Rebecca L. George
Instructor of Anthropology and Assistant Director of Forensic Anthropology Facilities | Western Carolina University
Cullowhee, NC, UNITED STATES
Rebecca L. George focuses on the utility of dental morphology and metrics to estimate population affinity within forensic anthropology.
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Biography
George is an Instructor of Anthropology and the Forensic Anthropology Facilities Curator at Western Carolina University. Her research centers on the utility of dental morphology and odontometrics to answer bioarchaeological and forensic anthropological questions, with specific focuses on U.S. Latinx and Mexico City populations.
Industry Expertise (1)
Medical/Dental Practice
Areas of Expertise (5)
Forensic Anthropology
Dental Anthropology
Osteology
Skeletal Processing
Bioarchaeology
Accomplishments (5)
Program of the Year Award,, Western Carolina University (professional)
2023
Outstanding Graduate Student Researcher Award, UNR Graduate Student Association (professional)
2020
Public Engagement Award, UNR Department of Anthropology (professional)
2019
Albert A. Dahlberg Prize, Dental Anthropology Association (professional)
2018
Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award, UNR Department of Anthropology (professional)
2017
Education (3)
University of Nevada, Reno: Ph.D., Anthropology 2020
California State University, Chico: M.A., Anthropology 2015
University of Tennessee: M.A., Anthropology 2012
Affiliations (6)
- American Academy of Forensic Sciences: Anthropology : Trainee Affliate
- Northern Nevada Disaster Victim Recovery Team : Member
- Dental Anthropology Association : Member
- American Association of Physical/Biological Anthropologists : Member
- American Academy of Forensic Sciences: Anthropology : Student Affliate
- American Anthropological Association : Member
Links (2)
Languages (1)
- English
Media Appearances (7)
Deceased nun has retained her composure
The Telegraph online
2023-06-02
Rebecca George, an anthropology instructor at Western Carolina University, offers a scientific explanation for Lancaster’s inviolate remains. "When there is decreased oxygen flow, such as in a coffin, and in a cooler climate - such as the clay the coffin was in - could absolutely slow decomposition down," she said. "The public rarely sees a human body at this stage of decomposition, so this is likely contributing to the interest we are seeing.” The condition of Lancaster’s corpse “is typical given the coffin and clothing protecting the remains."
Nun whose body shows little decay since 2019 death draws hundreds to rural Missouri
AP News online
2023-05-30
Rebecca George, an anthropology instructor at Western Carolina University in North Carolina, said the body’s lack of decomposition might not be as rare as people are expecting. George said the “mummification” of un-embalmed bodies is common at the university’s facility and the bodies could stay preserved for many years, if allowed to. Coffins and clothing also help to preserve bodies, she said.
Why thousands are visiting Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster's body 5 years after burial
Geo News online
2023-05-30
Rebecca George, an anthropology tutor at Western Carolina University, noted that the "body's lack of decomposition might not be that rare, adding that coffins and clothing help to preserve bodies." She added: "Typically when we bury people, we don't exhume them. We don't get to look at them a couple of years out."
Nun whose body shows little decay since 2019 death draws hundreds to rural Missouri
Yahoo! Life online
2023-05-29
Rebecca George, an anthropology instructor at Western Carolina University in North Carolina, said the body's lack of decomposition might not be as rare as people are expecting. George said the “mummification” of un-embalmed bodies is common at the university's facility and the bodies could stay preserved for many years, if allowed to
Nun whose body shows little decay since death draws thousands to Missouri
550 KTSA online
2023-05-29
While many see the lack of decay as a sign of holiness, Rebecca George, an anthropology instructor at Western Carolina University in North Carolina, said the lack of decomposition observed is typical. “When there is decreased oxygen flow, such as in a coffin, and in a cooler climate – such as the clay the coffin was in – could absolutely slow decomposition down,” she said in an email. “The public rarely sees a human body at this stage of decomposition, so this is likely contributing to the interest we are seeing. If the remains were buried without clothing or not in a coffin in this type of soil, I would have expected them to be skeletal, but the type of preservation observed is typical given the coffin and clothing protecting the remains.”
Welcome to the Afterlife
The Assembly online
2023-04-13
George said she pursued this career path because of what she calls the CSI effect. The show premiered when she was in seventh grade, and she was captivated by the idea that women could have a role in this field. She got her undergrad degree at Knoxville and completed her master’s degree and doctorate on the West Coast, studying dental remains (“I really like teeth,” she said).
What happens when you donate your body to science
MIT Technology Review online
2022-10-12
Rebecca George doesn’t mind the vultures. They remind her of toddlers as they rustle their feathers in annoyance when she opens the gate of the Western Carolina University body farm early one July morning. Her arrival has interrupted their breakfast. George studies human decomposition, and part of decomposing is becoming food. Scavengers are welcome.
Event Appearances (5)
Applicability of malocclusion scoring within the John A. Williams Human Skeletal Collection
(2023) 92nd Annual Meeting of the American Association of Biological Anthropologists Reno, NV
Applicability of malocclusion scoring within the John A. Williams Human Skeletal Collection.
(2023) WCU Research and Scholarship Conference Cullowhee, NC
The thermal damage analysis resulting from a controlled burn
(2023) 75th Annual AAFS Scientific Conference Orlando, FL
Assessing the patterns of moisture content in decomposing, desiccated, and mummified tissue in the southeastern United States
(2023) 75th Annual AAFS Scientific Conference Orlando, FL
Applicability of malocclusion scoring within the John A. Williams Human Skeletal Collection
(2023) 9th Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Bioanthropology Interest Group (SEBIG), Charlotte, NC
Articles (6)
Fuzzy logic as an approach for assessing dental variation.
