Kari Bruwelheide | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 16, 1967 |
| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater | Luther College University of Nebraska–Lincoln's College of Arts and Sciences |
| Known for | Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Bioarchaeology, Physical Anthropology, Forensic Anthropology |
| Institutions | Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History |
| Academic advisors | Karl J. Reinhard |
Kari Bruwelheide (born March 16, 1967) is an American archaeologist and anthropologist. She is known for her work as a physical anthropologist, bioarchaeologist, and forensic anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.
Since joining the Smithsonian in 1992, she has assisted Douglas W. Owsley, Division Head of Physical Anthropology, identify skeletal remains and determine the cause of death in various high-profile forensic cases. These cases have included studying the remains of three individuals discovered buried in the Chesapeake Bay area of St. Mary's City, Maryland, during a remote sensing survey at the foundation of the 17th-century Brick Chapel Catholic Church; examining and identifying the remains of victims of the siege on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas; examining the remains excavated in the historic Jamestown Colony; and assisting in the identification of American Civil War soldiers who perished aboard the H. L. Hunley Confederate submarine.
She is co-curator, along with Owsley, of the exhibition Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th-Century Chesapeake.[1] In 2010, Bruwelheide, Owsley, and the Museum's staff of the Department of Exhibits were honored with the Smithsonian Secretary's Distinguished Research Prize,[2] recognizing the success of the Written In Bone exhibit, which was open from February 2009 to January 2014.