Troy Case
Bio
I received my M.A. in Bioarchaeology from Arizona State University in 1996, and my Ph.D. in Physical Anthropology from Arizona State in 2003. My primary fields of teaching and research are in human osteology and bioarchaeology. Areas of specific expertise include congenital anomalies of the hands and feet, their utility in identifying family members in ancient cemeteries, and the study of prehistoric skeletal remains and their mortuary contexts in order to better understand the social organizations and world views of past peoples. I am also interested in relative size variation in the bones of the hands and feet. I have taught Introduction to Physical Anthropology and Disease and Society at the undergraduate level, as well as Human Osteology, Bioarchaeology, and Skeletal Biology in Anthropology at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
From 2000-2001, I spent a year in Denmark as a Fulbright scholar while conducting my dissertation research on congenital anomalies among skeletons excavated from several medieval church cemeteries. I have also conducted research on skeletal defects in Great Britain, Japan, and Thailand, and have published several journal articles on these topics. In 2006, I joined a select team of physical anthropologists to study the 9300 year old Kennewick Man skeleton, one of the oldest and best-preserved ancient skeletons ever discovered in North America. We recently published a monograph on the subject entitled Kennewick Man: The Scientific Investigation of an Ancient American Skeleton. I have also published two books on the social organization and ritual practices of the prehistoric Ohio Hopewell Indians. I am co-editor of Gathering Hopewell: Society, Ritual, and Ritual Interaction (2005), and coauthor of The Scioto Hopewell and Their Neighbors: Bioarchaeological Documentation and Cultural Understanding (2008).
More recently, I have been focusing my attention on two research projects in Thailand. In 2009, I joined with Dr. Thanik Lertcharnrit of Silpakorn University in Bangkok, and Dr. Scott Burnett of Eckerd College in Florida, to excavate an Iron Age cemetery in the Lopburi Province of Thailand. We completed six field seasons excavating at the Promtin Tai site, and removed over 30 burials. The other project is a collaboration with Dr. Pasuk Mahakkanukrauh of the Faculty of Medicine at Chiang Mai University. In 2013, I received a Fulbright Teacher-Scholar Grant to Thailand to consult with Dr. Mahakkanukrauh on establishing a Ph.D. program in forensic osteology, and to conduct research on size variation within the upper limbs of modern Thai skeletons. We have since published several articles on forensic analytical methods along with many of her students and colleagues.
Research Publications
BOOKS
Case DT and Carr CC (2008) The Scioto Hopewell and Their Neighbors: Bioarchaeological Documentation and Cultural Understanding. New York: Springer Publishing. 775 pages. Reprinted in paperback 2011.
Carr C and Case DT, editors (2005). Gathering Hopewell: Society, Ritual and Ritual Interaction. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. 807 pages. Reprinted in paperback, November 2005.
JOURNAL ARTICLES & BOOK CHAPTERS
Kongkasuriyachai NP, Prasitwattanaseree S, Case DT, Mahakkanukrauh P (2020). Craniometric estimation of ancestry in Thai and Japanese individuals. Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1080/00450618.2020.1789219
2. Ruengdit S, Case DT, Mahakkanukrauh P. (2020) Cranial suture closure as an age indicator: a review. Forensic Science International 307:1-11.
3. Kasikam KE, Kasikam M, Prasitwattanaseree S, Sinthubua A, Case DT, Singsuwan P, Mahakkanukrauh P. (2019) Sex estimation from the cranial base in a Thai population. Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1080/00450618.2019.1704057
4. Barnes AE, Case DT, Burnett SE, Mahakkanukrauh P. (2019) Sex estimation from the carpal bones in a Thai population. Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1080/00450618.2019.1620856
Mahakkanukrauh P, Ruengdit S, Tun SM, Case DT, Sinthubua A. (2017) Osteometric sex estimation from the pelvis in a Thai population. Forensic Science International 271:127.e1-e7.
Case DT, Jones L, Offenbecker AM. (2017) Skeletal kinship analysis using developmental anomalies of the foot. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 27:192-205.
Tocheri MW, Dommain R, McFarlin SC, Burnett SE, Case DT et al. (2016) The evolutionary origin and population history of the grauer gorilla. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology 159:S4-S18.
Fongkete I, Singsuwan P, Prasitwattanaseree S, Riengrojpitak S, Case DT, Mahakkanukrauh P. (2016) Estimation of stature using fragmentary femur and tibia lengths in a Thai population. Australian Journal of Forensic Sciences 48:287-296.
Offenbecker AM, Case DT (2016) Health Consequences of European Contact in the Great Plains: A Comparison of Systemic Stress Levels in Pre- and Post-Contact Arikara Populations. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 26:502-513.
Case DT, Rawlins C, Mick C (2015) Measurement standards for human metacarpals. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 157:322-329.
Viwatpinyo K, Case DT, Mahakkanukrauh P (2014) Sex estimation from the navicular bone in a Thai population. Siriraj Medical Journal 66(6):210-218.
