Alexis Boutin | Sonoma State University (original) (raw)

Book Chapters and Articles by Alexis Boutin

Journal of Archaeology and Education, 2023

The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology, 2023

International Journal of Paleopathology , 2022

To critically examine the role that case studies play in recent paleopathological literature, by ... more To critically examine the role that case studies play in recent paleopathological literature, by evaluating their frequency of publication, academic impact, and the public engagement they generate. Materials: Articles published in International Journal of Paleopathology between 2011 and 2018 (N = 377). Methods: Articles were coded as case studies, population studies, methodological studies, or reviews. Case studies were coded as cultural practices, differential diagnosis, historical, or methodological/theoretical. We utilized bibliometric analysis to assess academic impact and altmetric analysis to evaluate public engagement. Results: Case studies continue to be the most frequently published, but least frequently cited, article type. There are no significant differences in public engagement data between article types. Methodological/theoretical case studies have the most academic impact. Differential diagnosis case studies have the least academic impact and generate the least public engagement. Conclusions: The case study genre includes a variety of approaches, some of which hold significant potential for contributing to the discipline of paleopathology and beyond. Significance: This study updates Mays' (2012b) citation analysis, pioneers the use of altmetric data to analyze public engagement with paleopathological publications, and identifies less productive approaches and areas of heightened relevance in the case study genre. Limitations: Publications in only one journal were analyzed. Only one source was utilized for citation data (Google Scholar) and one source for altmetric data (PlumX). Suggestions for future research: Expanding the granular analysis of case studies piloted here to additional journals and/or citation indexes to enlarge the sample size and provide keener insights.

Yearbook of Biological Anthropology, 2022

Bioarchaeology International, 2019

Osteobiography is a research method that offers many benefits to bioarchaeologists, both conceptu... more Osteobiography is a research method that offers many benefits to bioarchaeologists, both conceptual (e.g., disclosing the contingency of the production of scientific knowledge, engaging with the social construction of identities in the past) and practical (e.g., improving outreach to the public and increasing relevance to other academic disciplines). This article focuses on how the practical benefits of osteobiography can be maximized without compromising the conceptual ones. Research by social psychologists suggests that affective modes of interpretation, and accounts of single, identified individuals, are each productive ways of eliciting empathy from, and reducing prejudice in, readers. The current study evaluated whether these effects extend to fictive osteobi-ographical narrative. Respondents to an online questionnaire were randomly assigned to read one of three versions of an osteobiography: analytical technical, analytical colloquial, and affective/analytical narrative. The osteobiographies presented the same bio archae ol o gi cal data and were comparable in length, but they varied in style (exclusively analytical vs. affective and analytical) and language (technical vs. colloquial). The fictive osteobiographical narrative was the only version that was significantly effective at both generating empathy for past peoples and reducing prejudice toward distant places and modern populations. We argue that affective modes of osteobiographical interpretation such as fictive narrative styles of writing should be pursued more frequently and such interpretations should be disseminated more widely by bioarchaeologists as a means of public outreach. La osteobiografía es un método de investigación que ofrece muchos beneficios a los bioarqueólog os, en lo conceptual (por ejemplo revelando la contingencia de la producción del conocimiento científico, captando a las con-strucciónes sociales de identidades del pasado) y lo práctico (por ejemplo, mejorando el alcance al público y aumentando la pertinencia a otras disciplinas académicas). Este artículo se enfoca en cómo los beneficios prácti-cos de la osteobiografía se pueden maximizar sin comprometer los que son conceptuales. Investigaciones hechas por los psicólog os sociales sugiere que los modos de interpretación afectivos, y cuentas de individuales, son maneras productivas de provocar la empatía desde, y reducir los prejuicios en los lectores. El estudio actual evaluó si estos efectos extendieron a la narrativa osteobiográfica imaginaria. Encuestados en un cuestionario en línea fueron al azar asignados a leer una de tres versiones de una osteobiografía: técnica analítica, analítica familiar , y la narrativa afectiva y analítica. Las osteobiografías presentaron los mismos datos bioarquelógicos y fueron compatibles en largo, pero fueron variados en estilo (exclusivamente analíticos en contra de afectivo y analítico) y en idioma (técnico en contra de lo familiar). La narrativa imaginaria de osteobiografía era la única versión que era considerablemente efectiva en generando empatía para las personas del pasado, y en reducir los prejuicios en

Life and Death in Ancient Arabia: Mortuary and Bioarchaeological Perspectives, 2019

