Biological Distance Analysis, 1st Edition

Forensic and Bioarchaeological Perspectives

Edited by: Marin A. Pilloud and Joseph T. Hefner

Biological Distance Analysis: Forensic and Bioarchaeological Perspectives synthesizes research within the realm of biological distance analysis, highlighting current work within the field and discussing future directions. The book is divided into three main sections. The first section clearly outlines datasets and methods within biological distance analysis, beginning with a brief history of the field and how it has progressed to its current state. The second section focuses on approaches using the individual within a forensic context, including ancestry estimation and case studies. The final section concentrates on population-based bioarchaeological approaches, providing key techniques and examples from archaeological samples. The volume also includes an appendix with additional resources available to those interested in biological distance analyses. (From the Publisher’s website)

 

 

This article appears in our Fall 2016 newsletter. Read the entire newsletter here.

 

 

Two dynamic scholars visited the department this fall. Dr. Donna Yates (University of Glasgow, pictured on left) brought her expertise on antiquities trafficking to campus. She gave a public lecture to an audience of almost 100 with another 41 people watching it stream live. The talk traced factors enabling looting and illicit antiquities sales around the world, raising questions about how policy and scholarship could more effectively prevent the destruction of the past. She also gave a workshop for graduate students in which she analyzed the humanitarian disasters in Syria and Iraq as examples of policy dilemmas. Students were engaged in a discussion of how scholarship and media can work or conflict when it comes to curtailing looting and smuggling.

Dr. Kristina Killgrove (University of West Florida, pictured on right) gave a public lecture on her bioarchaeological research in Rome. Her work uses the archaeological record and biochemical analysis (DNA, stable isotope) to identify immigrants within cemeteries from Imperial Roman society, providing a more complete picture of how slaves, foreigners, and native-born Romans lived together. She writes a well known blog, “Powered by Osteons,” and is a guest writer for Forbes and Mental Floss. Dr. Killgrove’s workshop on best writing practices for writing for the general public allowed graduate and undergraduate students to consider how blogging and online media could be a fun way to convey anthropological ideas to a broader audience while creating some income and spurring public discussions.

Both scholars visited the same week, so they were able to attend each other’s events and participate in a productive conversation across the department about engaging the public through blogs and other social media. Both of their workshops were at capacity with 35 attendees. Dr. Killgrove’s talk was sponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America while her workshop was sponsored by the Department of Anthropology. Dr. Yates’ visit was made possible by the Alumni and Friends Expendable Fund for Archaeology with co-sponsorship from eight additional units across the university.

This article appears in our Fall 2016 newsletter. Read the entire newsletter here.

The Institute for Digital Archaeology Method and Practice successfully held its second and final meeting at MSU this past August.  Directed by Professors Ethan Watrall and Lynne Goldstein and generously supported by a $250,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the goal of the institute was to bring together scholars, practitioners, and students to learn digital archaeological skills and engage with critical concepts and challenges. The 32 participants were originally chosen from 200 applicants and hailed from a wide range of sectors, including national parks, private cultural resource management firms, academic programs, and museums.

This second meeting followed a year long period during which the participants each built the capstone projects they proposed at the end of the institute’s first meeting (August 2015). Throughout the year, participants blogged about their process and progress (digitalarchaeology.msu.edu/news). They also engaged one another, the institute faculty, and the broader archaeological community on the Digital Archaeology Commons (commons.digitalarchaeology.msu.edu), a newly launched social platform dedicated to supporting work and community building around digital methods and practice in archaeology and closely related fields.

Aside from the workshops and talks by institute faculty, participants spent the majority of their time working with their mentors—and each other—to complete and publicly launch their capstone projects.  Institute participants and faculty also spent time reflecting upon the role that digital methods and projects play in the broader landscape of professional and scholarly practice in archaeology. Capstone projects varied widely, reflecting the diversity of the institute participants themselves:

Ben Carter, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Muhlenberg College, built and launched Digital Data Collection (benjaminpcarter.com/digital-data-collection), a workflow and set of best practices for using a constellation of open source tools and platforms to collect digital data in the field.

Neha Gupta, a Postdoctoral Fellow at Memorial University, built “Map Indian Archaeology” (dngupta.github.io/mina.github.io), a website that maps research and discoveries in Indian archaeology.

Sarah Rowe, an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande, built Virtual Valdivia (sarahmrowe.github.io/Virtual_Valdivia), an online repository of ceramics pertaining to the Valdivia culture (ca. 4400-1450 BC) of coastal Ecuador.

Jolene Smith, Archaeology Inventory Manager for the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, built Virginia Archaeology for Everyone (vaarchaeology.matrix.msu.edu), a prototype digital library whose goal is to take often dense, technical archaeological information and present it to the public in an engaging way.

