Jane E. Buikstra
Encyclopedia
Jane Ellen Buikstra is an American anthropologist and bioarchaeologist. She is credited with coining and defining bioarchaeology
in the US as the application of biological anthropological methods to the study of archaeological problems. Emphasis was placed on problem-oriented research. Relevant topics include mortuary studies, paleopathology
, paleodemography
, biological distance, paleogenetics
, among others.
from DePauw University
, Indiana
in 1967 and her Masters and Doctorate degrees, also in Anthropology
from the University of Chicago
. She is a Diplomate for the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and sat on the Board of Directors for the year 1999 - 2000. She has served as faculty at Northwestern University
, University of Chicago
, and the University of New Mexico
. Buikstra was previously Leslie Spier Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico
. She currently serves a professor and director of the Center for Bioarchaeological Research, a unit within the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University
, Tempe
, Arizona
.
Buikstra is also President of the Board of Directors of the Center for American Archeology
in Kampsville, Illinois
.
Bioarchaeology
The term bioarchaeology was first coined by British archaeologist Grahame Clark in 1972 as a reference to zooarchaeology, or the study of animal bones from archaeological sites...
in the US as the application of biological anthropological methods to the study of archaeological problems. Emphasis was placed on problem-oriented research. Relevant topics include mortuary studies, paleopathology
Paleopathology
Paleopathology, also spelled palaeopathology, is the study of ancient diseases. It is useful in understanding the past history of diseases, and uses this understanding to predict its course in the future.- History of paleopathology :...
, paleodemography
Paleodemography
Paleodemography is the study of ancient human mortality, fertility, and migration.More specifically, paleodemography looks at the changes in pre-modern populations in order to determine something about the influences on the lifespan and health of earlier peoples.Because case studies that are common...
, biological distance, paleogenetics
Paleogenetics
Paleogenetics is the application of genetics to paleontology. It has been applied to the study of parasite evolution. Emile Zuckerkandl and American 20th century physical chemist Linus Carl Pauling introduced the term paleogenetics in 1963. Further, biologist Svante Pääbo is seen as its "founding...
, among others.
Biography
She obtained a Bachelors degree in AnthropologyAnthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
from DePauw University
DePauw University
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
in 1967 and her Masters and Doctorate degrees, also in Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. She is a Diplomate for the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and sat on the Board of Directors for the year 1999 - 2000. She has served as faculty at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
. Buikstra was previously Leslie Spier Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
. She currently serves a professor and director of the Center for Bioarchaeological Research, a unit within the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, Tempe
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2010 population of 161,719. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in the East Valley section of metropolitan Phoenix; it is bordered by Phoenix and Guadalupe on the west, Scottsdale...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
Buikstra is also President of the Board of Directors of the Center for American Archeology
Center for American Archeology
The Center for American Archeology, or CAA, is an independent non-profit 501 research and education institution located near the Illinois River, in Kampsville, Illinois, USA...
in Kampsville, Illinois
Kampsville, Illinois
Kampsville is a village in Calhoun County, Illinois, United States, located on the west bank of the Illinois River. The population was 350 at the 2000 census.-General information:...
.
Fieldwork
- North American Midwest, 18 Projects, 1966-
- Canadian Arctic, 1 Project, 1969
- Argentina, Santa Fe la Vieja, 1980–1982, 1984, 1987
- Brazil, Marajo Expedition, 1983–1986
- Peru, Programa Contisuyu, 1984-
- Spain, Gatas Expedition, 1986-
- Turkey, Çayönü Tepesi, 1988
- Honduras, 1995-
Selected publications
- Jane E. Buikstra, Douglas Ubelaker eds. Standards for Data Collection from Human Skeletal Remains: Proceedings of a Seminar at the Field Museum of Natural History. Arkansas Archaeological Survey Press, Fayetteville, (1994).
- Jane E. Buikstra. “Tombs for the Living . . . or For the Dead: The Osmore Ancestors". In Tombs for the Ancestors, T. DillehayTom DillehayTom Dillehay is an American anthropologist who is the Rebecca Webb Wilson University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Religion, and Culture and Professor of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University. While working at Universidad Austral de Chile he was involved in the excavations at Monte Verde...
