Papers by Damien Huffer
There is a thriving trade, and collector community, around human remains that is facilitated by p... more There is a thriving trade, and collector community, around human remains that is facilitated by posts on new social media such as Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, and, until recently, eBay. In this article, we examine several thousand Instagram posts and perform some initial text analysis on the language and rhetoric of these posts to understand something about the function of this community, what they value and how they trade, buy, and sell, human remains. Our results indicate a well-connected network of collectors and dealers both specialist and generalist, with a surprisingly wide-reaching impact on the 'enthusiasts' who, through their rhetoric, support the activities of this collecting community, in the face of legal and ethical issues generated by its existence.
This study investigates whether or not local communities on Bahrain saw changes to social organiz... more This study investigates whether or not local communities on Bahrain saw changes to social organization as they participated in two distinct long-distance trade networks. We present new isotopic and demographic data from three human skeletal assemblages, Middle Islamic Period (c. 14th-16th centuries AD) Qal’at al-Bahrain (n=245) and Early Dilmun City IIa-c Period Saar (n=14) and Hamad Town North and South (n=24)(c. 4,300-3,750 BP). We examine carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope variability within and between the Early Dilmun assemblages to elucidate diversification of diet and childhood residence within small-scale populations centrally placed within the Dilmun polity. Diachronically, we hypothesize that increasing variation in isotope values may indicate a more heterogeneous population on Bahrain similar to elsewhere in the Islamic World. We provide a demographic reassessment of each population, assess normality, and then compare strontium and oxygen results from human enamel samples are compared to a new faunal dataset (n=6; cattle and sheep). Faunal δ18Omw values range from -0.8 to +8.0‰ with a mean of +3.2 ± 3.1‰, while mean strontium is 0.708343 ± 0.000087. Human strontium, oxygen and carbon values are generally narrow, but distinct outliers are seen in both assemblages. δ13Ccollagen and δ15N was also obtained for two-thirds (n=21) of the Qal’at-al Bahrain bone samples initially assessed. The collagen and carbonate data together continue to suggest that mixed C3/C4 omnivorous diets persisted in Bahrain regardless of time period or cultural context. These results suggest that, during the Middle Islamic Period diet did not substantially alter, or become sex segregated, even as local trading communities integrated into ever-larger interaction spheres and adopted foreign born individuals for at least a portion of their lives. The data overall suggests a consistent pattern of sporadic long-distance migration, with migrant numbers and origins increasing and diversifying over time.
My review of Dr. August Costa's dissertation, Indiana University, 2012.
J. Indo-Pacific Archaeology
This paper presents an overview of the pre-agricultural, ceramic producing, Neolithic Đa Bút cult... more This paper presents an overview of the pre-agricultural, ceramic producing, Neolithic Đa Bút culture in its archaeological, bioarchaeological and environmental contexts. Drawing on numerous examples from the 'grey literature,' often published solely in Vietnamese, we review the diversity of known sites and the faunal, floral, material cultural, mortuary and osteological evidence they provide regarding the structure, life histories and foodways of Đa Bút communities. We conclude with a discussion of possible future research directions that would improve what is known about the inhabitants of lowland northern Vietnam during this period, should appropriate new sites be discovered.
Journal of Public Archaeology
This article describes the development, implementation, assessment, outcomes, and potential utili... more This article describes the development, implementation, assessment, outcomes, and potential utility of a University-level, student driven educational gaming project. This project constituted a major assessment item in a course entitled Ancient Medicine, a class and project first coordinated and delivered by the authors in 2010. Discussion of various aspects of the project is explored in the context of educational gaming theory and practice. We demonstrate that educational board games not only represent an effective method for students to retain and convey information even when the games are focused on untraditional topics such as the history and archaeology of medicine. Furthermore, we argue that they can present a cheap, fun and less time/resource intensive alternative to electronic or web-based projects, while still being an attractive addition to traditional classroom teaching methods, especially within lower socio-economic status environments.
The exact nature of the illicit antiquities trade from ground to market in Southeast Asia remains... more The exact nature of the illicit antiquities trade from ground to market in Southeast Asia remains poorly known outside of Thailand and Cambodia, where most research has been focused. This paper helps to address this imbalance by documenting and contextualizing looting activities at the Bronze and Iron Age site of Vuờn Chuôí, located within urban Hanoi. A brief excavation history is provided so as to place recent looting into archaeological context. The methods used to document the recent and on-going looting observed are then discussed, followed by the nature of the current threat to Vuờn Chuôí and a summation of what little is known about the Vietnamese antiquities trade in general and its relationship to regional antiquities trafficking. Finally, we discuss the current regulatory landscape in terms of constitutional, ownership, penal and international law, difficulties with enforcement and prosecution, and what course of action is needed not only to protect Vuờn Chuôí and similar sites in and around Hanoi, but also to continue to raise public awareness of the archaeological repercussions of the trade itself.
