Pegah Goodarzi

Introduction

I am a PhD candidate in Archaeology at Simon Fraser University, specializing in human osteology and bioarchaeology. My research examines how social, cultural, and environmental conditions become embodied in the human skeleton, with a particular focus on childhood growth, health, and biological development.

My doctoral research investigates changes in quality of life and skeletal growth among populations from the Neolithic to the Iron Age in Iran. By integrating skeletal and dental evidence with archaeological context, I explore how major cultural and socioeconomic transitions, including changes in settlement, subsistence, and social organization, affected childhood health and development.

My broader research interests include skeletal and dental maturation, palaeopathology, human mobility and subsistence, funerary practices, and the ethical study and curation of human remains. Before beginning my PhD, I completed my MA at the University of Tehran, where I studied human remains from Shahr-i Qumis, a Late Antiquity site in northern Iran.

Research

My doctoral research focuses on childhood growth and health across major cultural transitions in prehistoric Iran. I examine skeletal remains from Neolithic Ganj Dareh, Chalcolithic Seh Gabi, and Iron Age Qareh Tappeh of Sagzabad to investigate changes in growth, physiological stress, and social differentiation over time.

As part of my PhD, I am also working on two methodological projects concerning pubertal development in bioarchaeology. The first evaluates skeletal and dental methods for estimating age at menarche using a documented skeletal collection. The second investigates the estimation of age at peak height velocity (APHV) from skeletal and dental maturation indicators. Together, these projects aim to improve the reconstruction of adolescent growth and pubertal timing in past populations.

My previous research examined human remains from Shahr-i Qumis, Iran, including patterns of mobility and subsistence using strontium isotope analysis. I have also participated in archaeological and bioarchaeological fieldwork at several prehistoric and historic sites across Iran.

Other Activities

I have experience teaching human osteology and archaeology. At Simon Fraser University, I have worked as a limited-term laboratory instructor, teaching assistant, and research assistant for courses and projects involving human osteology, human origins, mummification, and ancient visual art.

I have also contributed to the Commemorative and Communitive-Based Curation and Study of Unclaimed Human Remains project at SFU. This work supports the ethical curation and study of human remains while engaging local and non-local communities in osteological and mortuary research.

Publications

Goodarzi, P., Dehpahlavan, M., & Sołtysiak, A. (2025). Settled farmers or mobile herders? Patterns of mobility at Shahr-i Qumis, a late antiquity site in northern Iran, investigated using strontium isotope values. Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 17, 39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-024-02150-x

Nemati, M., Goodarzi, P., Nami, H., & Mousavinia, M. Human remains from Tappeh Khatoonlar, Malard, Iran, 2019. Bioarchaeology of the Near East, 17.  https://anthropology.uw.edu.pl/17/bne-17-05.pdf

Goodarzi, P., Dehpahlavan, M., & Sołtysiak, A. (2018). Human remains from Shahr-i Qumis, Iran, 1967–1978. Bioarchaeology of the Near East, 12, 89–94. http://anthropology.uw.edu.pl/12/bne-12-10.pdf

Goodarzi, P., Kharanaghi, M. H. A., Abe, M., & Sołtysiak, A. (2018). Human remains from Kaleh Kub, Iran, 2018. Bioarchaeology of the Near East, 12, 76–80. http://www.anthropology.uw.edu.pl/12/bne-12-07.pdf