AnthroBiology Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Keri Porter, a PhD candidate at Notre Dame University, joins the show to discuss their research on patterns of violence in a Bronze Age urban center in the Southern Levant. They focus on cranial trauma and what it can reveal about humans attempting to live together along with what it might reveal about who suffers violence. They also share some excellent recommendations for how to think about grad school, whether or not to go, and tips for applying.

• Keri Porter's Notre Dame profile page
• Martin, D.L., Harrod, R.P., & Pérez, V.R. (Eds.) (2013). The Bioarchaeology of Violence. University Press of Florida.
• Regev J, De Miroschedji P, Greenberg R, Braun E, Greenhut Z, Boaretto E. Chronology of the Early Bronze Age in the Southern Levant: New Analysis for a High Chronology. Radiocarbon. 2012;54(3-4):525-566.
• Greenberg, R. (2019). The Archaeology of the Bronze Age Levant: From Urban Origins to the Demise of City-States, 3700-1000 BCE. Cambridge University Press.
• Krakowka K. (2017). Patterns and prevalence of violence-related skull trauma in medieval London. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 164(3), 488–504. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23288
• Krakowka, K. (2015). Understanding violence in medieval London: an examination of the skeletal evidence. [PhD thesis]. University of Oxford.
• Gorn, E. J. (1985). "Gouge and Bite, Pull Hair and Scratch": The Social Significance of Fighting in the Southern Backcountry. The American Historical Review, 90(1), 18–43.
• Collins, S. (2025). Sunrise on the Reaping. Scholastic Press.
• Fox, J. (2025). Down the Drain. Simon & Schuster.
• Green, J. (2025). Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection. Crash Course Books.
• Reinhard, A. (2018). Archaeogaming: An Introduction to Archaeology in and of Video Games, Berghan Books.
• Porter, K. (2022, November 4). Digging Up the Digital Past: Archaeogaming and Archaeological Practice in the Sims™ Franchise. UMMAA Brown Bag Lecture Series, Notre Dame University, Notre Dame, IN, USA.

Dr. Maria Nieves-Cólon and Jamie Zolik join the show to discuss their ancient DNA research in San Luis de Cañete and what it can reveal about the historical population of the town specifically and the African diaspora in South America generally. They share some of the exciting ways they've forged a partnership with the community in order to carry out the work as ethically as possible.

• Dr. Maries Nieves-Colón's faculty page at the University of Minnesota
• Nieves-Colón lab
• Jaime Zolik's bio
• Museo Afroperuano de San Luis de Cañete
• Nieves-Colón MA, Ulrich EC, Chen L, Torres Colón GA, Rivera Clemente M, Corporación Piñones se Integra (COPI), Benn Torres J. Genomic variation in Puerto Rican Afro-descendants illustrates diverse histories of African diasporic populations. American Journal of Biological Anthropology.185(3), e25059.
• Arbour, L., & Cook, D. (2006). DNA on loan: issues to consider when carrying out genetic research with aboriginal families and communities. Community genetics, 9(3), 153–160. https://doi.org/10.1159/000092651
• Flewellen, A.O., Odewale, A., Dunnavant, J. et al. Creating Community and Engaging Community: The Foundations of the Estate Little Princess Archaeology Project in St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Int J Histor Archaeol 26, 147–176 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-021-00600-z
• Ávila-Arcos, M. C., de la Fuente Castro, C., Nieves-Colón, M. A., & Raghavan, M. (2022). Recommendations for Sustainable Ancient DNA Research in the Global South: Voices From a New Generation of Paleogenomicists. Frontiers in genetics, 13, 880170. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.880170
• Marciniak, S. Hunting for Pathogens: Ancient DNA and the Historical Record. (2016). In Mant, M., & Holland, A. (Eds.). Beyond the bones : engaging with disparate datasets. Elsevier Academic Press.
• Harper, K. (2023). Plagues Upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History. Princeton University Press.
• Nieves-Colón, M.A. and Stone, A.C. (2018). Ancient DNA Analysis in Archaeological Remains. In Katzenberg, M.A. & Grauer, A.L. (Eds.). Biological Anthropology of the Human Skeleton. Wiley-Blackwell.
• Kowal E, Weyrich LS, Argüelles JM, Bader AC, Colwell C, Cortez AD, Davis JL, Figueiro G, Fox K, Malhi RS, Matisoo-Smith E, Nayak A, Nelson EA, Nicholas G, Nieves-Colón MA, Russell L, Ulm S, Vergara-Silva F, Villanea FA, Wagner JK, Yracheta JM, Tsosie KM. Community partnerships are fundamental to ethical ancient DNA research. Human Genetics and Genomics Advances. 42(2): 100161.
• Buffalo, V. (2015). Bioinformatics Data Skills: Reproducible and Robust Research with Open Source Tools. O'Reilly Media.
• Ted Lasso (TV series)
• Arcane (TV series)
• Dungeons & Dragons (game)
• Marques, G. G. (1967). One Hundred Years of Solitude. Harper & Row.
• Wynn-Williams, S. (2025). Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism. Flatiron Books.
• Osman, R. (2021). The Thursday Murder Club. Penguin Books.
• Sterling, E. (2021). The Ex Hex. Avon Books.
• Henry, C. (2022). Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga. Black Spot Books.