American Journal of Biological AnthropologyIn preperation
A Survey of Metopic Suture Persistence in the Published Literature
The Journal of Student Research2023 The metopic suture separates the halves of the frontal bone. This suture typically fuses by the second year of life, but in some instances, persists beyond that. This project examines published literature to explore rates of persistence for examining its utility in bio-anthropological contexts, such as forensic anthropology or bioarchaeology, for ancestry estimation and in clinical settings so it is not confused with a fracture. The metopic suture shows variation in the timing of closure, but when it persists permanently, may assume a variety of shapes. The metopic suture is believed to persist commonly in European and Asian ancestries. A global survey paper by Hanihara and Ishida (2001) served as the impetus to explore published rates on metopism. This project relied on a literature review through academic search engines such as GoogleScholar, OneSearch, and Science Direct to find sources examining metopism. Results demonstrated that metopism does vary according to population, with persistence rates being as high as 63.2% in certain ancestral groups. Generally, the metopic suture persists most commonly in populations with European and Asian ancestry, as expected, but was also found in rates as high as 7.5% in historic African American samples. These results provided some insight as to how future studies relying on population history could explore the influence of genetics and environment on the prevalence of cranial morphological traits such as the metopic suture, as there is still a great deal unknown about why certain traits are more common in some ancestry groups than others.
Barriers to entry and success in forensic anthropology
Anthropologist Vital Topics Forum: Cultivating a Socially Conscious, Activist, and Inclusive Forensic Anthropology.2022
The John A. Williams Human Skeletal Collection at Western Carolina University
Forensic Sciences2022 This manuscript serves to introduce The John A. Williams Human Skeletal (JAW) Collection, which is a donated skeletal collection consisting of individuals from the Body Donation Program at Western Carolina University. Full body donors decompose naturally at the Forensic Osteology Research Station (FOREST) before curation within the JAW Collection. As of 31 December 2021, the JAW Collection has 98 skeletal donors and 16 cremated donors. There are also nearly 40 donors within various stages of the decomposition and curation processes. The importance of a willed-body collection such as the JAW Collection is its ability to be utilized in educational efforts for both students and members of the public. Undergraduate students at Western Carolina University learn from our willed-body donors from the initial intake at FOREST through processing and curation within the Western Carolina Human Identification Lab (WCHIL). The JAW Collection also enables a thriving outreach program through continuing education efforts. Courses are offered throughout the year that would not be possible without a donated skeletal collection. Additionally, the FOREST and JAW Collection serve a larger community purpose by offering environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional burials for community members, demonstrating that these collections have a variety of purposes outside of academic research.
Permanent molar trait expression in the Late Neolithic cave burials of the Meuse Basin, Belgium
Dental Anthropology2021 At least 250 cave burials along the Meuse river basin of Belgium yield prehistoric remains, and most date from the Late Neolithic period. Several have been radiocarbon dated, including the early/late Neolithic deposits of Hastière Caverne M and Hastière Trou Garçon C and the final/late Neolithic caves of Sclaigneaux and Bois Madame. An additional collective burial, Maurenne Caverne de la Cave is radiocarbon dated to the Middle Neolithic and final/late Neolithic periods, circa 4,635 to 3,830 BP, encompassing the range of dates for the other collective burials. Most individuals are represented by fragmentary gnathic remains with in situ dental elements. Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) scores of permanent molars are employed to examine whether differences within and between the caves exist, and whether chronology and ecogeography can account for the variation in traits. The final/late Neolithic cave of Sclaigneaux, the most geographically distinct cave burial, and Hastière Caverne M, possibly the earliest site, emerge as the most distinctive. The final/late Neolithic sites of Sclaigneaux and Bois Madame exhibit the greatest variability of trait expression. These results bear on the mobility and continuity of human groups in Belgium during the terminus of the Neolithic prior to the Bronze Age.
Examining Differences in Presumed Migrants from Texas and Arizona Using Cranial and Dental Data
Forensic Anthropology2020 As the result of immigration policies enacted in the 1990s, migrants have been forced to take more dangerous routes into the country, resulting in an increased appearance of presumed migrant remains in the work of forensic anthropologists. Recent research suggests that migrants coming through the Arizona corridor are from different geographic origins than those entering the United States through Texas. Differences among these groups have been identified in genetic and craniometric research, but it is unknown to what degree these differences affect cranial macromorphoscopic traits and dental morphology. Cranial macromorphoscopic traits and dental morphology were recorded following published standards, for individuals of presumed migrant status in addition to European, African, and Native Americans. Trait frequencies were examined for significant differences using chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests. Additionally, dichotomized dental morphology data were used to evaluate differences between the two samples using the mean measure of divergence. The two samples are significantly different in their frequency of cranial macromorphoscopic traits; specifically, the Operation Identification (OpID) and Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner (PCOME) samples are different in frequencies of three cranial macromorphoscopic traits. Additionally, dental morphological traits support differences among samples, particularly between the OpID and PCOME samples. Although cranial traits do not show a clear pattern, dental morphology supports a stronger non-European contribution to individuals in the OpID sample. Although the samples from the PCOME and OpID are often both considered “Hispanic,” they are different in the expression of cranial and dental traits. These results are preliminary but support further investigations of ancestry on the regional level.
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