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What: "Vampires and the Bioarchaeology of the Undead" by Lesley Gregoricka, Ph.D.When: 5 PM, Thurs. Oct. 22
Where: University of South Alabama Archaeology Museum
6050 USA Drive South, Mobile, Alabama 36688
Hosted by the Alabama Archaeological Society Southwest Chapter
Can ancient skeletons give us clues about the origins of vampire myths in Eastern Europe? How did people bury their dead to stop vampires from attacking? Just in time for spooky season, come learn about how bioarchaeologists use human bones to learn about the identities of suspected vampires.
Bioarchaeologist Dr. Lesley A. Gregoricka is a Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work at the University of South Alabama. She also serves as Director of the USA Forensic Science Program. She received her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and her M.A. and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. Dr. Gregoricka uses biogeochemical techniques to examine changing patterns of human mobility, mortuary practices, paleodiet, and social complexity in Arabia, Nubia, southwest Asia, and beyond.
Her primary research program investigates prehistoric mortuary landscapes across the United Arab Emirates and Oman, seeking to evaluate how shifting mortuary traditions in southeastern Arabia reflect corresponding changes in sociopolitical complexity and subsistence strategies. From this, she explores how local identity was reinforced and negotiated through the construction of monumental tombs and treatment of the dead.
Dr. Gregoricka’s interest in embodied social identity has also taken her to Poland, where she worked with skeletons buried at the post-medieval cemetery at Drawsko as part of the Slavia Project. The Drawsko cemetery is well-known for its deviant burials, and her research focuses on the radiogenic and stable isotope analysis of the skeletal tissues of those interred as “vampires” to better discern why certain individuals were selected for apotropaic burial rites when others were not.
Today, Dr. Gregoricka co-directs the NSF-REU Site: Bioarchaeology of Bronze Age Social Systems, which brings undergraduate students from across the country to USA each summer to learn to conduct bioarchaeological research. She is also currently involved with research on the movements of pastoralist groups in ancient Nubia.
Dr. Gregoricka enjoys working with students and involves undergraduates in her research, both in the field and in the lab.
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6050 USA Drive South, Mobile, AL, United States, Alabama 36688
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