معرفی
Jane Buikstra is a Regents Professor at Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change. Her research focuses on bioarchaeology, paleopathology, and ancient DNA to understand health, disease, and human adaptation in past populations. She has led studies on the Phaleron Cemetery in Athens, exploring mortuary practices, trauma, and skeletal pathology. Her work integrates interdisciplinary methods, including genetics, isotopic analysis, and osteobiography, to reconstruct past lives and environments.
Key research areas include skeletal analysis of ancient health conditions (e.g., tuberculosis, osteoarthritis), ritual violence, and demographic patterns. She has pioneered studies on the application of modern medical techniques to archaeological remains, emphasizing ethical frameworks for interpreting human remains. Buikstra has contributed to projects in Greece, Peru, and Mesoamerica, addressing topics like zoonotic disease origins and pre-colonial population dynamics.
Her recent work emphasizes holistic approaches to paleopathology and the integration of ancient DNA with traditional bioarchaeological methods. She has also written extensively on the ethical curation of human remains and the role of bioarchaeology in addressing contemporary societal issues like climate change and public health.
Notable collaborations include investigations into tuberculosis in pre-contact Andean populations and the analysis of skeletal trauma in Archaic Greek contexts. Buikstra's contributions extend to mentoring junior scholars and advancing methodological standards in bioarchaeology and paleopathology.
