Danielle Kurin served an assistant professor - and later as a tenured associate professor - at the University of California, Santa Barbara who taught graduate and undergraduate courses in anthropology. Danielle Kurin holds both a master's degree and a PhD in anthropology from Vanderbilt University. She has acquired field experience on many archaeological sites and spearheaded a number of projects in the Andes, investigating among others the Chanka who flourished in the period between the demise of the Wari empire and the rise of the Inca..
Bioarchaeology is the study of the human remains of ancient cultures from archaeological sites. Findings in this field enable researchers to reconstruct human activities, disease, and overall health patterns from various historical times. The term can be traced back to the early 1970s when Sir John Grahame Douglas Clark, a British archaeologist, used the word to expound on his investigation of faunal remains (animal carcasses including hides, bones, shells, scales, and proteins) at Star Carr. Star Carr is an antediluvian site in North Yorkshire, England.
Interest in bioarchaeology in America grew in part due to the influence of Jane Ellen Buikstra. In the late 1970s, the American bioarchaeologist and anthropologist published a book about biocultural adaptation in prehistoric America titled, “Biocultural dimensions of archeological study: A regional perspective.” In the work, she defined bioarchaeology as “a multidisciplinary research program addressing questions of burial, social organization, behavior and activities, paleodemography, population interaction, diet, and disease.” This definition has been recognized throughout the US as the standard definition for bioarchaeology. Among other key figures were Clark Larsen and Kurin's predecessor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Phillip Walker.
Modern bioarchaeology integrates multiple academic disciplines, including paleodemography (the study of the demography of ancient populations), archaeology, paleogenetics (the application of genetics to paleontology), biology, sociology, mortuary studies, and cultural anthropology to explain over ten millennia worth of humanity.
Bioarchaeology is the study of the human remains of ancient cultures from archaeological sites. Findings in this field enable researchers to reconstruct human activities, disease, and overall health patterns from various historical times. The term can be traced back to the early 1970s when Sir John Grahame Douglas Clark, a British archaeologist, used the word to expound on his investigation of faunal remains (animal carcasses including hides, bones, shells, scales, and proteins) at Star Carr. Star Carr is an antediluvian site in North Yorkshire, England.
Interest in bioarchaeology in America grew in part due to the influence of Jane Ellen Buikstra. In the late 1970s, the American bioarchaeologist and anthropologist published a book about biocultural adaptation in prehistoric America titled, “Biocultural dimensions of archeological study: A regional perspective.” In the work, she defined bioarchaeology as “a multidisciplinary research program addressing questions of burial, social organization, behavior and activities, paleodemography, population interaction, diet, and disease.” This definition has been recognized throughout the US as the standard definition for bioarchaeology. Among other key figures were Clark Larsen and Kurin's predecessor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Phillip Walker.
Modern bioarchaeology integrates multiple academic disciplines, including paleodemography (the study of the demography of ancient populations), archaeology, paleogenetics (the application of genetics to paleontology), biology, sociology, mortuary studies, and cultural anthropology to explain over ten millennia worth of humanity.
