Dr. Rebecca Gilmour of Mount Royal University talks about bones, their mechanics, and how we can use both to understand humans' lives in the past -- especially around her main focus of disability and care in ancient Rome. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Ed. CS Hirst, RJ Gilmour, FA Cardoso, KA Plomp. (2023). Behaviour in our Bones: How Human Behaviour Influences Skeletal Morphology. Elsevier. Gilmour, Rebecca & Plomp, Kimberly. (2022). The Changing Shape of Palaeopathology: The Contribution of Skeletal Shape Analyses to Investigations of ..read more

Dr. Jesse Goliath of Mississippi State University joins the show to talk about forensic anthropology, including how he ended up in forensic anthropology and how he developed the Mississippi Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons. We also talk about the complicated relationship between race and forensic anthopology, along with the importance of bringing diverse perspectives to the field. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Dr. Goliath's personal website Dr. Goliath's faculty profile page at MS State Dr. Goliath's ResearchGate profile The ..read more

Dr. Christine Drea of Duke University joined the show to talk about mechanisms of female dominance, which is when females of a species are more dominant in groups than males. Dr. Drea looks at how genetics, hormones, and social dynamics interact with each other to result in female dominance in hyenas, meerkats, and lemurs. Content warning: We talk about animal genitalia and hyenas' traumatic birthing process. Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites and articles: Dr. Drea’s faculty page at Duke University Dr. Drea’s website Dr. Drea’s ResearchGate profile Dixons, A ..read more

Dr. Lauren Butaric of University of Florida joined the show to talk about sinuses - what they are, why we have them, how they can be used in forensic contexts, and what they can tell us about people. I personally love these anatomy-based discussions. It's just so exciting to do a deep dive into these dark cavities. Here are some of the articles I found helpful while prepping for this episode: Campbell, Jessica & Butaric, Lauren. (2022). Technical Modifications for the Application of the Total Difference Method for Frontal Sinus Comparison. Biology. 11. 1075. 10.3390/biology11071075. Butar ..read more

Dr. Gwen Robbins Schug from the University of North Carolina - Greebsboro discusses some of the projects her lab is working on, including skeletal and dental pathology in past populations and istopic analysis of human remains. She also touches on the importance of integrating biological anthropology into climate change and global health policies. These two articles are great examples of how bio anthro could inform policymaking: G. Robbins Schug, S. E. Halcrow, Building a bioarchaeology of pandemic, epidemic, and syndemic diseases: Lessons for understanding COVID-19. Bioarchaeol. Int.&nbs ..read more

Dr. Sholts of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History joins the show to discuss her new book, The Human Disease: How We Create Pandemics, from Our Bodies to Our Beliefs. Dr. Sholts uses an anthropological lens to understand epidemics. She touches on One Health, historical and current epidemics, the role misinformation plays in the spread of disease, and science communication.   Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode: Sholts, S. (2024). The Human Disease: How We Create Pandemics, from our Bodies to Our Beliefs. MIT Press. Dr. Sholt's Google Scholar profi ..read more

Dr. Griffin of San Francisco State University joins the show to discuss dental caries and toothwear in pre-contact Native American groups.  Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode: Griffin, MC. (2014). Biocultural implication of oral pathology in an ancient central California population. Am J Phys Anthropol, 154(2), 171-188. Griffin, MC. (2018). The End of Prehistory in the Land of Coosa: Oral Health in a Late Mississippian Village. In S Chappell Hodge & KA Shuler Bioarchaeology of the American Southeast: Approaches to Bridging Health and Identity in the Past (1st ed., p ..read more

Dr. Wescott of Texas State University joins the show to discuss the Texas State body farm (Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State - FACTS) and the forensic research carried out there. Books, articles, and selected people mentioned in this episode: Dr. Wescott's ResearchGate profile Haglund & Sorg, Advances in Forensic Taphonomy: Method, Theory, and Archeological Perspectives DO Carter, D Yellowlees, M Tibbett  “Cadaver decomposition in terrestrial ecology”, Science of Nature 94(1), 2007 Lee Lyman, Vertebrate Taphonomy PS Barton, D Lindenmeyer, AD Manning, SA Cunningham, “Th ..read more

Dr. Goodson (Cambridge University) and Dr. Trombley (Augustana University) join forces on the show to discuss their bioarchaeological-historical collaboration to understand the Medieval mouth. Learn about what Books, articles, and selected people mentioned in this episode: Medieval Mouths in Context: Biocultural and MultiScalar Considerations of the Mouth and the Case of Late-Medieval Villamagna, Italy Dr. Roberta Gilchrist, Medieval Life: Archaeology and the Life Course Dr. Virginia Burruss, Earthquakes and Gardens: Saint Hilarion’s Cyprus Dr. Karl Jacoby, The Strange Car ..read more

Dr. Trent Trombley of Augustana University joins the show to talk about his research at Villamagna, a medieval settlement outside of Rome. He uses macroscopic analysis of teeth along with a few other methods to understand life in the past. Links mentioned in the show: Dr. Trombley's ResearchGate profile Making Sense of Medieval Mouths: Investigating Sex Differences of Dental Pathological Lesions in a Late Medieval Italian Community Growing up at Villamagna: Sex, Gender, and Stress During Growth and Development in a Medieval Italian Community ..read more