Skeletal Transcripts as Ancestral Voices, a Legacy of Interdisciplinary Work: Recognizing the Contributions of Dr. Debra L. Martin to American Archaeology and Beyond

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Fryxell Award Symposium: Papers in Honor of Debra L. Martin" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Using the skeleton as a transcript of past experiences is not new, and over the last 40 years more nuanced interpretations, through intersectional, humanistic, scientific models have been developed. In the field of bioarchaeology this works has been impacted by the many exceptional contributions of Dr. Debra Martin. She has guided our profession, investing her own rigorous methodologies and theoretical analysis to promote engaged, multidisciplinary research, and best practices while upholding ethical standards. My own work, which considers larger systemic issues that impact and influence how bodies on the margins are understood, continues to be influenced by her support, mentorship, and friendship. As I examine how anthropology has constructed the “normal” and the “deviant” body, over the last 30 years, from the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, to rethinking the reproductive body, through embodiment and structural violence theory, and in my current work on critical white feminism, my intertwining of skeletal analyses within these larger discourses is emblematic of the way I was mentored to do anthropology; not just from a reductionist lens, but through an intersectional prism. I am honored to share how my research has been, and continues to be, impacted by Deb's mentorship and support.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Fryxell Award Symposium: Papers in Honor of Debra L. Martin   •
• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32114