, ed., Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C. pp. 229–280 (1995). - Jane E. Buikstra, “Studying Maya Bioarchaeology.” in Bones of the Maya: Studies of Ancient Skeletons, Steve Whittington and D. M. Reed, eds., Smithsonian Press, pp. 221–228 (1997).
- Jane E. Buikstra, Douglas K. Charles and Gordon F. M. Rakita, Staging Ritual: Hopewell Ceremonialism at the Mound House Site, Greene County, Illinois. Center for American Archeology, Kampsville Studies in Archeology and History, No. 1 (1998).
- Jane E. Buikstra and Douglas K. Charles. “Centering the Ancestors: Cemeteries, Mounds and Sacred Landscapes of the North American Midcontinent.” In Archaeologies of Landscape: Contemporary Perspectives, W. Ashmore and B. Knapp, eds. Blackwells pp. 201–228 (1999).
- Jane E. Buikstra, Editor and author of five substantive chapters. Never Anything So Solemn: An Archaeological, Biological and Historical Investigation of the 19th Century Grafton Cemetery. Author of four chapters:1. Introduction, 2. Historic Bioarcheology and the Beautification of Death, 3. A Matter of Life and Death I: Disease, Medical Practice, and Funerals, 9. Summary and Conclusions, and coauthor of one chapter (Houdek, Buikstra, Stojanowski) 7. Skeletal Biology. Center for American Archeology, Kampsville Studies in Archeology and History, No. 3 (2000).
- Jane E. Buikstra (with Maria Cecilia Lozada). El Señorío de Chiribaya en la Costa Sur del Perú. Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, Lima-Peru (2002).
- Jane E. Buikstra (with Charlotte A. Roberts). The Bioarchaeology of Tuberculosis: A Global View on a Reemerging Disease. University of Florida Press (2003).
- Jane E. Buikstra and Kenneth C. Nystrom. “Embodied Traditions: The Chachapoya and Inka Ancestors.” In Theory, Method, and Practice in Modern Archaeology. R. J. Jeske and D. K. Charles, eds. Praeger Publishers: Westport (2003).
- Jane E. Buikstra, TD Price, JHBurton, and LEWright. “Tombs from Copan’s Acropolis: A Life History Approach.” In Understanding Early Classic Copan. Ellen E. Bell, Marcello A. Canuto, and Robert J. Sharer, eds., Chapter 1. pp. 191–212. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (2004).
- Jane E. Buikstra. “Ethnogenesis and Ethnicity in the Andes.” In Us and Them: The Assignation of Ethnicity in the Andean Region, Methodological Approaches. Richard Reycraft, ed., Chapter 14, pp. 233–238. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA (2005).
- Jane E. Buikstra “History of Research in Skeletal Biology” In Handbook of the North American Indians, Physical Anthropology., Douglas Ubelaker, ed. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C., pp. 504–523. (2006)
- Jane E. Buikstra., G. R. Milner and J. L. Boldsen Janaab' Pakal: The Age-at-death Controversy Re-revisited. In: Janaab' Pakal of Palenque. In: Reconstructing the Life and Death of a Maya Ruler. V. Tiesler and A Cucina, eds. University of Arizona Press. (2006)
- Jane E. Buikstra and Lane A. Beck, eds., Bioarchaeology: The Contextual Study of Human Remains.. Senior editor and author of Chapter 1: An Historical Introduction; Chapter 15: Repatriation: Challenges and Opportunities; co-author of O. M. Pearson and Jane E. Buikstra, Chapter 8: Behavior and the Bones Mary Lucas Powell, Della Collins Cook, Georgieann Bogdan, Jane E. Buikstra, Mario M. Castro, Patrick D. Horne, David R. Hunt, Richard T. Koritzer, Sheila Ferraz Mendonça de Souza, Mary Kay Sandford, Laurie Saunders, Glaucia Aparecida Malerba Sene, Lynne Sullivan, and John J. Swetnam Chapter 7 Invisible Hands: Women in Bioarchaeology. Elsevier Press, Inc. (2006)
- Jane E. Buikstra "The Bioarchaeology of Maya Sacrifice." In New Perspectives on Maya Sacrifice, V. Tiesler and A. Cucina, eds, Chapter 13, pp. 293–307. Springer-Verlag (2007).
- Debra Komar and Jane E. Buikstra, Forensic Anthropology: Contemporary Theory and Practice. Oxford University Press (2007).