Goldstein, Lynne
(Ph.D. Northwestern University, 1976)
Professor
Adjunct Curator of Anthropology, MSU Museum
lynneg@msu.edu

Archaeology, Mortuary Analysis, Quantitative Methods; North America, Great Lakes

LYNNE GOLDSTEIN is Professor of Anthropology at MSU, where she has been since 1996. She previously worked at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the majority of her research has focused on Wisconsin and the Great Lakes region. In 2000, Goldstein completed a term as Editor of American Antiquity, the quarterly journal published by the Society for American Archaeology. She earned her BA in Anthropology from Beloit College in 1971, and her Ph.D. in Anthropology from Northwestern University in 1976. Goldstein has authored numerous publications on archaeological topics, and has served and continues to serve on various national advisory committees on behalf of archaeology. She is especially focused on Great Lakes archaeology and on the analysis of mortuary practices.

A few recent publications include:

• 2006 "Mortuary Analysis and Bioarchaeology," in Bioarchaeology: A Contextual Approach, Lane A. Beck and Jane E. Buikstra, eds. Chapter 14. Elsivier Publishing.
• 2005 Birmingham, Robert A. and Lynne Goldstein
  Aztalan: Mysteries of an Ancient Indian Town. University of Wisconsin Press and Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison.
• 2004 "An Analysis of Plummets in the Lower Illinois River Valley," in Aboriginal Ritual and Economy in the Eastern Woodlands: Essays in Memory of Howard Dalton Winters (Anne-Marie Cantwell, Lawrence Conrad, and Jonathan E. Reyman, editors). Illinois State Museum Scientific Papers, Vol. XXX, Springfield. Kampsville Studies in Archeology and History, Volume 5; pp. 73-112.
• 2002 Goldstein and Donald H. Gaff
  "Recasting the Past: Examining Assumptions About Aztalan, In Current Issues in the Archaeology of the Western Great Lakes: Problems and Progress, edited by R, Jeske. The Wiscosnin Archeologist 83(2):98-110, Milwaukee.
• 2002 "Afterword - Visible Death: Mortuary Site and Mortuary Landscape in Diachronic Perspective," The Space and Place of Death (Helaine Silverman and David B. Small, editors). Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association, No. 11; pp. 201-206.
• 2000 "Mississippian Ritual as Viewed through the Practice of Secondary Disposal of the Dead," in Mounds, Modoc, and Mesoamerica: Papers in Honor of Melvin L. Fowler (Steven R. Ahler, editor). Illinois State Museum Scientific Papers, Volume XXVIII; pp. 193-205. Springfield.
• 1995 "Politics, Law, Pragmatics, and Human Burial Excavations: An Example from Northern California," in Bodies of Evidence: Reconstructing History Through Skeletal Analysis (Anne L. Grauer, editor). John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York; pp. 3-17.
• 1995 "Landscapes and mortuary practices: A case for regional perspectives," in Regional Approaches to Mortuary Analysis (Lane Anderson Beck, editor). Plenum Press, New York; pp. 101-121.

Goldstein has also been active in public education, including a weekly radio broadcast on Wisconsin Public Radio, special training sessions for teachers and kids, and three popular books. She has conducted fieldwork in various places, but especially in Illinois, Wisconsin, and California. Goldstein has worked extensively with many Native American tribes in Wisconsin and elsewhere. In addition to a regionally based research program in Southeastern Wisconsin, Goldstein has examined late prehistoric societies and mortuary practices. She has served in a variety of roles in national and regional repatriation debates, discussions, and committees, including a long-term position as a member of the Smithsonian Institution’s Repatriation Review Committee.

Research Opportunities for Graduate and Undergraduate Students:
Both graduate and undergraduate students have participated in both field and lab work associated with her work at the Aztalan site in Wisconsin, as well as with her research on other projects. Goldstein also has funds for a graduate research assistant to help her with other research projects.