Death Comes to Stonehenge: The Burned Remains
There is something mysterious about Stonehenge. I have a very distinct memory of visiting Stonehenge as a child, seeing the standing rocks in the distance Perhaps it was the fog and grey […]
Category Archives: Bioarchaeology
Recovering the Stories of Children in the Past at SAA 2016 (Part I)
This past week, I have been lucky enough to be enjoying the sunshine of Florida, rather than the snow and freezing rain of Michigan at this year’s Society for American […]
I like my corpses like I like my pretzels. Salted.
I’ve been reading a lot of interesting food non-fiction books in my sparse free time as a way to relax after long days of dissertation preparation and article writing. I’ve […]
Restoring Lost Narratives: Early Medieval Muslim Graves in France
When people ask me why archaeology is important, or why I’ve chosen to study human remains and funerary practices, I often cite the importance of bringing individual stories back into […]
New Morbid Terminology: Phossy Jaw, The Occupational Disease of Matchstick Makers
There are a range of diseases, traumas and skeletal markers that can occur regularly with certain types of occupations. One historic example is called Tailor’s Notches. These are small indentations […]
Collective Burial: Emphasizing Community in Neolithic Spain
In the United States, historically we chose to bury our dead with our family and community. People would buy large plots within cemeteries where they could bury their relatives over […]
New Morbid Terminology: Coffin Birth
Since I’m currently in the process of preparing to defend my dissertation (yay!), I’m going to be re-posting some of my favorite past articles! Recently, Caitlin Doughty of “Ask a […]
Scurvy- Not Just For Pirates Anymore!
Regardless of how many articles I read on scurvy, or how many skeletons I’ve seen showing evidence of the deficiency of vitamin C, or how many times I’m reminding that […]
Who Died In The Leprosarium of Saint-Thomas d’Aizier?
Leprosy is a fascinating disease- not just for its effects, but for the social implications of having the disease. Leprosy was an epidemic disease that not only infected millions of […]
Living on the Edge: Bioarchaeology of Medieval Iceland
It is the first week of school here at Michigan State University, and not surprisingly, we’ve got super high temperatures and crazy humidity. It feels like you’re entering a steam […]
Bones Don't Lie 