Daniela Wolin is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at NYU. She received her PhD in Anthropology from Yale University (2018) and her BA in Anthropology and East Asian Studies from Skidmore College (2010). As a bioarchaeologist, Daniela studies human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts to reconstruct the lived experiences of ancient peoples. Her research methods emphasize the important role of cross-cultural comparison for interpreting osteological markers of diet, heath, activity, and violence in past societies. To this end, she has participated in excavations and laboratory research in East Asia, the Andes, and North America at sites spanning the Neolithic to recent historical periods.
Daniela's doctoral dissertation applied bioarchaeological principles to study the intersection of violence, gender, and ritual practices during the Late Shang period (ca. 1250-1050 BCE) in northern China. Her current research project builds off her previous fieldwork by investigating health and medical intervention during this time. This approach combines the analysis of oracle bone inscriptions, archaeological data, and bioarchaeological assessment of paleopathology from human skeletal remains to explore how Late Shang peoples interpreted and alleviated diseases and trauma. Her work contributes to our understanding of ontologies of health and the body, both within this community and across ancient cultures.