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Dr. Kelmelis is a biological anthropologist who specializes in bioarchaeology, paleodemography, paleoepidemiology, and forensic anthropology. Her research involves the study of human skeletal and dental remains to reconstruct aspects of life, health, disease, identity, and demography. She integrates methods and theory in osteology, paleodemography, epidemiology, and hazard analyses to explore the interplay between human biocultural behavior and infectious disease. She also uses methods from bioarchaeology to reconstruct life histories and health outcomes in modern and past populations through cementochronology. Kelmelis is also a primary investigator on a collaborative project with other professionals, students, and tattoo artists in South Dakota to understand how this ancient practice of body modification affects health outcomes in modern people. Current and on-going research includes continuing to explore mortality risk and disease in monastic, urban, and rural medieval Denmark, the application of cementochronology to reconstruct modern human life histories in Bangladesh, paleodemographic and life history reconstruction of the ancient Maya in the Upper Belize Valley, advancing statistical models in paleodemography, and the short- and long-term impacts of tattooing and body modification on health in past and present populations.
Biological anthropology, forensic anthropology, bioarchaeology, past health and epidemics, anthropological demography, evolution, and tattooing.
Reconstructing life, health, disease, and demography from skeletal remains (bioarchaeology, paleodemography); hazard analyses and Bayesian statistics in human demography; cementochronology and human life histories in Bangladesh; effects of urbanization, climate change, and agricultural growth on health and disease in medieval Denmark; paleodemography and health in the ancient Maya; tattooing and health.
