Susan Pfeiffer

- Title:
- Research Professor of Anthropology
- Phone:
- 202-994-6075
- Email:
- [email protected]
Areas of Expertise
The skeletal biology of past peoples, focusing on Southern African Khoe-San and North American Lower Great Lakes; repatriation and the establishment of sustained working relationships with aboriginal peoples.
Research Interests: Bioarchaeology, palaeopathology, adult age estimation methods, natural selection in past Homo sapiens, evolutionary theory, African foragers & pastoralists, First Nations of the Great Lakes region
Background
Education
1976 Ph.D., Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto
* Thesis Title: The Skeletal Biology of Archaic Populations of the Great Lakes Region (Advisor: F.J. Melbye).
1972 M.A., Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto
1968 B.A. in Religion, University of Iowa
Publications
In press Pfeiffer, S., Sealy, J., Harrington, L., Loftus, E., Maggs, T. A Late Holocene community burial area: evidence of diverse mortuary practices in the Western Cape, South Africa. PLOS ONE. Accepted 03/04/2020.
2019 Beresheim, A., Pfeiffer, S., Grynpas, M. Ontogenetic changes to bone microstructure in human ribs. Journal of Anatomy. 236:3:448-462.
2019 Pfeiffer, S. , Cameron, M.E., Beresheim, A., Sealy, J. Diet and adult age-at-death among mobile foragers: A synthesis of bioarchaeological methods. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 2019;1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23883
2019 Sawchuk, E.A., Pfeiffer, S., Klehm, C.E., Cameron, M.E., Hill, A.C., Janzen, A., Grillo, K.M., Hildebrand, E.A. The bioarchaeology of mid-Holocene pastoralist cemeteries west of Lake Turkana, Kenya. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 11:6221-6241. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12520-019-00914-4.
2019 Schell, L.M., Gallo, M., Pfeiffer, S., Lee, F., Garry, D., Yucel, R., Akwesasne Task Force on the Environment. Trends in height, weight, BMI, skinfolds, and measures of overweight and obesity from 1979 through 1999 among American Indian Youth: The Akwesasne Mohawk. International Journal of Obesity. DOI: 10.1038/s41366-019-0349-5.
2019 Pfeiffer, S., Harrington, L., Lombard, M. The people behind the samples: Biographical features of Past Hunter-Gatherers from KwaZulu-Natal who yielded aDNA. International Journal of Palaeopathology. 24:158-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2018.10.008.
2019 Beresheim, A., Pfeiffer, S., Grynpas, M.D., Alblas, A. Use of Backscattered Scanning Electron Microscopy to Quantify the Bone Tissues of Mid-Thoracic Human Ribs. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 168:262-278. DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23716.
2019 Cameron, M.E., Pfeiffer, S. An additional person from “Diaz Street Midden,” Saldanha Bay, Western Cape. South African Archaeological Bulletin. 73(208): 138-142.
2018 Beresheim, A., Pfeiffer, S., Alblas, A. The influence of body size and bone mass on cortical bone histomorphometry in human ribs. Anatomical Record. 301:1788-1796. DOI: 10.1002/ar.23933
2018 Pfeiffer, S., & Harrington, L. Regional Continuity and Local Challenges to Resilience among Holocene Hunter-Gatherers of the Greater Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. In D. Temple & C. Stojanowski (Eds.), Hunter-Gatherer Adaptation and Resilience: A Bioarchaeological Perspective (Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology, pp. 26-46). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781316941256.002
2018 Hildebrand, E.A., Grillo, K.M., Sawchuk, E.A., Pfeiffer, S.K., Conyers, L.B., Goldstein, S.T., Hill, A.C., Janzen, A., Klehm, C.E., Helper, M., Kiura, P., Ndiema, E., Ngugi, C., Shea, J.J., and Wang, H. A monumental cemetery built by eastern Africa’s first herders near Lake Turkana, Kenya. 6 pp. + Supporting Information. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018; 201721975 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1721975115
2018 Beresheim AC, Pfeiffer SK, Grynpas MD, Alblas A. Sex-specific patterns in cortical and trabecular bone microstructure in the Kirsten Skeletal Collection, South Africa. Am J Hum Biol. 2018;e23108. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23108
2017 Vairamuthu, T., Pfeiffer, S. A juvenile with compromised osteogenesis provides insights into past hunter-gatherer lives. International Journal of Palaeopathology 20:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpp.2017.11.002
2017 Pfeiffer, S., J.C. Sealy, R.F. Williamson, C. Forrest, L. Lesage. Patterns of weaning among ancestral Huron-Wendat communities, determined from nitrogen isotopes. American Antiquity 82:2: 244-261. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/aaq.2016.36
Distinctions
2017 Faculty of Arts & Science nominee for J. B. Smith Graduate Supervision award
2016 J. Norman Emerson Medal, Ontario Archaeological Association
2016 Students’ Choice: Outstanding Anthropology Course Instructor, Anthropology Students Association
2013 Symposium, Canadian Association for Physical Anthropology, UTSC, October 19, 2013: Canadian Contributions to Bioarchaeology in Honour of Susan Pfeiffer
2004-- Senior Fellow, Massey College, University of Toronto
2001 University of Toronto Faculty of Arts and Science Outstanding Teacher Award (Social Sciences)
1995-- Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists (ASAPA)
1988-- Sigma Xi
1968-- Phi Beta Kappa