E.T...phone home...

Just spotted this blog post about artificially deformed crania being misinterpreted as evidence of extra-terrestrial beings. I love the sheer ignorance of those alien-fanciers, and Daily Mail journalists! But also, I'm glad that this area of anthropology is beginning to get the attention it deserves. I've been working in this area for a while now, and am especially interested in the neurological effects of artificial or cultural cranial deformation. I presented on this topic at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in February this year, and I am currently preparing an article about it (with M. Richards), looking at how we can use ethnographic evidence and clinical observations in modern infants with craniosynostosis to draw conclusions about how it affects/ed the brain function of individuals with deformed crania.

Top Forensic Science Blogs

I was delighted to discover that my humble blog has made it to the Top Forensic Science Blogs website! http://www.itsgov.com/top-forensic-science-blogs.html I'm in some very distinguished company, so I'm thrilled. It certainly tops off the year nicely. Thanks!

Off to Bonnie Scotland

This weekend I am 'hauling ass' over the border to Scotland. I'm attending and speaking at the Forensic Science Society's One Day Student Conference. This year, the title of the conference is 'Sex, Drugs and...', which somehow lead me to entitle my talk as 'Forensic Anthropology: As Rock 'n' Roll As It Sounds'. I leave you to decide whether it deserves a ? at the end or not. Also, I'm thinking Guns 'n' Roses-type rock 'n' roll, rather than Bill Haley and the Comets. So, this Saturday, I shall mostly be channelling Bon Jovi and The Rolling Stones, rather than my usual fare of Billy Joel and Adele.