Smithsonian Anthropologist Owsley Speaks at SU September 24

SALISBURY, MD---From appearing on The History Channel to serving as the subject of a 2003 book, Dr. Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History is no stranger to those whose fascinations lean toward the ancient world.

A forensic anthropologist and the museum’s division head of physical anthropology, Owsley speaks on “Forensic Files of the 17th Century Chesapeake” 7 p.m. Thursday, September 24, in the Great Hall of Salisbury University’s Holloway Hall.

“To have Dr. Owsley on campus is very exciting,” said Dr. Ray Thompson, director of the Nabb Research Center. “He’s a very engaging speaker. We’re expecting a full house.”

Owsley started his career in the 1970s on an archaeological dig of the Aztec ruins in Mexico. Since then, he has identified the remains of war victims in Croatia, servicemen from the Gulf War, Confederate soldiers and victims of the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. He was also involved in the Jeffrey Dahmer cannibalism case. He has examined over 10,000 skeletons over the past 30 years.

Owsley was featured on the History Channel in the “Written in Bones” episode of the Save Our History series. He is also the main subject of Jeff Benedict’s 2003 book No Bone Unturned: The Adventures of a Top Smithsonian Forensic Scientist and the Legal Battle for America’s Oldest Skeletons, about the study of the 9,600 year-old Kennewick Man.

Sponsored by SU’s Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, and then Pemberton Hall Foundation, admission is free and the public is invited. For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.