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 […]
Category Archives: Mortuary Archaeology
Importance of Field Work: Sifting to Recover Bones
Continuing with our theme of focusing on excavation and field work in mortuary archaeology, let’s look at another important step of the process: sifting. While the excavation is progressing, the […]
Importance of Field Work: Careful Excavation and Archaeothanatology
During the month of June, I will be the teaching assistant for the Michigan State University Campus Archaeology Field School. This is a unique field school because it gives students […]
SAA2015: Bioarchaeology and Mortuary Archaeology of Europe
This past week, I’ve been at the Society for American Archaeology meeting in San Francisco, CA. Sadly, many of the interesting mortuary and bioarchaeology sessions overlapped with one another so […]
Bioarchaeology of a Royal Burial from Palenque
Palenque is perhaps one of the most famous and most studied archaeological sites of the Maya. It was actually one of the first places that led me to become more […]
Taphonomic Analysis of Neolithic Seated Burials
Taphonomy is the study of how organisms decay and become altered following their death. Understanding how this process manifests in human burials during the excavation is extremely important, and can […]
St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick was born in 387 CE in Great Britain, not Ireland, and he was considered a pagan for the early years of his life. When he was 16, he […]
The Swept Up Remains of Infants
The treatment of infants in the past can vary significantly from their treatment in modern times; which is why a recent find from Italy has caused discussion. The excavation at Poggio […]
Using Diet to find Social Structure in Anglo-Saxon England
One’s social status can determine a lot about one’s bones. It is quite easy to see in modern populations the differences in health based on wealth and access. Wealthier […]
The Pluvial Priestess from Peru
Over the past few weeks there have been numerous articles and press releases regarding a tomb found in Peru. Each week it seems they find out something new and interesting […]
Bones Don't Lie 