Dr. Jessica Rothwell is a bioarchaeologist whose research focuses on reconstructing the past lifeways and health outcomes of everyday people in rapidly developing urban environments. Drawing on archaeological, osteological, paleopathological, biogeochemical, and historical evidence, she examines how past communities cared for one another in life and in death and how these systems of care were shaped by broader social and political structures.
Dr. Rothwell has conducted both field and laboratory research in Romania, Colombia, and Greece, and she currently co-directs a community-engaged, museum- and archives-based project examining the development of historic Tempe, Arizona (ca. 1870–1930). Her scholarship also addresses the bioethics of research and teaching in biological anthropology and is informed by her previous experience as an Assistant NAGPRA Coordinator at Arizona State University and her current advocacy work with the Coalition for Collective Stewardship of Philippine Ancestral Remains (C4CSPAR). She earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in Anthropology from Arizona State University and her B.A. in Anthropology from New York University.
In addition to her research, Dr. Rothwell has participated in public-facing science education and outreach for more than a decade and currently serves as the Early Career Liaison to the American Association of Biological Anthropologists.