Elizabeth Weiss is an American anthropologist. She was a professor of anthropology at San Jose State University.
In 1996, Weiss received a BA in anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 1998, she received a MA in anthropology from California State University, Sacramento. In 2001, she received a PhD from the University of Arkansas in Environmental Dynamics. [1]
From 2002 to 2004, Weiss did post-doctoral work at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. [1]
In 2004, Weiss became a fully tenured professor at San Jose State University. [2]
In April 2021, Weiss gave a presentation at the Society for American Archaeology virtual annual meeting titled "Has Creationism Crept Back into Archaeology?" She claimed during the presentation that NAGPRA gives control of scientific research to the religious beliefs of contemporary Native American communities. [3] [4]
In February 2022, Weiss sued San Jose State officials claiming that they retaliated against her for her views and restricted her from accessing skeletal remains that she was studying. [5] [6] [7] She is being represented by a lawyer from the Pacific Legal Foundation. [8]
In June 2023, Weiss had reached a settlement with San Jose State that allowed her to voluntarily retire with full benefits, effective May 29th, 2024. Due to fears that she may be fired and subsequently lose employment benefits, Weiss accepted a voluntary leave to pursue "more fruitful opportunities". [9] [10] She had hoped the lawsuit would pressure the university to reinstate her access to the skeletal remains she had been studying. The judge overseeing the case dismissed her efforts as the Muwekma Ohlone tribe, which the remains belonged to, would have to be involved in the lawsuit. However, due to the tribe's sovereign immunity, it cannot be sued. [11]
Weiss was married to J. Philippe Rushton. [12] She is now married to Nick Pope.
In 2019, Weiss received the College of Social Sciences’ Austen D. Warburton Award of Merit for excellence in scholarship. [13] [7]
Forensic anthropology is the application of the anatomical science of anthropology and its various subfields, including forensic archaeology and forensic taphonomy, in a legal setting. A forensic anthropologist can assist in the identification of deceased individuals whose remains are decomposed, burned, mutilated or otherwise unrecognizable, as might happen in a plane crash. Forensic anthropologists are also instrumental in the investigation and documentation of genocide and mass graves. Along with forensic pathologists, forensic dentists, and homicide investigators, forensic anthropologists commonly testify in court as expert witnesses. Using physical markers present on a skeleton, a forensic anthropologist can potentially determine a person's age, sex, stature, and race. In addition to identifying physical characteristics of the individual, forensic anthropologists can use skeletal abnormalities to potentially determine cause of death, past trauma such as broken bones or medical procedures, as well as diseases such as bone cancer.
Bioarchaeology in Europe describes the study of biological remains from archaeological sites. In the United States it is the scientific study of human remains from archaeological sites.
Paleopathology, also spelled palaeopathology, is the study of ancient diseases and injuries in organisms through the examination of fossils, mummified tissue, skeletal remains, and analysis of coprolites. Specific sources in the study of ancient human diseases may include early documents, illustrations from early books, painting and sculpture from the past. All these objects provide information on the evolution of diseases as well as how past civilizations treated conditions. Studies have historically focused on humans, although there is no evidence that humans are more prone to pathologies than any other animal.
The Buhl Woman was an Paleoindian Indigenous American woman whose remains were found in a quarry near Buhl, Idaho, United States, in January 1989. The remains are thought to have been deliberately buried. Radiocarbon dating has placed the age of the skeleton at 12,740–12,420 calibrated years before present, making her remains some of the oldest in the Americas, though the quality of the dating has been questioned.
Jane Ellen Buikstra is an American anthropologist and bioarchaeologist. Her 1977 article on the biological dimensions of archaeology coined and defined the field of bioarchaeology in the US as the application of biological anthropological methods to the study of archaeological problems. Throughout her career, she has authored over 20 books and 150 articles. Buikstra's current research focuses on an analysis of the Phaleron cemetery near Athens, Greece.
Donald Reginald Brothwell, was a British archaeologist, anthropologist and academic, who specialised in human palaeoecology and environmental archaeology. He had worked at the University of Cambridge, the British Museum, and the Institute of Archaeology of University of London, before ending his career as Professor of Human Palaeoecology at the University of York. He has been described as "one of the pioneers in the field of archaeological science".
Alison Galloway is a forensic anthropologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is best known for her work in identifying the physical remains of Laci Peterson in the Scott Peterson Trial. She co-edited a book called The Evolving Female: A Life History Perspective with Mary Morbeck and Adrienne Zihlmann. She is also editor of "Broken Bones: Anthropological Analysis of Blunt Force Trauma" and co-editor of the second edition of that volume. She is also co-author of "Practicing Forensic Anthropology: an eResource" with Susan Kuzminsky.
