Biography
James T. Pokines, Ph.D., D.-.A.B.F.A., is an Associate Professor in the Forensic Anthropology Program, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. He is also the Forensic Anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and analyzes all unknown bone cases in that state. His prior experience includes twelve years as a Forensic Anthropologist and Manager at the Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii, recovering and analyzing the remains of missing servicemembers from past conflicts.
His field experience includes excavations in 18 countries, including modern forensic scenes in multiple countries, Tiwanaku sites in Bolivia, a Classical site in Egypt, modern scavenger dens in Kenya, and Paleolithic sites in Spain, France, and Jordan. He has ongoing research in the latter country, including the natural faunal trap site Wadi Zarqa Ma'in 1 and multiple Paleolithic sites in the Azraq basin, His taphonomic interests include scavenger gnawing and dispersal, subaerial weathering, and other environmental effects to bone, and he also researches zooarchaeology, paleoecology, and Paleolithic archaeology. He received his B.A. degree in Anthropology and Archaeology at Cornell University and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Anthropology from the University of Chicago and is a former Vice President of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and a current Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.