Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology and Forensic Science
B.A. (Trent); M.A. (Western); Ph.D. (Manitoba)
Life & Health Sciences DNA C211, ext.7661, amyscott@trentu.ca
Research Interests: bioarchaeology; forensic anthropology; human osteology; paleopathology; mortuary archaeology; ethics; death and dying; 18th century Atlantic Canada
Trent Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology (FAB) Lab
Current Research Projects
Life at Louisbourg: This project is a multi-year rescue excavation of the 18th century Rochefort Point Cemetery at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada. Prompted by ongoing climate change and coastal erosion, the excavation and subsequent analysis of these individuals is a collaborative project with Parks Canada. The overall focus of this work is to provide further insight into the lived experience of the civilians and soldiers who lived in this isolated colony between 1713 and 1760 and to share this knowledge with the thousands of visitors that come to the site every year. Using an interdisciplinary approach, our team has been able to research a variety of topics related to disease, trauma, diet, migration, parasites, mortuary practices, activity patterns, and stress. Once our research phase is complete, all individuals will be returned to Louisbourg to be reburied in a safe location. Permission to conduct this research has been granted by the Anglican and Catholic Dioceses of Nova Scotia and in consultation with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs.
From Womb to Tomb: This project is in collaboration with Dr. Tracy Betsinger at SUNY Oneonta and Dr. Vaughan Grimes at Memorial University. Taking an interdisciplinary approach this research focuses on maternal and infant health in early 19th century Halifax. Using stable isotopes to assess weaning patterns, diet, and migration alongside macroscopic assessments of skeletal pathology, this project aims to explore the mother-infant nexus and the physiological challenges experienced by these two distinct yet related demographic groups. Permission to conduct this research has been granted by the Presbyterian Church of Saint David Executive.
Selected Publications
Munkittrick TJA, Scott A, Varney TL, Grimes V. 2025. Childhood lead exposure in North Atlantic fisheries: Concentration and isotopic analyses of tooth enamel from 18th to 19th century fishing communities. American Journal of Biological Anthropology 186(4):1-20.
Hughes N, Scott A. 2024. Proteins and our past: An exploration of human bone protein from the 18th-century Fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia and its potential applications in bioarchaeological research. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 47(1):23-48.
Hughes N, Scott A, Pitcher D. 2024. Surgery under siege: A case study of leg amputation in 18th century Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Canada. International Journal of Paleopathology, 44:112-118.
Scott A, Betsinger T, MacInnes S, Hughes N, Fonzo M, Forbes M. 2023. A colony without a cough? A bioarchaeological exploration of tuberculosis at the eighteenth-century Fortress of Louisbourg, Canada. Historical Archaeology, 57:315–335.
Scott A, MacInnes S, Hughes N, Munkittrick J, Harris A, Grimes V. a Bioarchaeological Exploration of Adolescent Males at the 18th Century Fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, Canada. Bioarchaeology International (special issue) 7(2):146-172.
Betsinger T, Scott A. 2023 Back-to-back: The co-occurrence of DISH and ankylosing spondylitis from early modern Poland. International Journal of Paleopathology 40:1-6.
Scott A, Betsinger T. 2022. Reproduction in the past: A bioarchaeological exploration of the fetus and its significance. Routledge Handbook of Anthropology and Reproduction. Han S, Tomori C, editors. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, pp. 365-380.
Scott A, Danforth M, MacInnes S, Hughes N, Fonzo M. 2020. Colonial urbanism: A comparative exploration of skeletal stress in two 18th century North American French colonies. Bioarchaeology of Urbanization: The Biological, Demographic, and Social Consequences of Living in Cities. Betsinger T, DeWitte S, editors. New York: Springer Press, pp. 275-294.
Fonzo M, Scott A, Duffy M. 2020. With people came parasites: An examination of human intestinal parasites and urbanization at the 18th century Fortress of Louisbourg. Bioarchaeology of Urbanization: The Biological, Demographic, and Social Consequences of Living in Cities. Betsinger T, DeWitte S, editors. New York: Springer Press, pp. 295-316.
Scott A, Taurozzi A, Hughes N, Dangvard Pedersen, Kontopoulos I, Mackie M, Collins M. 2020. Comparing biological and pathological factors affecting osteocalcin concentrations in archaeological skeletal remains. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 34A(102573):1-16.
Scott A, Betsinger T, Tsaliki A, editors. 2020. Deconstructing “deviant”: A conceptual and theoretical approach to atypical burials in the bioarchaeological record. The Odd, the Unusual, and the Strange: A Bioarchaeological Exploration of Atypical Burials. Betsinger T, Scott A, Tsaliki A, editors. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, pp. 1-17.
Betsinger T, Scott A. 2020. Does health define deviancy? Non-normative burials in post-medieval Poland. The Odd, the Unusual, and the Strange: A Bioarchaeological Exploration of Atypical Burials. Betsinger T, Scott A, Tsaliki A, editors. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, pp. 276-291.
Scott A, Fonzo M. 2019. Variation in soil pH at the eighteenth-century Rochefort Point cemetery and its relationship to mortuary practices and previous site use. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 43(2):201-216.
Scott A, Hoppa R. 2018. The Ice Age with little effect? Exploring stress in the Danish Black Friars cemetery before and after the turn of the 14th century. International Journal of Paleopathology 26:157-163.
Scott A, Morgan J, MacInnes S, Fonzo M, Hinton J. 2018. “Whare ye ennemy used to bury there dead”: A New Englander burial at the eighteenth-century Fortress of Louisbourg in Atlantic Canada. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 29:91-100.
Scott A, Ebert D, Fonzo M, Hinton J, Georg RB. 2018. Burying the Karrer: A case study exploration of the mercenary regiment at the 18th century Fortress of Louisbourg, NS. Bioarchaeology International 2(3):196-205.
Scott A, Hoppa R. 2018. The subtleties of stress: A comparative analysis of skeletal lesions between the medieval and post-medieval Black Friars cemetery population (13th to 17th centuries). International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 28:695-702.
Han S, Betsinger T, Harle M, Scott A. 2018. Reconceiving the human fetus in reproductive bioethics: Perspectives from cultural anthropology and bioarchaeology. Reproductive Ethics II: New Ideas and Innovations. Campo-Engelstein L, Burcher P, editors. Springer Press, pp. 139-150.
Scott A, Betsinger T. 2018. Excavating identity: Burial context and fetal identity in post-medieval Poland. The Anthropology of the Fetus: Biology, Culture, and Society. Han S, Betsinger T, Scott A, editors. Brooklyn: Berghahn Books, pp. 146-168.
Gregoricka L, Scott A, Betsinger T, Polcyn M. 2017. Deviant burials and social identity in a post-medieval Polish cemetery: An analysis of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes from the ‘vampires’ of Drawsko. American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 163:741-758.
Scott A, Choi KY, Mookherjee N, Hoppa R, Larcombe L. 2016. The biochemical signatures of stress: A preliminary analysis of osteocalcin fluctuations and macroscopic skeletal changes associated with poor health in the Black Friars (13th-17th centuries) population. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 159(4):596-606.
Scott A, Hoppa R. 2015. A re-evaluation of the impact of radiographic orientation on the identification and interpretation of Harris lines. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 156(1):141-147.
Betsinger T, Scott A. 2014. Governing from the grave: Vampire burials and social order in post-medieval Poland. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 24(3):467-476.
Gregoricka L, Betsinger T, Scott A, Polcyn M. 2014. Apotropaic practices and the undead: A biogeochemical assessment of deviant burials in post-medieval Poland. PLoS ONE 9(11):1-24.