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

Osterholtz, A. J. (2025). The Bodies Poetic: Identity and Interaction with the Dead. Cham, Springer.

Osterholtz, A. J. and I. Valent (2024). "The Taphonomy of Status: The Creation of Group Identity and Social Inequality in Medieval Croatia." Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory 32(1): 4.

Campbell, R. A. and A. J. Osterholtz, Eds. (2024). The Poetics of Violence in Afroeurasian Bioarchaeology. Bioarchaeology and Social Theory. Cham, Springer.

Olalde, I., … A. J. Osterholtz, … D. Reich (2023). "A genetic history of the Balkans from Roman frontier to Slavic migrations." Cell 186(25): 5472-5485.e5479.

Antonio, M. L., … A. J. Osterholtz, … R. Pinhasi and J. K. Pritchard (2024). "Stable population structure in Europe since the Iron Age, despite high mobility." eLife 13: e79714.

Lazaridis, I., … A. J. Osterholtz, … R. Çavuşoğlu, N. Rohland, R. Pinhasi and D. Reich (2022). "Ancient DNA from Mesopotamia suggests distinct Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic migrations into Anatolia." Science 377(6609): 982-987.

Lazaridis, I., … A. J. Osterholtz, … R. Çavuşoğlu, N. Rohland, R. Pinhasi and D. Reich (2022). "The genetic history of the Southern Arc: A bridge between West Asia and Europe." Science 377(6609): eabm4247.

Lazaridis, I., … A. J. Osterholtz, … R. Çavuşoğlu, N. Rohland, R. Pinhasi and D. Reich (2022). "A genetic probe into the ancient and medieval history of Southern Europe and West Asia." Science 377(6609): 940-951.

Osterholtz, A. J., L. A. Swantek, N. Siver and T. Davis (2021). "Struck down in the marketplace: Bioarchaeological analysis of an individual recovered from the earthquake complex at Kourion." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 40: 103203.

Osterholtz, A. J. (2021). Biocultural Aspects of Culture Contact, Exchange, and Population Movements on Cyprus. The Routledge Handbook of the Bioarchaeology of Environmental Change. G. R. Schug. New York, Routledge.

Osterholtz, A. J., Ed. (2020). The Poetics of Processing: Memory Formation, Identity, and the Handling of the Dead. Boulder, University Press of Colorado.

Osterholtz, A. J. (2020). Collective Bodies, Collective Identities: the development of Identity in Bronze Age Cyprus. Identity Revisited: The Bioarchaeology of Identity in the Americas and Beyond. C. Stojanowski and K. Knudson. Gainsville, University Press of Florida: 107-135.

Osterholtz, A. J. (2020). Pain as Power: Torture as a Mechanism for Social Control. Purposeful Pain: The Bioarchaeology of Intentional Suffering. S. G. Sheridan and L. A. Gregoricka. New York, Springer: 215-252.

Osterholtz, A. J. (2019). "Advances in the Documentation of Commingled and Fragmentary Remains." Advances in Archaeological Practice 7: 77-86.

Osterholtz, A. J., R. P. Harrod and D. S. Miller (2019). "Analysis of Pathology and Activity Related Changes to the Patellae of Individuals from Tell Abraq." International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 29: 294-302.

Osterholtz, A. J. (2018). "Interpreting and Reinterpreting Sacred Ridge: Placing Extreme Processing in a Larger Context." Kiva 84(4): 461-479.