Dr. Rebecca Gilmour of Mount Royal University talks about bones, their mechanics, and how we can use both to understand humans' lives in the past -- especially around her main focus of disability and care in ancient Rome.

• Ed. CS Hirst, RJ Gilmour, FA Cardoso, KA Plomp. (2023). Behaviour in our Bones: How Human Behaviour Influences Skeletal Morphology. Elsevier.
• Gilmour, Rebecca & Plomp, Kimberly. (2022). The Changing Shape of Palaeopathology: The Contribution of Skeletal Shape Analyses to Investigations of Pathological Conditions. (OPEN ACCESS). Yearbook of Physical Anthropology. 10.1002/ajpa.24475..
• Battles, Heather & Gilmour, Rebecca. (2022). Beyond Mortality: Survivors of Epidemic Infections and the Bioarchaeology of Impairment and Disability. (OPEN ACCESS). 6. 23–40. 10.5744/bi.2021.0003.
• Gilmour, Rebecca & Brickley, Megan & Jurriaans, Erik & Prowse, Tracy. (2018). Maintaining mobility after fracture: A biomechanical analysis of fracture consequences at the Roman Sites of Ancaster (UK) and Vagnari (Italy). International Journal of Paleopathology. 24. 10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.09.002..
• Gilmour, Rebecca & Prowse, Tracy & Jurriaans, Erik & Brickley, Megan. (2017). Well-Trodden Roads: Skeletal Evidence for Sex-Related Mobility at the Roman Site of Vagnari, Italy. Conference presentation: American Association of Physical Anthropologists.
• Gilmour, Rebecca. (2017). Resilient Romans: Cross-Sectional Evidence for Long-Term Functional Consequences of Extremity Trauma. PhD thesis completed at McMaster University.
• Cunningham, C., Scheuer, L., Black, S. (2016). Developmental Juvenile Osteology. Academic Press.
• White, T. & Folken, P. (2005). The Human Bone Manual. Academic Press.
• Eds. Hirst, C.S., Gilmour, R.J., Cardoso, F.A. (2023). Behaviour in Our Bones: How Human Behaviour Influences Skeletal Morphology. Elsevier Science Publishing.
• Canci, Alessandro & Marchi, Damiano & Caramella, Davide & Sparacello, Vitale. (2024). A severe case of bilateral humerus varus deformity from the Middle Bronze age necropolis of Olmo di Nogara, Northeast Italy: The contribution of biomechanical analysis to paleopathological study. International journal of paleopathology. 47. 12-20. 10.1016/j.ijpp.2024.07.005.
• Ed. Laes, C. (2024). A Cultural History of Disability in Antiquity. Bloomsbury Acadamic.
• Van Pelt, S. (2022). Remarkably Bright Creatures. Ecco Press.
• Holmes, R. (2024). Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide. Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster.
• Blum, D. (2011). The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. Penguin Books.

Dr. Jesse Goliath of Mississippi State University joins the show to talk about forensic anthropology, including how he ended up in forensic anthropology and how he developed the Mississippi Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons. We also talk about the complicated relationship between race and forensic anthropology, along with the importance of bringing diverse perspectives to the field.