Bioarchaeologists Speak Out: Deep Time Perspectives on Contemporary Issues

Bioarchaeological Analyses and Bodies: New Ways of Knowing Anatomical and Archaeological Skeletal Collections, 2018

Bioarchaeologists have worked with stakeholders, including descendant communities, for decades. W... more Bioarchaeologists have worked with stakeholders, including descendant communities, for decades. While many mutually fulfilling engagements have occurred, they are underreported compared to reluctant, even combative, encounters. In this commentary we provide a comprehensive review of the published literature on the variety of collaborations that have taken place between bioarchaeologists and other stakeholder communities. Two ongoing bio archae ol o gi cal research projects that use methods from oral history and ethnography to negotiate the complexities of, and enhance collaboration with, diverse stakeholder groups are then presented. These include the contextualized analysis of a skull from the second millennium B.C. southern Levant that is now part of a teaching collection, and the search for the remains of the only Euro-American casualties of California's Bear Flag Revolt of 1846. Having demonstrated the frequency of bioarchaeologists' community partnerships, we conclude by recommending how their quality and visibility can be improved, in particular by employing methods from ethnography and oral history. In sum, an approach to bioarchaeology that respects, prioritizes, and effectively incorporates stakeholder input will ensure a more inclusive process, broader relevance, and more meaningful results—thus improving the discipline as a whole. Los bioarqueólogos han trabajado con las partes interesadas, incluyendo las comunidades descendientes, du-rante décadas. Mientras que muchos acuerdos con beneficio mutuo se han realizado, esos son documentados con menos frecuencia comparados con los encuentros que eran renuentes, incluso combativos. En este comen-tario, ofrecemos una revisión exhaustiva de la literatura publicada sobre la variedad de colaboraciones que han pasado entre los bioarqueólogos y otras comunidades interesadas. A continuación se presenta dos proyectos de investigación bioarqueológica en curso que utilizan métodos de la historia oral y la etnografía para negociar las complejidades relacionadas y mejorar la colaboración con diversos grupos de actores interesados. Estos incluyen el análisis contextualizado de un cráneo del segundo milenio del sur de Levante que ahora forma parte de una colec-ción de enseñanza, y la búsqueda de los restos de las únicas víctimas euroamericanas de la rebelión de Bear Flag de California en 1846. Habiendo demostrado la frecuencia de las asociaciones comunitarias en que se involucran los bioarqueólogos, concluimos recomendando formas que podrían mejorar su calidad y visibilidad, en particular empleando métodos de etnografía e historia oral. En resumen, un enfoque en el campo de la bioarqueología que respete, priorice e incorpore efectivamente el aporte de las partes interesadas que garantice un proceso más inclu-sivo, una relevancia más amplia y los resultados más significativos, mejorando así la disciplina en total.

This article presents an overview of the Peter B. Cornwall collection in the Phoebe A. Hearst Mus... more This article presents an overview of the Peter B. Cornwall collection in the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. Cornwall conducted an archaeological survey and excavation project in eastern Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in 1940 and 1941. At least twenty-four burial features were excavated in Bahrain from five different tumuli fields, and surface survey and artefact collection took place on at least sixteen sites in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The skeletal evidence, objects and faunal remains were subsequently accessioned by the Hearst Museum. The authors recently formed the Dilmun Bioarchaeology Project to investigate this collection. This article provides background information on Cornwall's expedition and an overview of the collection. Additionally, skeletal evidence and associated objects from two tumuli in Bahrain, D1 and G20, are presented to illustrate the collection's potential contribution. Although the tumuli's precise locations cannot be determined, associated objects help assign relative dates to these interments at the beginning of the second millennium BCE, the Early Dilmun Period.

Considering that paleopathology is the study of ancient disease, the social correlates of disabli... more Considering that paleopathology is the study of ancient disease, the social correlates of disabling conditions in the past have been undertheorized by bioarchaeologists and paleopathologists. I offer the Bioarchaeology of Personhood as a model that, when paired with traditional analytical techniques, can enhance bioarchaeologists’ ability both to explore the social construction of disability and to engage with an interested public. This model is based upon five tenets: (1) modern Western constructs of identity and individuality are not universal; (2) personhood is comprised of many facets, which are entangled with one another and are prioritized situationally; (3) a longitudinal “life course” paradigm is well-suited to the bioarchaeological investigation of personhood; (4) personhood can extend beyond the biological lifespan; (5) bioarchaeologists should be open to alternative modes of interpretation and outreach. Its strengths include the use of multiple lines of interdisciplinary evidence, accessibility to diverse academic and public audiences, effectiveness as a pedagogical tool, and articulation with other theoretical frameworks. The utility of the Bioarchaeology of Personhood model is demonstrated with a case study from ancient Bahrain, in which the embodied life course of a young woman with disabilities is reconstructed via fictive narrative.

