Adjoint Researcher
Research Interests
Medieval archaeology, zooarchaeology, bioarchaeology, biomolecular anthropology, stable isotope analysis, bone histology, spatial analysis and GIS, cultural resource management
Current Research
I am an archaeologist whose research examines late-stage pagan communities in northern Europe. I specialize in zooarchaeology and human osteology, including biomolecular and histological methods. My current research uses stable isotope analysis as a tool for understanding human and animal mobility in European later prehistory and the medieval period. I am working on a multi-region project incorporating materials excavated from Lithuania, Russia, Poland, and Ukraine to understand how people and horses moved between Christian and pagan communities during the Viking Age. This work has been supported by funding from the European Union, National Geographic Society, British Academy/GW4 Alliance, and the Society for Medieval Archaeology.
I previously worked in US cultural resource management in the Western US (Oregon, California) and Mid-Atlantic (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut), both for the National Park Service and a private commercial firm.
Education
PhD, Anthropology, New York University
MA, Anthropology, New York University
MPhil, European Archaeology, University of Oxford
BA, Medieval Studies, Georgetown University
Selected Publications
French KM, Musial A, Karczewski M, Daugnora L, Shiroukhov R, Ropka-Molik K, Baranowski T, Bertašius M, Skvortsov K, Szymański P, Mellin-Wyczółkowska I, Gręzak A, Wyczółkowski D, Pluskowski A, Andersen M, Millet, MA, Inglis E, Madgwick R. 2024. Biomolecular evidence reveals mares and long-distance imported horses sacrificed by the last pagans in temperate Europe. Science Advances. https://doi.org/0.1126/sciadv.ado3529.
French KM, Mavroudas S, Dominguez V. 2024. Prevalence of drifting osteons distinguishes human bone. PLOS ONE 19(2): e0298029. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298029
French KM, Crowder C, Crabtree P. 2022. Utility of Bone Histology in the Analysis of Commingled Multispecies Cremations. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 32:1253-1263. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.3160.
