Appalachian Biological Anthropology

I am a bioarchaeologist with research focused on South Asian prehistory. This summer I finished writing a book entitled “Bioarchaeology and Climate Change: a view from Indian prehistory”. The book concerns biodemography during a period of arid climate and unpredictable monsoon 3500-2700 years ago in central-west India. My book considers why, after 500 years of successful settlement, the people of west-central India abandoned their villages and fields. Using a biodemographic approach I analyzed skeletal remains from one site that persisted when all others were abandoned. Biodemography is an integrated approach to understanding health and stress levels in prehistoric populations using population statistics (demography) and children’s growth profiles (in height and body mass). This book is under contract with University Press of Florida and recently went through the peer review process with outstanding reviews. It is currently under consideration by the editorial board of University Press of Florida for inclusion in the book series entitled "Bioarchaeological Interpretations of the Human Past: Local, Regional, and Global Perspectives", Clark Larsen (series editor).

My colleagues and I recently published a paper on prehistoric leprosy (written with ASU student Kelsey Gray). The article, entitled Ancient skeletal evidence for leprosy in India (2000 B.C.) was published in the journal PlosOne (May 27, 2009). Three ASU students and I also recently completed research on the osseous remains from the Donner Party campsite and two publications will appear this Spring detailing the results of that analysis: Archaeology of the Donner Party’s Alder Creek Camp is forthcoming in American Antiquity and Bone Histology and Identification of a Starvation Diet is forthcoming in an edited volume entitled The Archaeology of the Donner Party Campsite, which is under contract with University of Nebraska Press.

I recently submitted a paper on paleodemography in subadult samples to International Journal of Osteoarchaeology and another paper on Body Mass estimation was submitted to Amer. Journal of Physical Anthropology (co-authored with Paul Sciulli and Samantha Blatt). I am revising an NSF proposal for research with a colleague at Drexel University, Haviva Goldman. That project is examines the connection between whole bone morphology in the femur midshaft cross section (compact bone geometry) and tissue microstructure in subadults with normal and subnormal growth and development profiles. I also recently submitted a grant proposal to analyze osseous and aDNA evidence for leprosy in skeletons from Indus Civilization sites (Harappa and Kalibangan).

I teach in the biological anthropology curriculum at Appalachian State University. My courses include ANT 2230 Biological Anthropology, ANT 3220 Human Biological Variation, ANT 3300 Human Osteology, ANT 4320 Human Evolution, ANT 4330 Bioarchaeology, and ANT 4340 Paleoanthropology of South Asia.

News Links to Dr.

Robbins's Research

Oldest Skeletal Evidence

for Leprosy (2000 B.C.)