In Remembering the Dead in the Ancient Near East: Recent Contributions from Bioarchaeology and Mo... more In Remembering the Dead in the Ancient Near East: Recent Contributions from Bioarchaeology and Mortuary Archaeology. B.W. Porter and A.T. Boutin, eds. University Press of Colorado, pp. 97-132.

In this chapter, I draw on human skeletal remains and their burial contexts from the archaeologic... more In this chapter, I draw on human skeletal remains and their burial contexts from the archaeological site of Alalakh (Tell Atchana), a regional capital of ancient Syria, to articulate a "bioarchaeology of personhood." I integrate osteological and archaeological data by means of osteobiographical methods, which draw on sociohistoric contextual information to investigate the social production of embodied personhood throughout and beyond the life course. To convey this small-scale approach, I present fictive osteobiographical narratives that employ multiple voices and perspectives to play across the life-death, subject-object continua, thus acknowledging the multivocality that characterizes both the creation of bioarchaeological knowledge and the plurality of past people's experiences.

Near Eastern Archaeology, 2012

Reviews by Alexis Boutin

California Archaeology, 2024

Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2009

Journal of Archaeology and Education, 2023

The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology, 2023

International Journal of Paleopathology , 2022

To critically examine the role that case studies play in recent paleopathological literature, by ... more To critically examine the role that case studies play in recent paleopathological literature, by evaluating their frequency of publication, academic impact, and the public engagement they generate. Materials: Articles published in International Journal of Paleopathology between 2011 and 2018 (N = 377). Methods: Articles were coded as case studies, population studies, methodological studies, or reviews. Case studies were coded as cultural practices, differential diagnosis, historical, or methodological/theoretical. We utilized bibliometric analysis to assess academic impact and altmetric analysis to evaluate public engagement. Results: Case studies continue to be the most frequently published, but least frequently cited, article type. There are no significant differences in public engagement data between article types. Methodological/theoretical case studies have the most academic impact. Differential diagnosis case studies have the least academic impact and generate the least public engagement. Conclusions: The case study genre includes a variety of approaches, some of which hold significant potential for contributing to the discipline of paleopathology and beyond. Significance: This study updates Mays' (2012b) citation analysis, pioneers the use of altmetric data to analyze public engagement with paleopathological publications, and identifies less productive approaches and areas of heightened relevance in the case study genre. Limitations: Publications in only one journal were analyzed. Only one source was utilized for citation data (Google Scholar) and one source for altmetric data (PlumX). Suggestions for future research: Expanding the granular analysis of case studies piloted here to additional journals and/or citation indexes to enlarge the sample size and provide keener insights.

Yearbook of Biological Anthropology, 2022

Bioarchaeology International, 2019

Osteobiography is a research method that offers many benefits to bioarchaeologists, both conceptu... more Osteobiography is a research method that offers many benefits to bioarchaeologists, both conceptual (e.g., disclosing the contingency of the production of scientific knowledge, engaging with the social construction of identities in the past) and practical (e.g., improving outreach to the public and increasing relevance to other academic disciplines). This article focuses on how the practical benefits of osteobiography can be maximized without compromising the conceptual ones. Research by social psychologists suggests that affective modes of interpretation, and accounts of single, identified individuals, are each productive ways of eliciting empathy from, and reducing prejudice in, readers. The current study evaluated whether these effects extend to fictive osteobi-ographical narrative. Respondents to an online questionnaire were randomly assigned to read one of three versions of an osteobiography: analytical technical, analytical colloquial, and affective/analytical narrative. The osteobiographies presented the same bio archae ol o gi cal data and were comparable in length, but they varied in style (exclusively analytical vs. affective and analytical) and language (technical vs. colloquial). The fictive osteobiographical narrative was the only version that was significantly effective at both generating empathy for past peoples and reducing prejudice toward distant places and modern populations. We argue that affective modes of osteobiographical interpretation such as fictive narrative styles of writing should be pursued more frequently and such interpretations should be disseminated more widely by bioarchaeologists as a means of public outreach. La osteobiografía es un método de investigación que ofrece muchos beneficios a los bioarqueólog os, en lo conceptual (por ejemplo revelando la contingencia de la producción del conocimiento científico, captando a las con-strucciónes sociales de identidades del pasado) y lo práctico (por ejemplo, mejorando el alcance al público y aumentando la pertinencia a otras disciplinas académicas). Este artículo se enfoca en cómo los beneficios prácti-cos de la osteobiografía se pueden maximizar sin comprometer los que son conceptuales. Investigaciones hechas por los psicólog os sociales sugiere que los modos de interpretación afectivos, y cuentas de individuales, son maneras productivas de provocar la empatía desde, y reducir los prejuicios en los lectores. El estudio actual evaluó si estos efectos extendieron a la narrativa osteobiográfica imaginaria. Encuestados en un cuestionario en línea fueron al azar asignados a leer una de tres versiones de una osteobiografía: técnica analítica, analítica familiar , y la narrativa afectiva y analítica. Las osteobiografías presentaron los mismos datos bioarquelógicos y fueron compatibles en largo, pero fueron variados en estilo (exclusivamente analíticos en contra de afectivo y analítico) y en idioma (técnico en contra de lo familiar). La narrativa imaginaria de osteobiografía era la única versión que era considerablemente efectiva en generando empatía para las personas del pasado, y en reducir los prejuicios en

