Best Osteology
Douglas Ubelaker is an American physical and forensic anthropologist who has served as a senior scientist and curator of biological anthropology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. His research covers human skeletal biology, osteology, paleopathology, paleodemography, and the iden...
Why this score?
Authoritative forensic anthropology research, casework, and reference texts are widely respected; exceptional professional contribution with less influence on anthropology's broader theory.
Scoring methodology
William M. Bass is an American forensic anthropologist and professor emeritus at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In 1981 he established the university’s Anthropological Research Facility, an outdoor laboratory where donated human remains are studied under different environmental conditions t...
Why this score?
Body Farm founder transformed forensic decomposition research and public awareness; formidable applied legacy, though popular fame exceeds his theoretical influence in anthropology.
Scoring methodology
Jane Buikstra is a prominent American archaeologist specializing in bioarchaeology. Her work, beginning in the 1970s, established formal methodologies for analyzing ancient human skeletal remains. She pioneered techniques used to reconstruct past lifeways, health, and diets from archaeological conte...
