7th year of Science on Tap
Thanks to the continued support of UNM, Explora and the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History
A time to eat, drink & talk about science!
on Central
Join us Thursday, April 11* at 5:30
Research and Casework in Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaelogy
Adjunct Instructor
Anthropology
University of New Hampshire
Forensic anthropologists are uniquely suited to assist law enforcement solve complex and cold cases involving skeletonized human remains. As specialists in human osteology, forensic anthropologists can determine the age, sex, and ancestry from a set of human remains, determine if small fragments of bone are human or animal, and even identify human remains from plane crashes, fires, and other mass disasters. In this presentation, various typical (and atypical!) cases will be reviewed, with a focus on current research related to the effects of opioid abuse on human bone. Finally, the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls epidemic will be summarized from a forensic anthropology perspective.
Amy Michael is a biological anthropologist specializing in the
investigation of human tooth and bone microstructure in an effort to
answer questions about past and modern bodies. Using the principles of
skeletal biology, Michael asks questions about health, pathology and
age-at-death to better understand people in the past and present. With
training in bioarchaeology, forensic anthropology and historical
archaeology, Amy has worked on field projects in the United States,
Belize and Albania. She is currently a senior staff member on the
Central Belize Archaeological Survey project run through Michigan State
University (www.anthropology.msu.edu/cbasproject).
On this project, Michael’s role is to excavate and interpret a series
of mortuary caves and rockshelters in Central Belize with a focus on
addressing questions of social identity through the lens of mortuary
variability. Michael is currently collaborating with researchers at
Idaho State University, Michigan State University and the Ada County
Coroner's Office (Boise, ID) on projects related to the examination of
human rib microstructure to answer questions about age-at-death
estimation in forensic cases, as well as the effects of opioid abuse on
the accuracy of age-at-death estimations. Aside from a methods-based
approach to forensic anthropology research, Michael is passionate about
bringing a social justice perspective to her work on forensic cold
cases. Michael spent six years working for the Michigan State University
Campus Archaeology Program (campusarch.msu.edu) so she is also
interested in historic archaeology and gendered landscapes of the past.
*April 11, 2019 (Note: 2nd Thursday of the month!)
May 2, 2019
David T. Hanson
Professor
UNM Biology
Research being conducted on the International
Space
Station involving plants