While the grant is complete, the Department will continue to maintain its commitment to research and teaching in the domain of digital archaeology and heritage.  You can learn about these projects and more at digitalarchaeology.msu.edu.

Image: Rachel Croson, Dean of the College of Social Science, welcomes the participants in the Institute of Digital Archaeology Method and Practice during their final meeting this past August.

This article appears in our Fall 2016 newsletter. Read the entire newsletter here.

Mari Isa is a graduate student analyzing skeletal trauma, and a recent recipient of an NSF fellowship. Below, she shares more about her work:

I started at MSU as an undergraduate. That fall, I took my first anthropology class, Biocultural Evolution, and began working in the Nubian Bioarchaeology Laboratory under the guidance of Dr. Todd Fenton. Needless to say, I was hooked. Six years later, I am serving as the Laboratory Manager in the MSU Forensic Anthropology Laboratory. This job allows me to work with local medical examiners and law enforcement agencies to assist in medico-legal cases. I have worked on cases involving identification of human vs. non-human material, positive radiographic identification, and trauma analysis. As lab manager I continue to learn from directors Dr. Fenton and Dr. Joe Hefner about writing case reports, analysis methods, and activities involved in running a laboratory.

My dissertation research focuses on the intersection between anthropological analysis of skeletal trauma and biomechanical experimentation. Specifically, I am interested in how intrinsic factors related to bone structure and extrinsic mechanical factors interact to produce fracture. To better understand the mechanical concepts involved in this research, I had to dust off my graphing calculator and enroll in engineering courses including Tissue Mechanics and Mechanics of Deformable Solids. I have also started to learn the basics of finite element modeling. Using a program called Abaqus, I learned to create computational models of simulated impact experiments. These models help predict the location on a skeletal element where the highest stresses—and thus fractures—are likely to occur during impact.  In 2014, I was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to support my dissertation research.

As part of my research, I work on the National Institute of Justice study, “Building a Science of Cranial Fracture” (led by Dr. Fenton with Dr. Roger Haut and Dr. Feng Wei from engineering). At last year’s American Academy of Forensic Sciences meeting I presented on research investigating the role of implement shape in determining cranial fracture patterns. A key result of this research was that individual variation in aspects of bone structure, such as cranial curvature, may contribute to differences in fracture patterns observed between individuals.

Outside of skeletal trauma research, I am also working on a project with recent MSU graduate Dr. Amy Michael aimed at evaluating the applicability of a standard histological method for age estimation using the rib. I have also had the opportunity to venture into bioarchaeological research. For the past two years, I have traveled to Tuscany to assist in osteological investigations of skeletal remains excavated from Late Roman cemeteries under the mentorship of Dr. Fenton, Dr. Elsa Pacciani, and Dr. Alessandro Sebastiani in association with the Alberese Archaeological Project.

When I graduate, I hope to pursue a career in higher education. I would like to have students of my own because my favorite graduate school experiences have involved teaching. One of my best experiences at MSU was teaching the osteology lab portion of Dr. Fenton and Dr. Norm Sauer’s Human Identification and Forensic Anthropology study abroad course in the United Kingdom. While at MSU, I have also enjoyed being involved in various outreach programs within the Greater Lansing community. I am a senior instructor for the museum’s Human Ancestors Program, and I volunteer with other programs such as Darwin Day at the MSU museum, OsteoCHAMPS with the College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Michigan Archaeology Day.

This article appears in our Fall 2016 newsletter. Read the entire newsletter here.

 

Dr. Keri Vacanti Brondo (Ph.D. 2006), Associate Professor at University of Memphis, just released a new introductory text, “Cultural Anthropology: Contemporary, Public, and Critical Readings” through Oxford University Press. This reader offers a flexible and applied approach for teaching undergraduates. When Oxford Press approached her, Dr. Brondo realized it was an opportunity to create her ideal reader for an intro class, so she combined classic pieces (such as Bohannan’s “Shakespeare in the Bush”) with a significant number of contemporary pieces: 39 articles from the last decade and 24 from the last few years. Dr. Brondo wanted students to get exposure to a variety of recent ethnographic texts, regardless of what other texts (ethnographies or traditional textbooks) they were assigned.

The reader includes many examples from the U.S., encouraging students to think anthropologically in their own backyards. The book also boasts some features that are unique among readers, such as the “In the News” pieces which discuss current events from an anthropological perspective, and “Anthropology in Practice” sections which feature examples of anthropologists at work in real life situations. Each section of the reader also starts with an essay that introduces students to the topic. These kinds of features are common in traditional textbooks but are not usually included in readers. The result is a versatile text that could be paired with a traditional textbook, or used as a stand-alone text to be complemented with lecture material.