• Dr. Goliath's personal website
• Dr. Goliath's faculty profile page at MS State
• Dr. Goliath's ResearchGate profile
• The Mississippi Repository for Missing and Unidentified Persons
• Forensic Pioneers of Color
• Goliath, J.R., Yim, A., & Juarez, J.K. (Eds). (2024). Contemporary Concerns and Considations in Forensic Anthropology. [Special issue]. Humans, 4(1).
• Hagerman, M.A. (2024). Children of a Troubled Time: Growing Up with Racism in Trump's America. New York University Press.
• Barber, W.J & Wilson-Hartgrove, J. (2024). White Poverty: How Exposing Myths about Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy. Liveright Publishing Corporation.

Dr. Christine Drea of Duke University joined the show to talk about mechanisms of female dominance, which is when females of a species are more dominant in groups than males. Dr. Drea looks at how genetics, hormones, and social dynamics interact with each other to result in female dominance in hyenas, meerkats, and lemurs.

Content warning: We talk about animal genitalia and hyenas' traumatic birthing process.

• Dr. Drea's faculty page at Duke University
• Dr. Drea's website
• Dr. Drea's ResearchGate profile
• Dixons, A. (2012). Primate Sexuality: Comparative Studies of the Prosimians, Monkeys, Apes, and Humans. Oxford University Press.
• Ellison, P. (2003). On Fertile Ground: A Natural History of Human Reproduction. Harvard University Press.
• Grebe, Nicholas & Sheikh, Alizeh & Ohannessian, Laury & Drea, Christine. (2023). Effects of Oxytocin Receptor Blockade on Dyadic Social Behavior in Monogamous and Non-Monogamous Eulemur. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 150. 106044. 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106044.
• Bornbusch, Sally & Clarke, Tara & Hobilalaina, Sylvia & Reseva, Honore & LaFleur, Marni & Drea, Christine. (2022). Microbial rewilding in the gut microbiomes of captive ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in Madagascar. Scientific Reports. 12. 10.1038/s41598-022-26861-0.
• Drea, Christine & Grebe, Nicholas. (2022). Intraspecific Aggression and Social Dominance. (chapter in The Routledge International Handbook of Comparative Psychology, ed. by Freeberg, Ridley, and d'Ettorre)
• Bornbusch, Sally & Greene, Lydia & Rahobilalaina, Sylvia & Calkins, Samantha & Rothman, Ryan & Clarke, Tara & LaFleur, Marni & Drea, Christine. (2022). Gut microbiota of ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) vary across natural and captive populations and correlate with environmental microbiota. Animal Microbiome. 4. 10.1186/s42523-022-00176-x.
• Grebe, Nicholas & Sheikh, Alizeh & Drea, Christine. (2022). Integrating the female masculinization and challenge hypotheses: Female dominance, male deference, and seasonal hormone fluctuations in adult blue-eyed black lemurs (Eulemur flavifrons). Hormones and Behavior. 139. 105108. 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105108.
• Drea, Christine & Davies, Charli & Greene, Lydia & Mitchell, Jessica & Blondel, Dimitri & Shearer, Caroline & Feldblum, Joseph & Dimac-Stohl, Kristin & Smyth-Kabay, Kendra & Clutton-Brock, Tim. (2021). An intergenerational androgenic mechanism of female intrasexual competition in the cooperatively breeding meerkat. Nature Communications. 12. 10.1038/s41467-021-27496-x.
• Conley, Alan & Place, Ned & Legacki, Erin & Hammond, Geoffrey & Cunha, Gerald & Drea, Christine & Weldele, Mary & Glickman, Stephen. (2020). Spotted hyaenas and the sexual spectrum: reproductive endocrinology and development. Journal of Endocrinology. 247. 10.1530/JOE-20-0252.
• Smyth, Kendra & Caruso, Nicholas & Davies, Charli & Clutton-Brock, Tim & Drea, Christine. (2018). Social and endocrine correlates of immune function in meerkats: Implications for the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis. Royal Society Open Science. 5. 180435. 10.1098/rsos.180435.
• Drea, Christine & Coscia, Elizabeth & Glickman, Stephen. (2018). Hyenas. (chapter in The Encyclopedia of Reproduction from Academic Press, ed. Michael Skinner)

Dr. Lauren Butaric of University of Florida joined the show to talk about sinuses - what they are, why we have them, how they can be used in forensic contexts, and what they can tell us about people.

