George J. Armelagos

George J. Armelagos
Born (1936-05-22)May 22, 1936
Detroit, Michigan
Died May 15, 2014(2014-05-15) (aged 77)
Atlanta, Georgia
Nationality American
Alma mater University of Michigan (BA) (1958)[1]
University of Colorado (MA) (1963)[1]
University of Colorado (PhD) (1968)[1]
Occupation Anthropologist
Organization Emory University
Awards Viking Fund Medal (2005)
Franz Boas Award (2008)
Charles Darwin Award (2009)

George J. Armelagos (May 22, 1936 – May 15, 2014)[2][3] was an American anthropologist, and Goodrich C. White Professor of Anthropology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.[4] Armelagos significantly impacted the field of physical anthropology in the disciplines of paleopathology and bioarchaeology. His work has provided invaluable contributions to the theoretical and methodological understanding human disease, diet and human variation within an evolutionary context. Relevant topics include epidemiology,[5] paleopathology,[6][7] paleodemography,[8] bioarchaeology,[7] evolutionary medicine,[9] and the social interpretations of race,[10][11] among others.

Early life and education

Armelagos received a B.A. with honors in Anthropology from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 1958. He then entered the Medical School at Michigan-Ann Arbor (1958),[3][4] transferred a year later into the Rackham Graduate School in Anthropology at Michigan (1959),[4] where he met Jack Kelso.[4] He would later follow Kelso to the Anthropology Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder where he received both his M.A. (1963) and Ph.D. (1968) degrees.[3][4] It was at Colorado that he formulated his early ideas the nature of disease and the need for a bio-cultural approach to explain the relationship between the evolution of disease and the human response to it.[12]

Upon graduating from the University of Colorado, Armelagos taught at the University of Utah (1965-1968) [3][4][13] and was then hired at the University of Massachusetts where he aided in the creation of the Ph.D. program in Anthropology.[3][4]

Career

During his 22 year career at Massachusetts he would train over a dozen anthropologists that would themselves contribute to research in human variation and adaptation, paleopathology, and skeletal biology and hold high ranking positions in the major associations for the discipline. He chaired Section H (Anthropology), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)(1997), and was President of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (1987-1989).[4] His graduate students included Owen Lovejoy, John Lallo, Ann Magennis, Rebecca Huss-Ashmore, Dennis van Gerven, Michael Blakey, Jerome Rose, Pamela Bumsted, David Carlson, Lesley Rankin-Hill, Debra Martin, Anne Grauer, Alan H. Goodman, and Brenda Baker.[4] While a professor at the University of Massachusetts he would receive many awards, including the University Distinguished Teacher (1973) and the Chancellor’s Medalist (1980).[4]

Retiring from Massachusetts in 1990 his career was far from over. He would serve three years as a professor in the Anthropology Department at the University of Florida and affiliate curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History [4][13] before taking his current position as the Goodrich C. White Professor of Anthropology at Emory University in Georgia [4] where he has trained a whole new generation of anthropologists (Tad Schurr, Kristin Harper, Bethany Turner, Amber Campbell Hibbs, and Molly Zuckerman) working on understanding the evolution of disease from a biocultural approach receiving the George Cuttino Award for Mentoring (2002).[4] He was the Viking Fund Medalist, Wenner Gren Foundation, (2005), considered one of anthropology’s highest honors.[4] Armelagos received the Franz Boas Award for Exemplary Service to Anthropology, American Anthropological Association (2008) and the Charles Darwin Award for Lifetime Achievement to Biological Anthropology, American Association of Physical Anthropologists (2009).[4] Armelagos published over a dozen books and monographs, has numerous book chapters and well over 250 journal articles.

Death

He died at his home in Atlanta from pancreatic cancer. He was 77. [14]

Awards and recognition

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Emory University | Department of Anthropology | George Armelagos | Education". Anthropology.emory.edu. Retrieved 2014-06-06.
  2. ↑ Fox, Margalit (6 June 2014). "George J. Armelagos, Anthropologist Who Told Skeletons’ Tales, Dies at 77". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 [Baker, BJ. and Armelagos, GJ. 1988. The Origin and Antiquity of Syphilis]
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 [Turner TR. 2009. Proceedings of the Seventy-Eighth Meeting of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, The Sheraton Chicago Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, April 1–4, 2009. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 140:771-787.]
  5. ↑ [Hlodan O. 2008. Evolution: Applications in human health and populations. BioScience 58(6):481-482.]
  6. ↑ [Cook DC, and Powell ML. 2006. The Evolution of American Paleopathology. In: Buikstra JE, and Beck LA, editors. Bioarchaeology: The contextual analysis of human remains. Burlington: Academic Press. p 281-322.]
  7. 1 2 [Buikstra JE. 2006. On to the 21st Century. In: Buikstra JE, and Beck LA, editors. Bioarchaeology: The contextual analysis of human remains. Burlington: Academic Press. p 347-358.]
  8. ↑ [Frankenberg, SR. and Konigsberg, LW. 2006. A Brief History of Paleodemography from Hooten to Hazards Analysis. In: Buikstra JE, and Beck LA, editors. Bioarchaeology: The contextual analysis of human remains. Burlington: Academic Press. p 227-262.]
  9. ↑ [Armelagos, GJ. 1998. Emerging Infectious Disease and the Third Epidemiological Transition. Annual Review Anthropology 27: 247-271. Palo Alto: Annual Reviews Inc.]
  10. ↑ [Armelagos, GJ. and Goodman, AH. Race, Racism, and Anthropology. 1998. In Building a New Biocultural Synthesis: Political-Economic Perspectives on Human Biology. Alan H. Goodman and Thomas Leatherman, eds. Pp 359-377. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.]
  11. ↑ [Brown, R. and Armelagos, GJ. 2001. Apportionment of Racial Diversity: A review. Evolutionary Anthropology 10:15-20.]
  12. ↑ [ Kelso, AJ. and Armelagos, GJ. 1963. Nutritional Factors as Selective Agencies in the Determination of ABO Blood Group Frequencies. Southwestern Lore XXIX:44-48.]
  13. 1 2 [Dankosky J. 2009. WWL: Columbus Revealed. The WNPR Health Forum, Connecticut Public Television. October 12, 2009: Connecticut Public Broadcasting, Inc.]
  14. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/06/science/george-j-armelagos-anthropologist-who-told-skeletons-tales-dies-at-77.html?_r=0
  15. ↑ "A Companion to Medical Anthropology - Google Books". Books.google.com. 2011-03-29. Retrieved 2014-06-06.

External links

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