FORDISC is a software program created by Stephen Ousley and Richard Jantz. It is designed to help forensic anthropologists investigate the identity of a deceased person by providing estimates of the person's size, ethnicity, and biological sex based on the osteological material recovered.
Skeletonization is the state of a dead organism after undergoing decomposition. Skeletonization refers to the final stage of decomposition, during which the last vestiges of the soft tissues of a corpse or carcass have decayed or dried to the point that the skeleton is exposed. By the end of the skeletonization process, all soft tissue will have been eliminated, leaving only disarticulated bones.
John Lawrence Angel (1915–1986) was a British-American biological anthropologist born on 21 March 1915 in London. His writings have had the biggest impact on paleodemography.
Maria Darlene Pearson or Hai-Mecha Eunka was an activist who has successfully challenged the legal treatment of Native American remains. A member of the Turtle Clan of the Yankton Sioux, she was one of the primary catalysts for the creation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Her actions led to her being called "the Founding Mother of the modern Indian repatriation movement" and "the Rosa Parks of NAGPRA".
The repatriation and reburial of human remains is a current issue in archaeology and museum management on the holding of human remains. Between the descendant-source community and anthropologists, there are a variety of opinions on whether or not the remains should be repatriated. There are numerous case studies across the globe of human remains that have been or still need to be repatriated.
On Your Knees Cave (49-PET-408) is an archaeological site located in southeastern Alaska. Human remains were found at the site in 1996 that dated between 9,730 ±60 and 9,880±50 radiocarbon YBP or a calendrical date of 10,300 YBP. In addition to human skeletal remains, stone tools and animal bones were discovered. DNA analyses performed on the human skeletal remains document the presence of mitochondrial haplogroup D which occurs widely in the Americas. Isotopic analysis indicated that the individual had a primarily marine based diet.
George J. Armelagos was an American anthropologist, and Goodrich C. White Professor of Anthropology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Armelagos significantly impacted the field of physical anthropology and biological anthropology. His work has provided invaluable contributions to the theoretical and methodological understanding human disease, diet and human variation within an evolutionary context. Relevant topics include epidemiology, paleopathology, paleodemography, bioarchaeology, evolutionary medicine, and the social interpretations of race, among others.
Ata is the common name given to the 6-inch (15 cm) long skeletal remains of a human fetus found in 2003 in the Chilean ghost town of La Noria, in the Atacama Desert. DNA analysis done in 2018 on the premature human fetus identified unusual mutations associated with dwarfism and scoliosis, though these findings were later disputed. The remains were found by Oscar Muñoz, who later sold them; the current owner is Ramón Navia-Osorio, a Spanish businessman.
Charlotte Ann Roberts, FBA is a British archaeologist, academic and former nurse. She is a bioarchaeologist and palaeopathologist, whose research focuses on health and the evolution of infectious disease in humans. From 2004 to 2020, she was Professor of Archaeology at Durham University: she is now professor emeritus.
Osteoware is a free data recording software for human skeletal material that is managed through the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It is used by biological anthropologists to document data relevant to research and forensic applications of human skeletal remains in a standardized and consistent way. It has influenced other skeletal recording software, and has been successfully used at the Smithsonian for collecting data relevant to biological anthropology. Osteoware is the only free, individual-use software for the collection of data on skeletal material in anthropology.
Mortuary archaeology is the study of human remains in their archaeological context. This is a known sub-field of bioarchaeology, which is a field that focuses on gathering important information based on the skeleton of an individual. Bioarchaeology stems from the practice of human osteology which is the anatomical study of skeletal remains. Mortuary archaeology, as well as the overarching field it resides in, aims to generate an understanding of disease, migration, health, nutrition, gender, status, and kinship among past populations. Ultimately, these topics help to produce a picture of the daily lives of past individuals. Mortuary archaeologists draw upon the humanities, as well as social and hard sciences to have a full understanding of the individual.
Erin H. Kimmerle is an American forensic anthropologist, artist, and executive director of the Institute of Forensic Anthropology & Applied Science at the University of South Florida. She was awarded the 2020 AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility.
Lucile Eleanor St. Hoyme was an American biological anthropologist who conducted research related to human variation, bioarcheology, and paleopathology. St. Hoyme served as an Assistant Curator in the Department of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History. St. Hoyme analyzed human remains excavated from the John Kerr Reservoir Basin using a new bioarcheological approach combining data from other disciplines. Beyond her work with the Smithsonian collections, St. Hoyme also worked on FBI forensic cases in the 1960s with National Museum of Natural History Anthropology Curator J. Lawrence Angel.