On Friday, November 3 at 2 pm in Hibben 105, Dr. Joe Hefner will present his talk Should Forensic Anthropologists Estimate Population Affinity? The American Southwest as a Case Study  as part of the Anthropology Colloquia Series.

Abstract:

Today, forensic anthropologists use cranial morphology in identification efforts, but should they? Do these efforts reify the concept of race? Do they actually aid in repatriation efforts to return the recently deceased to their loved ones? Or do they do little more than "wow" medical examiners and law enforcement? To answer these questions and document the historic movements of people and their land usage, Dr. Hefner uses data collected from a historic cemetery in Tucson, Arizona to explore aspects of population movement, biocultural evolution, and the shifting landscape of migration in the American Southwest as backdrop for the current humanitarian crisis along the US/Mexico border. These data and their interpretation contribute to the growing body of literature on human cranial morphology and biological distance analysis.

Joe Hefner is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Michigan State University. His work centers on a wide range of biological anthropological research questions and quantitative methods, including biodistance analysis, categorical data analysis, geometric morphometric methods, data excavation, and parametric/nonparametric classification statistics. With over 20 years of experience conducting research and teaching biological/forensic anthropology, Joe’s research passionately addresses the human component of biology. Joe earned a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Western Carolina University and advanced degrees (MA/PhD) from the University of Florida (Go Gators!). He is a Board-certified (ABFA) forensic anthropologist and a founding editor of Forensic Anthropology. When not working, Joe enjoys running long distances for no reason (@RunningPunks. @RCRC), hanging out in nature, and challenging himself to live a life of serenity & positivity.

The Anthropology Colloquia series is co sponsored by the Alfonso Ortiz Center for Intercultural Studies.