Dr. Anna Osterholtz

Vita

Ph.D., Anthropology, University of Nevada-Las Vegas

Research Interests

Poetics in Bioarchaeology, the biocultural model of Bioarchaeology, Trauma analysis, commingled and fragmentary remains, taphonomy, Roman-period and Medieval Croatia, Bronze Age Mediterranean.

I am a bioarchaeologist focused on the relationship between the living and the dead, particularly in relation to group identity formation and its negotiation through mortuary practices. My research spans diverse geographical contexts, including the Americas (American Southwest), Europe (Cyprus, Croatia, Romania), and the Middle East (UAE), where I engage in excavation and analysis of human remains in museum and institution collections.

Current projects investigate the taphonomy and social status associated with church burials at the Medieval site of Đurđevac-Sošice in Croatia, as well as the mortuary patterns and paleopathology of Roman-period sites in Osijek and Trogir. In collaboration with Croatian colleagues, we are examining potential correlations between lead poisoning, reduced age at death, and associated pathological processes in Trogir, comparing findings with surrounding sites.

Additionally, I am interested in the methodological and theoretical aspects of data collection for skeletal remains, focused on commingled and fragmentary assemblages. To enhance data collection from both complete and commingled remains, I developed a Claris database, which facilitates efficient data entry with a visual focus.

I have also led field programs and engaged students in working with museum collections in Romania and Croatia. My collaboration with Croatian cultural communities and the Ministry of Culture has enabled the loan of three significant skeletal collections for in-house analysis and long-term curation at Mississippi State University.

Courses regularly taught: AN 1344 (Biological Anthropology: The Making of Us), AN 1543 (Discovering Archaeology), AN 4313/6313 (Human Osteology), AN 4333/6333 (Anthropology of Violence), AN 4343/6343 (Anthropology of Death), AN 4373/6373 (Death and American Culture).

Recent Publications

2017 Anna J. Osterholtz and Debra L. Martin. “The Poetics of Annihilation: On the Presence of Woman and Children at Massacre Sites in the Ancient Southwest.” In Martin and Tegtmeyer (eds.) Bioarchaeology of Women and Children in Times of War. New York: Springer, pp. 111-128.

2016 Debra L. Martin and Anna J. Osterholtz. “Broken bodies and broken bones: Biocultural approaches to ancient slavery and torture.” In Molly K. Zuckerman and Debra L. Martin (eds.) New Directions in Biocultural Anthropology. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons Inc. pp. 471-490.

2016 Anna J. Osterholtz (ed.) Theoretical approaches to the analysis of Commingled Human Remains. Springer.

2016 Debra Martin and Anna J. Osterholtz. Bodies and Lives: Health in Ancient America. Routledge.

2014 Anna J. Osterholtz, Kathryn M. Baustian, and Debra Martin (eds.) Commingled and Disarticulated Human Remains: Working Toward Improved Theory, Method, and Data. Springer.

2013 Anna J. Osterholtz “Hobbling and Torture as Performative Violence: An Example from the Prehistoric Southwest.” Kiva. 78(2): 123-144.

2013 Anna J. Osterholtz “The Social Role of Hobbling and Torture: Violence in the Prehistoric Southwest.” International Journal of Paleopathology 2(2-3): 148-155.

2013 Kathryn M. Baustian, Ryan P. Harrod, Anna J. Osterholtz, and Debra L. Martin “Battered and Abused: Analysis of Trauma at Grasshopper Pueblo (AD 1275-1400).” International Journal of Paleopathology 2(2-3): 102-111.