A Former Assistant Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Danielle Kurin, PhD, teaches anthropological bioarchaeology, with a focus on ancient civilizations of the Andes and disaster and social collapse. Experienced in forensics and the examination of mummies, Danielle Kurin, PhD, has extensive knowledge of trepanation and cranial and brain surgery, as it was practiced by ancient civilizations.

Dr. Kurin leads an international field research program centered in Andahuaylas, a south-central highland region of Peru. As founding director of the Andahuaylas Museum and Lab, Dr. Kurin has taught at provincial universities for a number of years. She has coordinated and envisioned a variety of workshops, conferences, and exhibits, as well as publications that connect contemporary Andeans with their traditions and heritage while teaching critical inquiry skills.

Dr. Kurin has extensively investigated topics such as how natural disasters affect populations and individuals across a span of decades. Holding an MA in anthropology from Vanderbilt University, Danielle Kurin, PhD, also earned her PhD at the same institution, with a dissertation on “The Bioarchaeology of Collapse: Ethnogenisis and Ethnocide in Post-Imperial Andahuaylas, Peru (AD 900-1250).”

Danielle Kurin