Cynthia Wilczak

Cynthia Wilczak is a Professor and Undergraduate Coordinator in the Department of Anthropology at San Francisco State University. She holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University (1998) and has expertise in bioarchaeology, focusing on skeletal markers of occupational stress, paleopathology, and forensic anthropology. Her research examines entheseal changes (muscle-bone attachments) to reconstruct ancient labor patterns and has contributed to standards like the Coimbra Method for recording such changes. She co-authored a seminal atlas on skeletal stress markers and collaborated on the African Burial Ground Project in NYC. Wilczak also developed the Osteoware database for managing skeletal data, funded by the National Park Service and Smithsonian Institution.

Her academic roles include teaching courses in bioarchaeology, primate behavior, and anthropological statistics. She previously worked at the Smithsonian’s Repatriation Osteology Laboratory and as adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland. Her lab supports forensic cases, including disaster recovery efforts post-San Bruno gas explosion (2010). Wilczak is active in international bioarchaeological initiatives, including the Coimbra Methodology Working Group, which refines entheseal change analysis methodologies.

Key collaborations include projects with the Wenner-Gren Foundation and studies on skeletal anomalies like cleft sacra and tarsal coalitions. Her work bridges archaeological, medical, and statistical approaches to understanding human skeletal variation and historical labor practices.