Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology – Teaching assistant

Professional activities and memberships


• British Association for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO): communications lead for the EDI sub-group
• Bioarchaeology of Urbanisation Research Group (BURG): founding member
• Bioarchaeology Respiratory Network (BRN): member
• Midlands Bioarchaeology and Osteology Network (M-BONE): member
• Northern Biosciences Teachers’ Network (NBTN): member
• Society for Teaching and Learning in Archaeology and Heritage (STeLAH): steering group

Publications and Conferences

Publications

  • Angela R. Lieverse, Kathleen Faccia, Andrea L. Waters-Rist, Anastasia Antonova, Hamed Vahdati Nasab, Caroline Haverkort, Samantha L. Purchase-Manchester, Rick J. Schulting, Nour Moussa, Vladimir Ivanovich Bazaliiskii. In preparation. Chapter 5. Human Osteological Remains. In: Weber AW, Bazaliiskii VI, Jessup EL, Lieverse AR (editors). Shamanka II, an Early Neolithic Hunter-Gatherer Cemetery on Lake Baikal, Siberia: Archaeological and Osteological Materials. Northern Hunter-Gatherers Research Series, Vol. 7. Edmonton, AB: CCI Press.
  • Angela R. Lieverse, Kathleen Faccia, Andrea L. Waters-Rist, Brianna P. Mack, Samantha L. Purchase-Manchester, Rick J. Schulting, Nour Moussa. In preparation. Chapter 6. Demography, Health, and Activity at the Early Neolithic Cemetery of Shamanka II. In: Weber AW, Bazaliiskii VI, Jessup EL, Lieverse AR (editors). Shamanka II, an Early Neolithic Hunter-Gatherer Cemetery on Lake Baikal, Siberia: Archaeological and Osteological Materials. Northern Hunter-Gatherers Research Series, Vol. 7. Edmonton, AB: CCI Press.
  • Purchase, Samantha L. In press. Perspectives on Health: Working with Communities as Cultural Anthropologists and Bioarchaeologists. Engaged Scholar Journal. 
  • Purchase, Samantha L., Vladimir I. Bazaliiskii, and Angela R. Lieverse 2019. . International Journal of Paleopathology 26: 22–26.

Reviews

  • International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. Web of Science Researcher ID: AAB-7971-2019

Talks and posters

  • Purchase, Samantha L. 2022. Point and Shoot: A handy method to visualize mastoiditis in human skeletal remains (talk). Bioarchaeology Respiratory Network Online Symposium: Leicester, UK.
  • Purchase, Samantha L. 2022. X-Rays and Lifeways: The application of radiology in bioarchaeology (guest lecture). Human Osteology Short Course: Sheffield, UK.
  • Purchase, Samantha L., Lizzy Craig-Atkins, and Jaydip Ray 2022. Telltale Breaths: Respiratory-related health in the late Anglo-Saxon/Saxo-Norman and Industrial North-East of England (talk). Saskatoon Archaeological Society (SAS) Meeting: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
  • Lead organiser of (Un)Natural Lives | Bioarchaeology of Urbanization Research Group 2021 Conference (19–20 October 2021) — BABAO funded
  • Purchase, Samantha L., Elizabeth Craig-Atkins, and Jaydip Ray 2021 Revolutionary Breaths: Respiratory-related health during the Medieval Agricultural Revolution and Industrial Revolution in populations from England’s North-East (talk). (Un)Natural Lives | Bioarchaeology of Urbanization Research Group 2021 Conference: Sheffield, UK.
  • Purchase, Samantha L., Elizabeth Craig-Atkins, Pia Nystrom, and Jaydip Ray 2020. Visualising Mastoiditis with a Portable X-Ray System (poster). 89th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA): Los Angeles, California, USA. 
  • Purchase, Samantha L., Elizabeth Craig-Atkins, Pia Nystrom, and Jaydip Ray 2019. Visualising Mastoiditis with a Portable X-Ray System: A Preliminary Analysis (poster). 21st Annual Meeting of the British Association of Biological Archaeology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO): London, England, UK. 
  • Purchase, Samantha L., Angela R. Lieverse, Vladimir I. Bazaliiskii, and Andrzej W. Weber 2017.  (poster). 44th Annual Meeting of the Paleopathology Association (PPA): New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
  • Purchase, Samantha L., Angela R. Lieverse, Vladimir I. Bazaliiskii, and Andrzej W. Weber 2014. Infectious disease as an indicator of physiological stress in the middle Holocene Cis-Baikal. Baikal-Hokkaido Archaeology Project (BHAP) Workshop (talk): Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
  • Purchase, Samantha L., Angela R. Lieverse, Vladimir I. Bazaliiskii, and Andrzej W. Weber 2014.  (poster). 83rd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (AAPA): Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
  • Purchase, Samantha L., Angela R. Lieverse, Vladimir I. Bazaliiskii, and Andrzej W. Weber 2014. Infectious Disease and Physiological Stress in the Middle Holocene Cis-Baikal (poster). 42nd Meeting of the Canadian Association of Physical Anthropology (CAPA): Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.
  • Purchase, Samantha L. 2013. Whom it May Concern: The Theoretical Determination of Ideology from Mortuary Data with Specific Reference to the Cis-Baikal, Russian Federation (talk). Anthropology, Physical Anthropology, Linguistics, and Archaeology (APALA) Conference: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. 
  • Purchase, Samantha L. 2013. Non-specific Infection and Physiological Stress in Middle Holocene Cis-Baikal, Siberia: A Preliminary Analysis (talk). Saskatoon Archaeological Society (SAS) Meeting: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
  • Purchase, Samantha L. 2012. Kylikes and Clavicles: Bronze Age Greece and Post-Medieval Poland (talk). Saskatoon Archaeological Society (SAS) Meeting: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
  • Purchase, Samantha L. 2011. Archaeology in Eastern Canada (talk). Saskatoon Archaeological Society (SAS) Meeting: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.