Julia Meyers

PhD Candidate, Hugo Cardoso
Archaeology

Areas of interest

Human Osteology, Bioanthropology, Molecular Bioarchaeology

Education

  • MA: University of Victoria, 2017
  • BA: University of Guelph, 2014

Biography

I am interested in researching human biological variation, and the factors that contribute to it. My main research interest is the effects of stress (nutritional, socioeconomic, pathological, etc.) on growth and development of the skeleton. I am interested in studying these effects from the molecular level all the way to physiological and morphological level.

PhD Research

My doctoral research focuses on childhood conditions of stress in several populations; including contemporary CT scans from the Southwestern United States and documented historical skeletal collections from Europe. I am looking to see if cortical bone growth in the long bones and vertebrae differs in individual and populations that were exposed to different types and levels of stress during growth and development. I will also be examining tradition stress markers within the bone from each population, such as linear enamel hypoplasia and porotic hyperostosis. I hope to explore the ways in which social inequality impacts degree of stress during childhood.  

MA Thesis 

The Relationship between Proximal Long Bone Shape and Activity among Four Hunter-Gatherer Populations.

Publications

Conference Presentations: 

2017. (Meyers, J.) The Relationship between Proximal Epiphyseal Shape of the Femur and Humerus and Activity in Four Hunter Gatherer Populations. [Podium Presentation]. 45th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Physical Anthology. Edmonton, Alberta.

2017. (Meyers, J., Spake, L., Cardoso, H.F.V.) Sex Differences in the Secular Change of Height and Weight among Affluent Portuguese School Children from 1913 to 2012.  [Poster Presentation]. 45th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Physical Anthology. Edmonton, Alberta.

2017. (Spake, L., Meyers, J., Fisk, S., Gooderham, E., Luísa Marinho, O’Neill, D., Nahal, H., Cardoso, H.F.V.) Early mortality and developmental stress reflected in crown dimensions of the deciduous and permanent dentitions: testing the life history trade-offs hypothesis. [Poster Presentation]. 45th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Physical Anthology. Edmonton, Alberta.