Michelle D. Hamilton, PhD, D-ABFA : Department of Anthropology : Texas State University

Professor

Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2004
Email: mh69@txstate.edu
Phone: 512-245-8429
Office: ELA 240

Research interests:
Forensic anthropology, bioarchaeology, paleopathology, trauma, taphonomy, postmortem interval, dental anthropology.

I am a biological anthropologist specializing in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. My research focuses on the analysis of human skeletal remains in a variety of medicolegal and archaeological/historic contexts, including diagnostic approaches to identifying disease and trauma in order to understand the health profiles of modern, historic, and archaeological populations. I serve as a consulting forensic anthropologist, performing field and laboratory skeletal analyses, crime scene recoveries, trauma interpretations, and morgue consultations for law enforcement agencies and Medical Examiner's offices, and have served as an instructor for the FBI’s Human Remains Recovery Course since 1999.

Selected Publications

Kjellstrom A and Hamilton MD (In Press) The Taphonomy of Maritime Warfare: A Forensic Reinterpretation of Sharp Force Trauma from the 1676 Wreck of the Royal Swedish Warship Kronan. In Bioarchaeological and Forensic Perspectives on Violence: How Violent Death is Interpreted from Skeletal Remains (Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology), DL Martin and CP Anderson (editors). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hamilton MD and Erhart EM (2012) Forensic Evidence Collection and Cultural Motives for Animal Harvesting. In Wildlife Forensics: Methods and Applications, JE Huffman and JR Wallace (editors), pp. 63-77. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons.

Spradley MK, Hamilton MD, Giordano A (2012) Spatial patterning of vulture scavenged human remains. Forensic Science International 219:57-63.

Hamilton MD and Spradley MK (2011) Purported drug cartel use of vultures as a method for body disposal. Journal of Forensic Identification 6:425-429.

Love JC and Hamilton MD (2011) Forensic Anthropology. In The Forensic Laboratory Handbook: Procedures and Practice (Forensic Science and Medicine Series), 2nd Edition, C Noziglia and A Mozayani (editors), pp. 509-537. Totowa: Humana Press.

Hamilton MD (2009) Adverse Reactions: Practicing Bioarchaeology among the Cherokee. In Under the Rattlesnake: Cherokee Health and Resiliency, L Lefler (editor), pp. 29-60. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

Hamilton MD (2008) Colonizing America: Paleoamericans in the New World. In Kennewick Man: Perspectives on the Ancient One, L Zimmerman and C Smith (editors), pp. 128-137. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press.

Marks MK and Hamilton MD (2007) Metastatic carcinoma: palaeopathology and differential diagnosis. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 17:217-234.

Courses Taught

Graduate Courses

ANTH 5375: Laboratory Methods in Forensic Anthropology
This course focuses on the lab methods used in forensic anthropology to estimate a biological profile of skeletonized human remains (3-0).

ANTH 4381/5374: Paleopathology  
This course focuses on the study of diseases and maladies of ancient populations, and will survey the range of pathology on human skeletons from trauma, infection, syphilis, tuberculosis, leprosy, anemia, metabolic disturbances, arthritis and tumors. Prerequisite: ANTH 3381 (WI) (1-2).

ANTH 5326: Field Methods in Forensic Anthropology  
In this course, students will learn how to locate, excavate and recover human remains, associated personal effects and other materials to ensure legal credibility for all recoveries (3-0).

ANTH 5321: Seminar in Forensic Anthropology  
This course is designed as a critical survey of the theory and methodology utilized by forensic anthropologists. Through intensive review of the literature, the student will gain an appreciation for the development of the discipline, the techniques used in forensic skeletal analysis, and new research directions within the field (3-0).

ANTH 5312: Seminar in Biological Anthropology
A survey of current research in biological anthropology in the areas of evolutionary theory, human variation, paleoanthropology, primatology, and skeletal biology (3-0).

Undergraduate Courses

 ANTH 4381/5374: Paleopathology  
This course focuses on the study of diseases and maladies of ancient populations, and will survey the range of pathology on human skeletons from trauma, infection, syphilis, tuberculosis, leprosy, anemia, metabolic disturbances, arthritis and tumors. Prerequisite: ANTH 3381 (WI) (1-2).

ANTH 4382: Methods in Skeletal Biology 
This course is for students who wish to advance their osteological skills. Students will learn how to identify isolated and fragmentary skeletal remains to estimate age, sex, ancestry, stature, and health of an individual in past and present contexts. Prerequisite: ANTH 3381 (1-2).

ANTH 3381: Human Osteology  
The foundation of biological anthropology is the study of the human skeleton. This is a lab-intensive course in which students will learn how to identify skeletal elements, both whole and fragmentary (1-3).

ANTH 3380: Introduction to Forensic Anthropology
Forensic Anthropology is the recovery an analysis of human skeletal remains for modern legal inquiry. This course is an overview of the field of forensic anthropology illustrated with real forensic cases (3-0).