Life and Death in Ancient Arabia: Mortuary and Bioarchaeological Perspectives, 2019

Bioarchaeologists Speak Out: Deep Time Perspectives on Contemporary Issues

Bioarchaeological Analyses and Bodies: New Ways of Knowing Anatomical and Archaeological Skeletal Collections, 2018

Bioarchaeologists have worked with stakeholders, including descendant communities, for decades. W... more Bioarchaeologists have worked with stakeholders, including descendant communities, for decades. While many mutually fulfilling engagements have occurred, they are underreported compared to reluctant, even combative, encounters. In this commentary we provide a comprehensive review of the published literature on the variety of collaborations that have taken place between bioarchaeologists and other stakeholder communities. Two ongoing bio archae ol o gi cal research projects that use methods from oral history and ethnography to negotiate the complexities of, and enhance collaboration with, diverse stakeholder groups are then presented. These include the contextualized analysis of a skull from the second millennium B.C. southern Levant that is now part of a teaching collection, and the search for the remains of the only Euro-American casualties of California's Bear Flag Revolt of 1846. Having demonstrated the frequency of bioarchaeologists' community partnerships, we conclude by recommending how their quality and visibility can be improved, in particular by employing methods from ethnography and oral history. In sum, an approach to bioarchaeology that respects, prioritizes, and effectively incorporates stakeholder input will ensure a more inclusive process, broader relevance, and more meaningful results—thus improving the discipline as a whole. Los bioarqueólogos han trabajado con las partes interesadas, incluyendo las comunidades descendientes, du-rante décadas. Mientras que muchos acuerdos con beneficio mutuo se han realizado, esos son documentados con menos frecuencia comparados con los encuentros que eran renuentes, incluso combativos. En este comen-tario, ofrecemos una revisión exhaustiva de la literatura publicada sobre la variedad de colaboraciones que han pasado entre los bioarqueólogos y otras comunidades interesadas. A continuación se presenta dos proyectos de investigación bioarqueológica en curso que utilizan métodos de la historia oral y la etnografía para negociar las complejidades relacionadas y mejorar la colaboración con diversos grupos de actores interesados. Estos incluyen el análisis contextualizado de un cráneo del segundo milenio del sur de Levante que ahora forma parte de una colec-ción de enseñanza, y la búsqueda de los restos de las únicas víctimas euroamericanas de la rebelión de Bear Flag de California en 1846. Habiendo demostrado la frecuencia de las asociaciones comunitarias en que se involucran los bioarqueólogos, concluimos recomendando formas que podrían mejorar su calidad y visibilidad, en particular empleando métodos de etnografía e historia oral. En resumen, un enfoque en el campo de la bioarqueología que respete, priorice e incorpore efectivamente el aporte de las partes interesadas que garantice un proceso más inclu-sivo, una relevancia más amplia y los resultados más significativos, mejorando así la disciplina en total.

