Dr. Sara C. Bisel (1932–1996) was a physical anthropologist and classical archaeologist who played a prominent role in early scientific research at Herculaneum, a Mediterranean coastal town destroyed by the 79 AD eruption of

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...

. Her pioneering work in the chemical and physical analysis of skeletons yielded new insights into the nutrition and health of ancient populations. This was considered ground-breaking and helped advance the field of

paleodemography Prehistoric demography, palaeodemography or archaeological demography is the study of human and hominid demography in prehistory. More specifically, palaeodemography looks at the changes in pre-modern populations in order to determine something a ...

Life and work

Born Sara Louise Clark on May 13, 1932, in

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...

, Dr. Bisel grew up in western Pennsylvania. She graduated from

Carnegie-Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

in Pittsburgh with a bachelor's degree in nutrition and biochemistry. She married Harry Bisel, a Mayo Clinic medical oncologist, and lived in Rochester, Minnesota from 1963. At the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

, she earned a master's degree in classical area studies, with a specialization in Greek archaeology, and a Ph.D. in physical anthropology. She was awarded a fellowship by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in 1977 and conducted independent research funded by the Smithsonian Institution and the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, an ...

from 1981 to 1988. She was a visiting scientist at the Mayo Clinic, and a research associate and Fellow at the

. The author of numerous articles published in scholarly and professional journals, she taught at the University of Minnesota, the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, and the

American School of Classical Studies , native_name_lang = Greek , image = American School of Classical Studies at Athens.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption = The ASCSA main building as seen from Mount Lykavittos , latin_name = , other_name = , former_name = , mo ...

in Athens, Greece. She worked on various sites throughout

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Her work at Herculaneum established her international reputation as an authority on ancient health and nutrition. Sara Bisel died on 4 February 1996

Professional societies

* American Association of Physical Anthropologists * Paleopathology Association * Society for Ancient Medicine and Pharmacy * American Association for the Advancement of Science * Society of Woman Geographers * National Geographic Explorer's Club

Awards

* Outstanding Woman of Science, 1988. National Geographic Explorer's

References

* Rochester Post Bulletin, obit, Rochester, MN,(Tuesday, February 6, 1996.) * National Geographic, Vol 162, No 6. "Buried Roman Town Give Up Its Dead," (December, 1982) * National Geographic, Vol 165, No 5. "The Dead Do Tell Tales," (May, 1984) * Discover, magazine, Vol 5, No 10. "The Bone Lady" (October, 1984) * The Mayo Alumnus, Vol 19, No2. "An Archaeologist's Preliminary Report: Time Warp at Herculaneum, (April, 1983) * Carnegie Mellon Magazine, Vol 4, No 2. "''Bone Lady'' Reconstructs People at Herculaneum," Winter, 1985 * Carnegie Mellon Notable Alumn

* "In the Shadow of Vesuvius" National Geo Special, (February 11, 1987) * "30 years of National Geographic Special," (January 25, 1995) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bisel, Sara C. 1932 births 1996 deaths People from Johnstown, Pennsylvania University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni People from Rochester, Minnesota Carnegie Mellon University alumni University of Minnesota faculty University of Maryland, College Park faculty American women archaeologists Members of the Society of Woman Geographers 20th-century American archaeologists