Burnett SE, Case DT (2014) Interpretation of variant morphological patterns in the hallucal cuneometatarsal joint. Anthropological Science 22(3):123-129.
Barrett CK, Case DT (2014) Use of 2D:4D digit ratios to determine sex. Journal of Forensic Sciences 59(5):1315-1320.
Case DT (2014) Bones of the Hands and Feet. In Kennewick Man: The Scientific Investigation of an Ancient American Skeleton, edited by D. Owsley and R. Jantz. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, pp. 249-278.
Mahakkanukrauh P, Praneatpolgran S, Ruengdit S, Singsuwan P, Duangto P, Case DT (2014) Sex estimation from the talus in a Thai population. Forensic Science International 240:152.e1-152.e8.
Mahakkanukrauh P, Khanpetch P, Prasitwattanseree S, Case DT, (2013) Determination of sex from the proximal phalanges in a Thai population. Forensic Science International 226:208-215.
Case DT, Burnett SE (2012) Identification of Tarsal Coalition and Frequency Estimates From Skeletal Samples. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 22(6):667-684, doi: 10.1002/oa.1228.
Offenbecker AM, Case DT (2012) Accessory Navicular: A Heritable Accessory Bone of the Human Foot. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 22:158-167. doi:10.1002/oa.1193
Harris SM, Case DT (2012) Sexual dimorphism in the tarsal bones: implications for sex determination. Journal of Forensic Sciences 57(2):295-305, doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2011.02004.x.
Khanpetch P, Prasitwattanseree S, Case DT, Mahakkanukrauh P (2012) Determination of sex from the metacarpals in a Thai population. Forensic Science International 217:229.e1-229.e8, doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.10.044.
Mahakkanukrauh P, Khanpetch P, Prasitwattanseree S, Vichairat K, Case DT (2011) Stature estimation from long bone lengths in a Thai population. Forensic Science International 210:279.e1-279.e7, doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.04.025.
Burnett SE, Case DT (2011) Bipartite Medial Cuneiform: New Frequencies from Skeletal Collections and a Meta-Analysis of Previous Cases. Homo – Journal of Comparative Human Biology 62(2):109-125.
Case DT, Burnett SE (Early View 2010) Identification of Tarsal Coalition and Frequency Estimates From Skeletal Samples. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. doi: 10.1002/oa.1228
Case DT (2010) Assessing the potential of metacarpophalangeal pattern profiles in skeletal analysis. In Bones, Teeth, and Genes: Current Research in Physical Anthropology, edited by Yao-Fong Chen and Mutsu Hsu. Hualien, Taiwan: Tzu Chi University Press, pp. 1-37.
Zhang H, Chen Y, Ding M, Jin L, Case DT, et al. (2010) Dermatoglyphics from all Chinese ethnic groups reveal geographic patterning. PLoS ONE 5(1):e8783. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0008783.
Case DT and Ross AH (2007) Sex determination from hand and foot bone lengths. Journal of Forensic Sciences 52(2):264-270.
Case DT and Heilman J (2006) New siding techniques for the manual phalanges: a blind test. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 16:338-346.
Case DT, Hill RJ, Merbs CF and Fong M (2006) Polydactyly in the prehistoric Southwest. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 16:221-235.
Case DT, Burnett SE and Nielsen T (2006) Os acromiale: Population differences and their etiological significance. HOMO – Journal of Comparative Human Biology 57(1):1-18.
Case DT and Heilman J (2005) Pedal symphalangism in modern American and Japanese samples. HOMO – Journal of Comparative Human Biology 55:251-262.
Burnett SE and Case DT (2005) Naviculo-cuneiform I coalition: evidence of significant differences in tarsal coalition frequency. The Foot 15(2):80-85.
Carr C and Case DT (2005) The gathering of Hopewell. In Gathering Hopewell: Society, Ritual, and Ritual Interaction, edited by C Carr and DT Case, pp. 19-50. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Carr C and Case DT (2005). The nature of leadership in Scioto Hopewellian societies: Role segregation and the transformation from shamanism. In Gathering Hopewell: Society, Ritual, and Ritual Interaction, edited by C Carr and DT Case, pp. 177-237. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Case DT and Burnett SE (2000) Frequency and form of the supracondylar process among ancient Nubians. Journal of Paleopathology 12(3):17-27.
Regan M, Case DT and Cleaves-Brundige J (1999) Articular surface defects in the third metatarsal and third cuneiform: Nonosseous tarsal coalition. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 109(1):53-66.
Case DT, Ossenberg NS and Burnett SE (1998) Os intermetatarseum: A heritable accessory bone of the human foot. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 107(2):199-210.
Bueschgen W and Case DT (1996) Evidence of prehistoric scalping at Vosberg, central Arizona. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 6(3):230-248.
Area(s) of Expertise
Human Osteology, Bioarchaeology, Skeletal defects and anomalies, Metric Variation, Thailand