Ever True to Thee: Archaeological Biographies from Asylum Hill

Dr. Jennifer Mack, Lead Bioarchaeologist at the Asylum Hill Project, tells us about the individuals buried at Asylum Hill, what we can learn from their stories, and their impact on how we understand mental health treatments and disparities.

About Dr. Jennifer Mack
Dr. Jennifer Mack, a native of Pensacola, Florida, is the Lead Bioarchaeologist of UMMC’s Asylum Hill Project. After completing a BA at Emory University, she spent several years working for private archaeology firms and state agencies, and she received osteological training at the University of West Florida before obtaining a PhD from the University of Exeter. She has been published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology and has co-authored two books, Dubuque’s Forgotten Cemetery: Excavating a Nineteenth-century Burial Ground in a Twenty-first-century City (University of Iowa Press, 2015) and In Praise of Small Things: Death and Life at the Late Neolithic-Early Bronze Age Burial of Bolores, Portugal (British Archaeological Reports International Series, 2015). Dubuque’s Forgotten Cemetery was selected for the James Deetz book award by the Society for Historical Archaeology in 2017.

Dr. Mack has a particular interest in institutional cemeteries and the diverse populations represented within their grounds. Past research projects include the Volusia County Poor Farm Graveyard in Florida and the Johnson County Poor Farm and Asylum Cemetery in Iowa.