310 Eielson Building
P.O. Box 757720
Fairbanks, AK 99775
Main telephone: 907- 474-7288
Fax: 907 474-7453
E-mail: jdirish @ alaska.edu

I have extensive academic and applied experience in dental anthropology and human osteology. I also have a strong background in bioarchaeology and prehistoric archaeology (>25 seasons of fieldwork in the U.S. and abroad), as well as human paleopathology. One of my main areas of research involves a biocultural approach to the Upper Pleistocene through modern peopling of Africa, with a concentration on hard tissue morphometric data to understand population affinities, migration, and diachronic adaptation. I have assembled a considerable database of dental and osseous morphometric variants (313 variables in >4,000 individuals), recorded in North and sub-Saharan African samples from institutions throughout the U.S., Europe, and Egypt. Though concentrating on Upper Pleistocene through recent groups, I have also applied this approach to Plio-Pleistocene hominins. Because of this and other research I have >50 scientific articles in professional journals and edited volumes, >50 presentations at regional, national, and international meetings, and several manuscripts under review or in progress.

Please also see my personal webpage.