Crime, Law and Social Change (DOI #10.1007/s10611-014-9528-4)
SAA Archaeological Record, May 2009
MAY 2009 • VOLUME 9 • NUMBER 3 the special issue: collaborative research in east and southeast as... more MAY 2009 • VOLUME 9 • NUMBER 3 the special issue: collaborative research in east and southeast asia 75th anniversary meeting submissions deadline
Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association, 2009
According to Heritage Watch, a collaborative NGO based in Cambodia which is active in archaeologi... more According to Heritage Watch, a collaborative NGO based in Cambodia which is active in archaeological salvage work, village outreach, and education, the looting of archaeological sites in Cambodia has now reached "epic proportions." Current looting activities primarily involve Bronze Age and Iron Age (c. 3500-1500 BP) burial mounds located in northeastern provinces. Perceived economic incentive and coercion of local villagers by duplicitous "middle-men" seeking inflated profits from the black market, and an overall lack of awareness of the significance of these sites amongst both locals and foreign visitors, furthered by a lack of appreciation of the importance of accurate archaeological excavations for understanding the prehistoric past, fuel an active antiquities trade. New laws and outreach projects have begun to be implemented in recent years, many showing promise, yet the fight against looting in Cambodia remains an uphill battle, requiring further efforts which take full advantage of current technologies. This paper will describe one such project: an educational computer game called Looter! It will be made available in both Khmer and English, and will integrate 2D and 3D art and animation, up-to-date archaeological knowledge, and easily accessible game play formats. Through introductory and interstitial animated "cut-scenes" and two levels of game play, the player will not only begin to understand what is known about Cambodia's late prehistory, but will also comprehend the damage that looting does to all involved, and conversely, the benefits to be gained from scientifically sound excavation. The paper will discuss game development to date, its context, background and planned applications.
Anthropological …, 2009
This communication documents one of the earliest verifiable cases of human paralysis associated w... more This communication documents one of the earliest verifiable cases of human paralysis associated with severe spinal pathology. A series of skeletal abnormalities is described for a young adult male (M9) from a Southeast Asian Neolithic community. Differential diagnosis suggests that M9 suffered from a severely disabling congenital fusion of the spine (Klippel-Feil Syndrome, Type III), resulting in child-onset lower body paralysis at a minimum (maximally quadriplegia). M9 experienced severe, most probably total, incapacitation for at least a decade prior to death. In the prehistoric context, this individual's condition would have rendered him completely dependent on others for survival.
Anthropological …, Jan 1, 2008
The excavation of the Man Bac site (c. 3800-3500 years BP) in Ninh Binh Province, Northern Vietna... more The excavation of the Man Bac site (c. 3800-3500 years BP) in Ninh Binh Province, Northern Vietnam, yielded a large mortuary assemblage. A total of 31 inhumations were recovered during the 2004-2005 excavation. Multivariate comparisons using cranial and dental metrics demonstrated close affinities of the Man Bac people to later early Metal Age Dong Son Vietnamese and early and modern samples from southern China including the Neolithic to Western Han period samples from the Yangtze Basin. In contrast, large morphological gaps were found between the Man Bac people, except for a single individual, and the other earlier prehistoric Vietnamese samples represented by Hoabinhian and early Neolithic Bac Son and Da But cultural contexts. These findings suggest the initial appearance of immigrants in northern Vietnam, who were biologically related to pre-or early historic population stocks in northern or eastern peripheral areas, including Southern China. The Man Bac skeletons support the 'two-layer' hypothesis in discussions pertaining to the population history of Southeast Asia.
Book Chapters by Damien Huffer
to be included in the forthcoming "Art Crime Handbook."
The poorly regulated international marketplace for human remains is the subject of recent researc... more The poorly regulated international marketplace for human remains is the subject of recent research to document the non-academic trade of former teaching specimens and recently “surfaced” specimens of archaeological, ethnographic or medico-legal import. Expanding the research of Huffer and Chappell (2014), this chapter focuses on Instagram, a platform with a recent history of facilitating other “grey” and “black” market activities, but otherwise unexplored with regard to cultural property crime. Manual search methods were used to track relevant hashtags over three two-month periods in late 2015-early 2016 in order to gather data on the size, geographic scope and diversity of categories of human remains as well as connections among various collecting communities. We conclude by discussing current legislation and future research directions.
to be included in forthcoming "The Oxford Handbook of Southeast Asian Archaeology (Nam, K. and Higham, C., eds)."
Man Bac: The Excavation of a Neolithic Site in Northern Vietnam. Volume II: The Biology, 2011
Chappell D and Hufnagel S (eds) Contemporary Perspectives on the Detection, Investigation and Prosecution of Art Crime, Oct 2014
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Papers by Damien Huffer
Book Chapters by Damien Huffer