Andrea Palmiotto

Dr. Andrea Palmiotto is a board-certified forensic anthropologist and archaeologist specializing in zooarchaeology and human osteology, affiliated with Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) in the Department of Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences. She holds a PhD from the University of Florida (2011) and previously worked with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), leading field recoveries in Laos and Vietnam and analyzing skeletal materials to identify U.S. casualties from WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

Her research focuses on zooarchaeology in coastal southeastern U.S. contexts, bone tool production, seasonality, subsistence patterns, and forensic osteology, including commingled remains, perimortem trauma, and conflict casualty resolution. She collaborates with institutions like the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and DPAA on projects involving forensic anthropology and archaeological studies.

Palmiotto teaches courses such as Contemporary Anthropology, Zooarchaeology, and Forensic Anthropology. Her work integrates forensic and archaeological methodologies, with recent contributions to studies on skeletal trauma analysis, recovery rate calculations for commingled assemblages, and the USS Oklahoma casualties. She is an active member of professional organizations including the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the Society for American Archaeology.