Research Interests:

1) Peruvian Bioarchaeology
I started going to Peru as a student in 1982, and have been going as a professional bioarchaeologist since 1995. I have worked primarily on the North Coast at sites in the Jequetepeque Valley (San Jose de Moro, Pacatnamu, Farfán) and with material from other sites in Peru (Cajamarquilla, Tucume, Laguna de los Condores). My interests lie in the areas of biocultural change over time, the interactions between culture and biology (cranial modification etc), and patterns of heath and disease.

2) Hominid growth, development and body size
My doctoral dissertation focused on hominid body size and how body size could affect traits throughout the skeleton, and subsequent research involved the examination of how body size and its associated characteristics was achieved through ontogeny. Much of the latter work has been undertaken in collaboration with my colleague Dr. Jennifer Thompson formerly of UNLV.

3) The use of non-destructive imaging in Bioarchaeology
This area of interest involves the use of radiography and other imaging techniques to non-destructively capture and analyze human skeletal remains and archaeological artifacts. Specific methods include plain film x-ray, CT scanning, and microCT. Specific subjects of analysis include Moche pots, stone and shell beaded pectorals, skeletal remains from many sites and Egyptian and Peruvian mummies and medieval prayer beads (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4aCWcA1WsQ) . The use of paleoradiology and virtual imaging in the analysis and presentation of Egyptian mummies has been a particularly fruitful area of research.