Charles Merbs
Professor Emeritus
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1969
SHESC Themes: Biological, Social and Cultural Dimensions of Human Health
Field Specializations: Human Osteology, Human Ecology, Paleopathology
Regional Focus: Africa, North America, South America
Contact: Charles F. Merbs, MC 210
About:
Merbs' interests lie in human osteology, disease ecology, paleopathology, forensic anthropology, mortuary practices, North and South America (especially Canadian Arctic and American Southwest), and Africa (Nubia). Current research is focused on the etiology of congenital and developmental problems, the relationship of degenerative pathology to behavior and the effects of trauma on the skeleton. Research associate at the San Diego Museum of Man.
Select Publications:
Merbs, C. (1995). Incomplete spondylolysis and healing: A study of ancient Canadian Eskimo skeletons. Spine, 20(21), 2328-2334.
Merbs, C. (1992). A new world of infectious disease. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 35, 3-42.
Merbs, C. (1983). Patterns of activity-induced pathology in a Canadian Inuit population. National Museum of Man Mercury Series, Archaeological Survey of Canada, Paper No. 119, Ottawa.
Merbs, C. (2004). Sagittal clefting of the body and other vertebral developmental errors in Canadian Inuit skeletons. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 123(3), 236-249.