Sara C. Bisel

Sara C. Bisel (born Sara Louise Clark ; born May 13, 1932 in Johnstown , Pennsylvania , † February 4, 1996 in Rochester , Minnesota ) was an American archaeologist and anthropologist who worked in the field of forensic archeology and physical Anthropology was active.

Life

Origin, education and private life

She grew up in the western US state of Pennsylvania on graduated from the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh a Bachelor in Nutrition Science and Biochemistry . She then studied classical antiquity at the University of Minnesota with a specialization in ancient Greek archeology and graduated with a master's degree . She later earned a Ph.D. in physical anthropology. PhD .

After completing her bachelor's degree, on October 30, 1954, she married Harry F. Bisel (* 1918; † 1994) - a doctor at the Mayo Clinic and a pioneer in the field of medical oncology . The couple lived in 1963 in Rochester ( Minnesota ) and had with Jane Clark and Harold three children. Sara C. Bisel died at the age of 63 in early February 1996 after a long illness in a nursing home in Rochester.

Scientific career

In 1977 the Smithsonian Institution accepted Bisel as a member and research associate. In the following years she taught at the University of Minnesota, the University of Maryland and from 1977 to 1979 at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens ; she was also a visiting professor at the Mayo Clinic. Between 1981 and 1988 she led - financed by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Geographic Society - her own research trips and investigations and worked for this in Greece, Turkey and Israel.

Some of the boat chambers uncovered under Bisel's direction below the beach terraces in Herculaneum

In June 1982, the National Geographic Society commissioned her to excavate Herculaneum , one of the Roman cities that went down in 79 when the volcano Vesuvius erupted . By chance, sewer workers in the area of ​​the former beach promenade came across individual skeletons, which Bisel was now supposed to examine. What was initially designed as a one-week task at the most, developed into work over six years in the ruins and gave Bisel an international reputation as an authority on ancient health and food research. Under her direction, several boat chambers were uncovered, in which the inhabitants had taken shelter during the eruption and died and which were later closed or filled in by volcanic rocks. Hundreds of skeletons from various social classes were found in the chambers. In addition, jewelry and countless everyday objects could be recovered. The finds thus gave the opportunity for paleopathological and paleodemographic analyzes of a representative cross-section of the population of an ancient city that died at the same time. The subsequent laboratory tests provided for the first time a detailed insight into the life of the residents of the time and everyday urban life. Bisel's pioneering work in the chemical and physical analysis of skeletons produced new clues and insights into the diet and health of ancient populations and is widely considered to be groundbreaking. She made a decisive contribution to advancing and developing forensic archeology.

In recognition of her achievements, the National Geographic Explorer's Club awarded Bisel, which also published various articles in specialist journals, the Outstanding Woman of Science award in 1988 .

Memberships

Sara C. Bisel was a member of the following scientific associations and organizations:

• American Association of Physical Anthropologists
• Paleopathology Association
• Society for Ancient Medicine and Pharmacy
• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Society of Woman Geographers
• National Geographic Explorer's Club

Publications (selection)

Monographs

• The secrets of Vesuvius , Madison Press Books, Toronto, 1990, ISBN 978-0-590-43850-6 (and other editions).
     German translation: The secrets of Vesuvius . Tessloff Verlag , Nuremberg , 1991, ISBN 3-7886-0596-0 .

Scientific articles

• Nutritional implications of trace mineral analysis of human bones from several sites and time periods in the eastern Mediterranean . In: American Journal of Archeology . Vol. 84, № 2, 1980, page 196.
• State of nutrition in Late Bronze Age Nichoria and Athens, using analysis of morphology and trace mineral content of human bone . In: American Journal of Archeology . Vol. 85, № 2, 1981, pages 186-187.
• Nutrition in Late Bronze-Age Greece, as indicated by bone-mineral analysis . In: American Journal of Physical Anthropology . Vol. 54, № 2, 1981, p. 201.

Others

• An archaeologist's preliminary report: time warp at Herculaneum . In: The Mayo Alumnus , Vol. 19, № 2, April 1983.
• [with Barbara Jampel, Robert Foxworth ]: In the shadow of Vesuvius . Episode of the National Geographic Special television documentary series , February 11, 1987.

literature

• Joseph Judge: Buried Roman town gives up its dead . In National Geographic . Vol. 162, No. 6, December 1982, pages 687-693.
• Rick Gore: The dead do tell tales at Vesuvius . In National Geographic . Vol. 165, № 5, May 1984, pages 556-613.
• Shannon Brownlee: Sara Bisel, the Bone Lady . In Discover . Vol. 5, № 10, October 1984.
• Bone Lady reconstructs people at Herculaneum . In: Carnegie Mellon Magazine . Vol. 4, № 2, winter 1985.