Forensic Archaeology: Multidisciplinary Perspectives

This book presents the multidisciplinary field of forensic archaeology as complementary but distinct from forensic anthropology. By looking beyond basic excavation methods and skeletal analyses, this book presents the theoretical foundations of forensic archaeology, novel contexts and applications, and demonstrative case studies from practitioners active in the field. Many of the chapters present new approaches and methods not previously covered in other forensic archaeology books, some of which may be of direct use to those conducting criminal investigations.

Kimberlee Sue Moran has been a forensic consultant and educator since 2002.  She holds an undergraduate degree in Classical and Near Eastern archaeology from Bryn Mawr College and a Masters of Science in forensic archaeological science from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London.  Her archaeological research includes ancient fingerprints, artificial cranial deformation, the Whispering Woods site in Salem, NJ, and the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia cemetery also known as “The Arch Street Project”. 

Kimberlee has worked on a number of forensic cases in a range of capacities.  She has also provided forensic services to legal professionals in the UK and regularly runs training workshops for local law enforcement.  She helped to launch the JDI Centre for the Forensic Sciences in 2010 and has run an educational organization, Forensic Outreach, since 2004. Her forensic research includes taphonomic studies, fingerprint development and enhancement, post-mortem toxicology, and the interface of forensic archaeology and crime scene investigation.  Kimberlee serves on the Crime Scene Investigation sub-committee of the NIST-led Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC).

Kimberlee is passionate about outreach and science education and is a regular participant and speaker for the Philadelphia Science Festival.  She often works in collaboration with the College of Physicians of Philadelphia and the Franklin Institute.  Kimberlee is an active member of the Society for American Archaeology, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the Association for Women in Forensic Science, and Forensic Archaeology Recovery.

Claire L. Gold received a Master's degree in Biological Anthropology from the State University of New York, Binghamton, in 1998. She completed her undergraduate degree in Anthropology at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1995. Gold has taught as a lecturer in Biological and Forensic Anthropology since 2005 at The University of Massachusetts, Clark University and Bay Path University. Gold is dedicated to researching and developing effective teaching strategies for Anthropology and Archaeology.  Of particular interest: the introduction of anthropological concepts to the K-12 classroom that complement and reinforce current science and history curriculum standards. She developed a traveling workshop in 2010 that has visited local Massachusetts public schools to teach younger students about the subjects of Paleoanthropology, Archaeology and Forensic Anthropology. She has served as site photographer on several forensic archaeology projects, and continues to develop her skills as a site and artifact photographer.

Currently, Gold serves as the Northeast Director of a nonprofit organization dedicated to human rights of the missing and unfound, Forensic Archaeology Recovery; and as a consulting Physical Anthropologist, assisting with the excavation, photographic analysis and reinterment of the skeletal remains of 500 individuals recovered the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia cemetery, also known as “The Arch Street Project.”