{"id":967,"date":"2026-09-09T16:54:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T16:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/anthropology\/?post_type=profile&p=967"},"modified":"2026-09-09T17:29:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T17:29:41","slug":"samantha-h-blatt-ph-d-rpa","status":"publish","type":"profile","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/anthropology\/facultystaff\/samantha-h-blatt-ph-d-rpa\/","title":{"rendered":"Samantha H. Blatt, Ph.D., RPA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Samantha Blatt is a biological anthropologist who specializes in bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology. Her work sits at the intersection of skeletal biology, dental histology, the biocultural reconstruction of life from evidence in death, and repatriation and social justice across these fields. She studies adult and childhood health, growth, stress, and lived experience in archaeological populations from the Eastern Woodlands and Great Basin of the US. She also applies forensic anthropology to contemporary cold cases- collaborating with organizations like the DNA Doe Project to help identify unidentified decedents, including transgender and gender-diverse individuals and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples, whose cases are too often overlooked. Her research has taken her from dental calculus (tartar) in Late Prehistoric Ohio to shrunken heads of contested provenance, archaeological and anatomized mummies, to a historic cemeteries in New Orleans and Archaic burials of the Midwest, to theory-driven approaches to collections ethics. She is also especially interested in how forensic science can be practiced more ethically, inclusively, and with accountability. Particularly, through critical assessment of the inclusivity and exclusivity of gender and sex diverse language discourse use in the forensic sciences and the need to update sex\/gender recording options in missing and unidentified persons databases. She co-developed the COSAGE (Contextual Observations in Support of All Gender Expressions) guide in forensic anthropology, co-directs the Queering Bioanth Reference Library, and conducts research bridging crip theory, queer theory, and feminism to develop a more supportive and inclusive teaching, research, and fieldwork environment in biological anthropology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the classroom, Blatt teaches courses spanning human origins, osteology and paleopathology, and forensic anthropology with interests that also include dental anthropology, cold cases, bioarchaeology, and a biocultural exploration of tattoos around the world, and death and dying through time. She has a long-standing commitment to accessible and inclusive pedagogy, from redesigning lab courses for blind and low-vision students to mentoring first-generation and underrepresented students into research and industry careers. Off campus, she consults on forensic cases for law enforcement and works with groups bringing her scholarship on gender-expansive identification methods directly into casework that restores identity to the unknown dead. She is intentional in engaging students with her research and has published numerous conference presentations and peer-reviewed articles and chapters with students and is always looking to invite new students to collaborate with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ph.D., The Ohio State University<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M.A., The Ohio State University<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B.S., Rutgers University<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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