I personally love these anatomy-based discussions. It's just so exciting to do a deep dive into these dark cavities.

Here are some of the articles I found helpful while prepping for this episode:

• Campbell, Jessica & Butaric, Lauren. (2022). Technical Modifications for the Application of the Total Difference Method for Frontal Sinus Comparison. Biology. 11. 1075. 10.3390/biology11071075.
• Butaric, Lauren & Campbell, Jessica & Fischer, Kristine & Garvin, Heather. (2022). Ontogenetic patterns in human frontal sinus shape: A longitudinal study using elliptical Fourier analysis. Journal of Anatomy. 241. 10.1111/joa.13687.
• Butaric, Lauren & Richman, Allison & Garvin, Heather. (2022). The Effects of Cranial Orientation on Forensic Frontal Sinus Identification as Assessed by Outline Analyses. Biology. 11. 62. 10.3390/biology11010062.
• Butaric, Lauren & Nicholas, Christina & Kravchuk, Katherine & Maddux, Scott. (2021). Ontogenetic variation in human nasal morphology. The Anatomical Record. 305. 10.1002/ar.24760.
• Kim, Suhhyun & Ward, Lyndee & Butaric, Lauren & Maddux, Scott. (2021). Ancestry‐based variation in maxillary sinus anatomy: Implications for health disparities in sinonasal disease. The Anatomical Record. 305. 10.1002/ar.24644.

Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode + helpful sites:

• Dr. Lauren Butaric's faculty page at University of Florida
• Dr. Butaric's website
• Dr. Butaric's ResearchGate profile
• Nestor, J. (2020). Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. Riverhead Books.
• Lieberman, D. (2011). The Evolution of the Human Head. Harvard University Press.
• Jemisin, NK. (2015). The Broken Earth Trilogy. Orbit.
• Jordan, R. (1990-2007). The Wheel of Time series.
• Stephen King
• Gaby's fantasy rec: Anything by Ilona Andrews

Dr. Gwen Robbins Schug from the University of North Carolina - Greebsboro discusses some of the projects her lab is working on, including skeletal and dental pathology in past populations and istopic analysis of human remains. She also touches on the importance of integrating biological anthropology into climate change and global health policies.

These two articles are great examples of how bio anthro could inform policymaking:

• G. Robbins Schug, S. E. Halcrow, Building a bioarchaeology of pandemic, epidemic, and syndemic diseases: Lessons for understanding COVID-19. Bioarchaeol. Int. 6, 179–200 (2022).
• G. Robbins Schug et al., Climate change, human health, and resilience in the Holocene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 120 (2023).

Honestly, we probably could have done an entire show on just one article. And I might do that in the future. For now, I encourage you to read the articles. They illustrate how answering questions about our past can help us build a better future.

Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode:

• Dr. Robbins Schug's faculty page at UNCG
• Robbins Schug Human Diversity Lab Website
• G. Robbins Schug, S. E. Halcrow, Building a bioarchaeology of pandemic, epidemic, and syndemic diseases: Lessons for understanding COVID-19. Bioarchaeol. Int. 6, 179–200 (2022).
• G. Robbins Schug et al., Climate change, human health, and resilience in the Holocene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 120 (2023).
• Grauer, A. (Ed.) (2015). A Companion to Paleopathology. Wiley-Blackwell.
• Buiktra, J. (Ed.) (2019). Ortner's Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains (3rd edition). Academic Press.
• Resnick, D. (2001). Diagnosis of Bone and Joint Disorders: 5-Volume Set. Saunders.
• Planetary Health Alliance
• Sholts, S. (2024). The Human Disease: How We Create Pandemics, from our Bodies to Our Beliefs. MIT Press.

Dr. Sholts of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History joins the show to discuss her new book, The Human Disease: How We Create Pandemics, from Our Bodies to Our Beliefs. Dr. Sholts uses an anthropological lens to understand epidemics. She touches on One Health, historical and current epidemics, the role misinformation plays in the spread of disease, and science communication.  

Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode:

• Sholts, S. (2024). The Human Disease: How We Create Pandemics, from our Bodies to Our Beliefs. MIT Press.
• Dr. Sholt's Google Scholar profile
• Dr. Sholt's NMNH profile
• Lieberman. D. (2014). The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease. Vintage Books.
• Garrett, L. (2020). The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance. Picador USA.
• Villarosa, L. (2023). Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives. Anchor Books.
• Hatzfeld, J. (2006). Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak. Picador USA.
• Hatzfeld, J. (2007). Life Laid Bare: The Survivors in Rwanda Speak. Other Press.
• Hatzfeld, J. (2008). Into the Quick of Life: The Rwandan Genocide - The Survivors Speak. Serpent's Tail.
• Hatzfeld, J. (2010). The Antelope's Strategy: Living in Rwanda After the Genocide. St. Martin's Press-3PL.
• Lachenal, G. & Thomas, G. (2023). Atlas historique des épidémies. Autrement.
• St John-Mandel, E. (2015). Station Eleven. Vintage Books.

Dr. Griffin of San Francisco State University joins the show to discuss dental caries and toothwear in pre-contact Native American groups. 

Books, articles, and media mentioned in this episode:

• Griffin, MC. (2014). Biocultural implication of oral pathology in an ancient central California population. Am J Phys Anthropol, 154(2), 171-188.
• Griffin, MC. (2018). The End of Prehistory in the Land of Coosa: Oral Health in a Late Mississippian Village. In S Chappell Hodge & KA Shuler Bioarchaeology of the American Southeast: Approaches to Bridging Health and Identity in the Past (1st ed., pp 69-91). University of Alabama Press.
• Ed Yong. (2016). I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life. Ecco.
• Kathleen McAuliffe. (2016). This Is Your Brain on Parasites: How Tiny Creatures Manipulate Our Behavior and Shape Society. Mariner Books.
• Clinical literature on auditory exostoses
• Cardinal (detective drama, currently on Hulu as of June 2024)
• MC Beaton, Agatha Raisin series (Books + TV series -- I've only read the books, but I hear the show is great)
• cozy-mystery.com [My bad, y'all. I said the wrong URL on the show. There are like 5 sites that also do this, but this is the one I was thinking of. The clip art is perfect.]
• Sister Boniface Mysteries (Nun solves crimes in British countryside, currently on BritBox as of June 2024)
• Father Brown (Priest solves crimes in British countryside, currently on BritBox as of June 2024)
• Cadfael (Medieval monk solves crimes. Books + TV series)
• Grantchester (Anglican vicar solves crimes. Short stories + TV series)

Dr. Wescott of Texas State University joins the show to discuss the Texas State body farm (Forensic Anthropology Center at Texas State - FACTS) and the forensic research carried out there.

Books, articles, and selected people mentioned in this episode:

• Dr. Wescott's ResearchGate profile
• Haglund & Sorg, Advances in Forensic Taphonomy: Method, Theory, and Archeological Perspectives
• DO Carter, D Yellowlees, M Tibbett  "Cadaver decomposition in terrestrial ecology", Science of Nature 94(1), 2007
• Lee Lyman, Vertebrate Taphonomy
• PS Barton, D Lindenmeyer, AD Manning, SA Cunningham, "The role of carrion in maintaining biodiversity and ecological processes in terrestrial ecosystems", Oecologia 171(4), 2012
• John Currey, Bones: Structure and Mechanics
• David Burr, Basic and Applied Bone Biology
• C Ruff, B Holt, E Trinkaus, "Who's afraid of the big bad Wolff?: Wolff's Law and bone functional adaptation", Am J Phys Anthropol, 129(4), 2006
• P Capodaglio, et al. "Effect of obesity on knee and ankle biomechanics while walking," Sensors (Basel), 21(21), 2021
• BA Sanford, et al. "Hip, knee, and ankle joint forces in healthy weight, overweight, and obese individuals during walking" 2014
• Neil Shubin, Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5 Billion-Year History of the Human Body
• Ed Yong, An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us