This article presents an overview of the Peter B. Cornwall collection in the Phoebe A. Hearst Mus... more This article presents an overview of the Peter B. Cornwall collection in the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. Cornwall conducted an archaeological survey and excavation project in eastern Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in 1940 and 1941. At least twenty-four burial features were excavated in Bahrain from five different tumuli fields, and surface survey and artefact collection took place on at least sixteen sites in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The skeletal evidence, objects and faunal remains were subsequently accessioned by the Hearst Museum. The authors recently formed the Dilmun Bioarchaeology Project to investigate this collection. This article provides background information on Cornwall's expedition and an overview of the collection. Additionally, skeletal evidence and associated objects from two tumuli in Bahrain, D1 and G20, are presented to illustrate the collection's potential contribution. Although the tumuli's precise locations cannot be determined, associated objects help assign relative dates to these interments at the beginning of the second millennium BCE, the Early Dilmun Period.

Considering that paleopathology is the study of ancient disease, the social correlates of disabli... more Considering that paleopathology is the study of ancient disease, the social correlates of disabling conditions in the past have been undertheorized by bioarchaeologists and paleopathologists. I offer the Bioarchaeology of Personhood as a model that, when paired with traditional analytical techniques, can enhance bioarchaeologists’ ability both to explore the social construction of disability and to engage with an interested public. This model is based upon five tenets: (1) modern Western constructs of identity and individuality are not universal; (2) personhood is comprised of many facets, which are entangled with one another and are prioritized situationally; (3) a longitudinal “life course” paradigm is well-suited to the bioarchaeological investigation of personhood; (4) personhood can extend beyond the biological lifespan; (5) bioarchaeologists should be open to alternative modes of interpretation and outreach. Its strengths include the use of multiple lines of interdisciplinary evidence, accessibility to diverse academic and public audiences, effectiveness as a pedagogical tool, and articulation with other theoretical frameworks. The utility of the Bioarchaeology of Personhood model is demonstrated with a case study from ancient Bahrain, in which the embodied life course of a young woman with disabilities is reconstructed via fictive narrative.

In Remembering the Dead in the Ancient Near East: Recent Contributions from Bioarchaeology and Mo... more In Remembering the Dead in the Ancient Near East: Recent Contributions from Bioarchaeology and Mortuary Archaeology. B.W. Porter and A.T. Boutin, eds. University Press of Colorado, pp. 97-132.

In this chapter, I draw on human skeletal remains and their burial contexts from the archaeologic... more In this chapter, I draw on human skeletal remains and their burial contexts from the archaeological site of Alalakh (Tell Atchana), a regional capital of ancient Syria, to articulate a "bioarchaeology of personhood." I integrate osteological and archaeological data by means of osteobiographical methods, which draw on sociohistoric contextual information to investigate the social production of embodied personhood throughout and beyond the life course. To convey this small-scale approach, I present fictive osteobiographical narratives that employ multiple voices and perspectives to play across the life-death, subject-object continua, thus acknowledging the multivocality that characterizes both the creation of bioarchaeological knowledge and the plurality of past people's experiences.

Near Eastern Archaeology, 2012

California Archaeology, 2024

Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2009

American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 2022

Buikstra, J.E., DeWitte, S.N., Agarwal, S.C., Baker, B.J., Bartelink, E.J., Berger, E., Blevins, ... more Buikstra, J.E., DeWitte, S.N., Agarwal, S.C., Baker, B.J., Bartelink, E.J., Berger, E., Blevins, K.E., Bolhofner, K., Boutin, A.T., Brickley, M.B., Buzon, M.R., de la Cova, C., Goldstein, L., Grauer, A.L., Gregoricka, L.A., Halcrow, S.E., Hall, S.A., Hillson, S., Kakaliouris, A.M., Klaus, H.D., Knudson, K.J., Knüsel, C.J., Larsen, C.S., Martin, D.L., Milner, G.R., Novak, M., Nystrom, K.C., Pacheco-Forés, S.I., Prowse, T.L., Robbins Schug, G., Roberts, C.A., Rothwell, J.E., Santos, A. L., Stojanowski, C., Stone, A.C., Stull, K.E., Temple, D.H., Torres, C.M., Toyne, J. M., Tung, T.A., Ullinger, J., Wiltschke-Schrotta, K., and Zakrzewski, S.R. In press. 21st century bioarchaeology: Taking stock and moving forward. Yearbook of Biological Anthropology. This article presents outcomes from a Workshop entitled “Bioarchaeology: Taking Stock and Moving Forward,” which was held at Arizona State University (ASU) on March 6–8, 2020. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the School of Human Evolution and Social Change (ASU), and the Center for Bioarchaeological Research (CBR, ASU), the Workshop's overall goal was to explore reasons why research proposals submitted by bioarchaeologists, both graduate students and established scholars, fared disproportionately poorly within recent NSF Anthropology Program competitions and to offer advice for increasing success. Therefore, this Workshop comprised 43 international scholars and four advanced graduate students with a history of successful grant acquisition, primarily from the United States. Ulti- mately, we focused on two related aims: (1) best practices for improving research designs and training and (2) evaluating topics of contemporary significance that rever- berate through history and beyond as promising trajectories for bioarchaeological research. Among the former were contextual grounding, research question/hypothesis generation, statistical procedures appropriate for small samples and mixed qualitative/ quantitative data, the salience of Bayesian methods, and training program content. Top- ical foci included ethics, social inequality, identity (including intersectionality), climate change, migration, violence, epidemic disease, adaptability/plasticity, the osteological paradox, and the developmental origins of health and disease. Given the profound changes required globally to address decolonization in the 21st century, this concern also entered many formal and informal discussions.

