I've been interested in the past from a very young age, when my Mum bought me a little history encyclopaedia! History was my favourite subject when I was at school, and when I was about 11, I was lucky enough to have the chance to take part in an archaeology summer school. I've been hooked ever since.
My period of speciality now is the Palaeolithic (early Stone Age), because I'm really interested in the big questions about human evolution and how we became who we are today.
I'm currently a second year PhD student at the University of York. I'm interested in how humans' social and emotional lives developed, so my research focuses on emotional attachments to objects.
I'm trying to figure out if and how archaeologists might look for these in the past, and what impact this has on our minds and social relationships with others.
I'm also working as a Research Assistant on a project called Hidden Depths - for this I've helped develop a website with lesson plans and resources for young people to better understand the Palaeolithic, and to help kickstart wider discussions about topics such as tolerance, diversity and wellbeing (www.hiddendepths.org).
Sometimes, people think that archaeology is quite literally stuck in the past, and don't understand why it's important. But archaeology has a lot to tell us about the people we are today and the way we interact with other people and with the world around us.
The past can often be misused by those in the public eye to fit their political agenda, and some of our basic ideas about who we are, are formed from misconceptions about the past. Archaeology has real political, social and cultural significance and, I hope, has a role to play in overturning some of these misconceptions.
Plus, it's just really really interesting!
Taryn Bell, PhD student Palaeohub, Department of Archaeology, University of York
Interview: Elle Crawshaw
Design: James Rose