Dr. Brondo also wanted to feature colleagues whose work she had long admired, some of whom she met during graduate school. Thus, many MSU anthropology alumni are among the contributors: Natalie Bourdon, Andrea Freidus, Tara Hefferan, Michael Perez, and Michael Walker as well as others Dr. Brondo met at MSU such as Neera Singh (Geography Alumnae) and Barbara Rose Johnston (Adjunct Professor).

The textbook is Dr. Brondo’s second book. Her 2012 ethnography, “Land Grab: Green Neoliberalism, Gender, and Garifuna Resistance in Honduras,” began as her dissertation at MSU. While finishing her degree, she worked as a social scientist in an applied position for a conservation research organization in Honduras and was able to come at her topic from a different perspective. Another summer of research after joining the faculty at the University of Memphis brought the ethnography up to date. “Land Grab” applies feminist political ecology and critical race and ethnic studies to analyze the contradictory development policies that exclude Garifuna from securing land and resource rights while allowing others to benefit.

Dr. Brondo credits MSU Anthropology for her grounding in contemporary theory. With the department’s support of policy-relevant research, she graduated prepared for both applied and theoretical work. As a graduate student she worked as GJEC coordinator while the specialization was launched and engaged with feminist methodology. Lately, she finds herself in the same conference circles as her former advisor Dr. Laurie Medina because of their similar research interests. Since she mentors graduate students herself, she continues to appreciate the commitment Dr. Medina gave her as a student in the form of her time and straightforward feedback.

Dr. Brondo is currently the Director of International Studies at University of Memphis, and was recently awarded a 2016-2019 Dunavant Faculty Professorship, a prestigious award at her institution that recognizes excellence in teaching, research, and service. She continues to teach one course a year in the Anthropology department and enjoys how close-knit the department is, with synergy across different faculty due to similar interests. Since it is an applied program, the MA is treated as a professional degree and students will go on to practice anthropology in a variety of ways.

Dr. Brondo is now working on a new research project focused on multispecies interaction on the island of Utila and looks forward to developing this research into future publications.

Image above: Dr. Brondo (right) in Honduras

Image at right: Dr. Brondo’s textbook

This article appears in our Fall 2016 newsletter. Read the entire newsletter here.

 

This past Spring, the department was pleased to sponsor undergraduate Lucy Steele’s attendance at the G200 Youth Summit.  Lucy shares more about her experience below:

Last April, I proudly represented the Anthropology Department and Michigan State University at the G200 Youth Summit in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. This international conference provides a platform for students, academics, and young leaders to discuss the major issues facing our world today. I was initially drawn to the G200 Youth Summit as an opportunity to present research in a way that facilitates further conversations and to meet and learn from other students with a variety of interests from all across the globe.

I participated in an event called the Youth Conference, where roundtable discussions focused on large global themes are guided by research projects that students present. With the help and mentoring of Dr. Joe Hefner, I presented a research project entitled “Who Are They?: Forensic Anthropology, Context, and Identification Along the U.S.-Mexico Border” at the roundtable focused on law and human rights.

The project investigated the human rights issues surrounding the identification of migrants dying along the United States border with Mexico. For this research, Dr. Hefner taught me how to score crania using both morphoscopic and craniometric measures and use these measurements to assess ancestry. I pulled from sociocultural theory and consulted the institutions working directly with the unidentified border crossers, such as the Colibri Center and the Texas State Forensic Anthropology Center, to understand the crisis of identification and human loss from multiple viewpoints. My presentation’s analysis addressed the legal context that has heightened the crisis, the cultural materials associated with unidentified border crossers, and the ways in which the institutions working with this crisis navigate the process of returning lost loved ones to their families. The combination of forensic ancestry assessment methods and sociocultural approaches allowed me to paint a full and clear picture of what is happening along our border to my international audience at the G200 Youth Summit.

This opportunity enriched my understanding of the vast amount of information we can learn from the human body. As a result I have begun to shift my academic interests towards bioarchaeology from an initial interest in archaeology. Dr. Hefner has immensely influenced this newfound interest, because before I took his Introduction to Physical Anthropology course and had the opportunity to work with him for this project, I had never considered doing any research or study with human remains. I am beyond grateful to the Anthropology Department for the opportunity to participate in such a rewarding and influential conference and to Dr. Hefner for mentoring me through the process from application to final presentation.

Above, Right: Lucy takes measurements in the Forensics Lab

Below, Center: Lucy at the G200 Youth Summit

This article appears in our Fall 2016 newsletter. Read the entire newsletter here.