Near Eastern Archaeology, 2012

This is a collection assessment of the Peter B. Cornwall Collection at the P.A. Hearst Museum of ... more This is a collection assessment of the Peter B. Cornwall Collection at the P.A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology performed in 2009.

Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy 23: 35-49, 2012

This article presents an overview of the Peter B. Cornwall collection in the Phoebe A. Hearst Mus... more This article presents an overview of the Peter B. Cornwall collection in the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. Cornwall conducted an archaeological survey and excavation project in eastern Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in 1940 and 1941. At least twenty-four burial features were excavated in Bahrain from five different tumuli fields, and surface survey and artefact collection took place on at least sixteen sites in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The skeletal evidence, objects and faunal remains were subsequently accessioned by the Hearst Museum. The authors recently formed the Dilmun Bioarchaeology Project to investigate this collection. This article provides background information on Cornwall’s expedition and an overview of the collection. Additionally, skeletal evidence and associated objects from two tumuli in Bahrain, D1 and G20, are presented to illustrate the collection’s potential contribution. Although the tumuli’s precise locations cannot be determined, associated objects help assign relative dates to these interments at the beginning of the second millennium BCE, the Early Dilmun Period.

Near Eastern Archaeology 75(2): 68-79 , 2012

In this assignment, you will learn more about anti-colonialist efforts by African and African-Ame... more In this assignment, you will learn more about anti-colonialist efforts by African and African-American archaeologists by visiting at least three websites of your choice. Then, you will apply the knowledge you’ve acquired to a new situation, by preparing a (hypothetical) grant application for an anti-colonialist archaeological excavation project focused on a site in either Nubia or the Zimbabwe Pattern. The process of preparing a grant application will require you to think through all of the steps of the archaeological research process, in the context of research on Nubia or the Zimbabwe Pattern (where archaeological research has historically been conducted in a colonialist manner). You will also reflect on what this assignment, as well as the course as a whole, has taught you about the practice of archaeology and its approach to studying the human past.

In this course, we will learn about health and disease in the past, from our hominin ancestors to... more In this course, we will learn about health and disease in the past, from our hominin ancestors to the mid-20 th century. Our primary methodological and theoretical lens will be from bioarchaeology, the study of human remains from archaeological and historical settings. Human morbidity and mortality rates are the result of intertwined cultural traditions, social organization, and biological traits. The ways that people understand disease causation and experience symptoms of illness depend upon their cultural contexts. Evidence for these processes in the past can be derived from human remains, material culture, ethnography, epidemiology, written texts, and iconography. As such, this course integrates bioarchaeological approaches with those from medical anthropology, public health, history, and other branches of biological anthropology. This course will also emphasize themes of structural violence, social justice, and modern relevance. Students are required to have completed G.E. Area B2 as a prerequisite for this course. For Anthropology majors, this course fulfills the upper division Biological Anthropology area requirement. In addition, this course has been designated as a WIC (Writing Intensive Curriculum) course. This means that the course is specifically and especially designed to help you develop writing abilities at the advanced level. You will be doing a lot of writing in the class

This is a class assignment that I created on the basis of my publications about fictional osteobi... more This is a class assignment that I created on the basis of my publications about fictional osteobiographical narratives. It includes a list of case studies that would serve as good subjects for such narratives. The students who wrote the narratives reported strong engagement with the assignment, and two of them will be presented at a regional conference this Fall.

This is an assignment that I used in an upper-division Bioarchaeology course at Sonoma State Univ... more This is an assignment that I used in an upper-division Bioarchaeology course at Sonoma State University. I tweaked it since the first use based on student feedback. The students had a lot of fun and the videos got a lot of positive responses on Facebook.