The MSUFAL started 2020 with a bang! Publications, casework, outreach events: it has been busy here in the lab.
Dr. Hefner co-authored a new publication in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology with Matthew Go (University of Illinois). Their research, “Morphoscopic ancestry estimates in Filipino crania using probit regression models” uses a novel approach to ancestry estimation applying probit modeling to explore cranial variation.
Several MSUFAL team members co-authored a new publication in Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Forensic Science. The authors include graduate students Rhian Dunn, Micayla Spiros, Kelly Kamnikar, and Amber Plemons, as well as Dr. Hefner. Their publication, “Ancestry Estimation in Forensic Anthropology”, is a review of methodology and theoretical perspectives used in ancestry estimation. The discussion includes brief historical reviews of the development of different methods and current practices for metric and nonmetric methods using the cranium, postcranium, and dentition. Additionally, the article strongly calls for the abandonment of outmoded three-group ancestry models and identifies future directions in this area of research.
On February 3rd, Dr. Carolyn Isaac presented on how skeletal health can be used to elucidate a person’s biology, diet, pathogen load, and local environmental context at Traveling Through Time, a public event hosted by Shaper Focus/Wider Lens on the MSU campus. Dr. Isaac was invited to speak alongside professors from the Departments of History, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Philosophy, and Physics & Astronomy. The event was sponsored by The Honors College, the College of Arts & Letters, College of Natural Sciences, and College of Social Science.
The MSUFAL team has been busy with public outreach. Graduate students, Alex Goots, Micayla Spiros, and Rhian Dunn, hosted our 5th annual half-day workshop for the students from the Bay-Arenac ISD Career Center-Forensic Science Program. Approximately 30 students attended the workshop where they learned how forensic anthropologists estimate the biological profile from human skeletal remains. The series of lectures on Forensic Anthropology included identifying human vs. nonhuman bone, age estimation methods, and sex estimation methods, followed by hands-on activities so that students had the chance to apply material learned in the lectures. This is always a fun and engaging event for both presenters and attendees and we look forward to hosting the program again next year!
On February 7th, the Graduate Students in Anthropology hosted their 5th annual Graduate Student Research Symposium. This is opportunity for students and faculty to present their current research to the department and outside attendees. The MSUFAL always has strong presence in this event and this year was no exception. Our lab had six presentations this year:
Joseph Hefner & Rebecca Redfern (Museum of London, UK): The Marginalized in Medieval London
Carolyn Isaac: The Repository for Antemortem Injury Response (REPAIR): An Invaluable Online Resource of Known Age Fractures for Comparison and Research
Alex Goots: Confronting Cognitive Bias in Forensic Anthropology: Michigan’s Craigslist Killer Case
Elena Watson & Alex Goots: Findings on Malaria and Migration from an Early Middle Ages Cemetery in Tuscany
Rhian Dunn: What Forensic Taphonomy Can Do For You: A Case Study in Rural Pennsylvania
Micayla Spiros: Eye Tracking to Assess Decision-Making in Cranial Macromorphoscopic Trait Evaluation: Implications of Education and Training in Method Application
Last, but not least, Kelly Kamnikar defended her dissertation proposal titled “Cranial metric and nonmetric variation in Southeast Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador: Implications for forensic ancestry assessment in the United States”. She passed with flying colors!
We would say this semester has been a success so far! We will be attending the annual conference for the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in meeting in Anaheim, California later this month where several lab members will be presenting their research. Make sure you check back for more updates in a couple of weeks!
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