Jessica Smyth

Dr Jessica Smyth is Associate Professor at UCD School of Archaeology, focusing on Neolithic food systems and material culture through biomolecular approaches. She directs the IRC Laureate project 'Passage Tomb People' investigating social drivers of megalithic construction. Her research reconstructs early farming practices using lipid residue analysis of pottery.

Key research areas:

• Neolithic dairying and farming transitions
• Passage tomb construction and social complexity
• Bog butter preservation and deposition

She developed novel protocols for compound-specific radiocarbon dating of dairy residues. Publications appear in Nature, PLOS ONE, and Scientific Reports. Teaching includes material culture studies and prehistoric lifeways, with PhD supervision in archaeological science. Current grants include 'First Harvests' examining Neolithic cereal cultivation chronologies.