Anthropology Department

Dr. Colleen Milligan

Chair, Anthropology Advisor, Human ID Lab Co-Director

Education

B.A., Anthropology, Criminology/Law Studies, 2004, Marquette University
M.A., Anthropology, 2008, Michigan State University
Ph.D., Anthropology, 2010, Michigan State University

Research Interests

My research interests are in physical anthropology, specifically the sub-disciplines of bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology. Within bioarchaeology, I primarily study paleopathology of skeletal collections from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in both Wisconsin and California. My focus is on health and disease patterns associated with pre-antibiotic populations and the influence of public health policies during that timeframe.

As a forensic anthropologist, I both teach courses in forensic science and serve as Co-Director of the CSU Chico Human Identification Lab. The CSU Chico Human ID Lab regularly provides forensic anthropological analysis and recovery services to law enforcement throughout California. I am also a certified instructor for POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) short courses on homicide investigations.

List of Courses Taught at CSU, Chico

ANTH 111 Introduction to Biological Anthropology
ANTH 301 Biological Anthropology
ANTH 311 Survey of Forensic Science
ANTH 411 Human Origins
ANTH 413 Bioarchaeology
ANTH 415 Forensic Anthropology
ANTH 481 Human Identification
ANTH 485 Formal Methods for Anthropology
ANTH 601 Physical Anthropology Graduate Seminar

Selected Publications

Milligan CF, JE Finlayson, CM Cheverko, and KM Zarenko. 2018. Advances in the Use of Craniofacial Superimposition for Human Identification. In: New Perspectives in Forensic Human Skeletal Identification. Latham K, E Bartelink, and M Finnegan (eds). Academic Press: London.

Boyd DA and CF Milligan. 2017. Evaluating the Evidence for Injury Recidivism in Two Parish Communities from Industrial-era London. In: Broken Bones, Broken Bodies: Bioarchaeological and Forensic Approaches of Accumulative Skeletal Trauma and Violence. Tegtmeyer CE and DL Martin (eds). Lexington Books: Lanham, Maryland.

Prince-Buitenhuys JR, HL MacInnes, CF Milligan, and EJ Bartelink. 2017. An Exploration of Skeletal Evidence of Injury Recidivism in Cases of Transients and Homelessness from Northern California. In: Broken Bones, Broken Bodies: Bioarchaeological and Forensic Approaches of Accumulative Skeletal Trauma and Violence. Tegtmeyer CE and DL Martin (eds). Lexington Books: Lanham, Maryland.

Bartelink EJ, CF Milligan, and C Sturdy Colls. 2016. The Role of Forensic Archaeology in Missing Persons Investigations. In: Handbook of Missing Persons. Morewitz SJ and C Sturdy Colls (eds). Springer Press: Cham, Switzerland.

Milligan C. 2015. Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century American Health of Urban Civilians, Children, Women and Old Men. In: Health of the Seventh Cavalry: A Medical History. Willey P and Douglas D. Scott (eds). University of Oklahoma Press.

Bartelink EJ, SB Sholts, CF Milligan, TL Van Deest, and SKTS Wärmländer. 2015. A Case of Contested Cremains Analyzed through Metric and Chemical Comparison. Journal of Forensic Sciences 60(4): 1068-1073.

Milligan C, J Zotcavage, and N Sullivan. 2009. Preservation of Non-adult Long Bones from An Almshouse Cemetery in the United States dating to the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries. In: Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Conference of the British Association of Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology. ME Lewis and M Clegg (eds). BAR International Series 1918, 2009. Pgs. 13-18