Erin C. Blankenship-Sefczek, PhD

Assistant Professor

Contact

ErinBlakenship-Sefczek@creighton.edu
School of Dentistry
Oral Biology
Faculty - Dentistry
SOD - School of Dentistry - 439B

Erin C. Blankenship-Sefczek, PhD

Assistant Professor

Erin Blankenship-Sefczek received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Aarts in anthropology with an emphasis in biological anthropology and bioarchaeology from San Diego State University. She received her Ph.D. in anthropology with an emphasis in dental anthropology and bioarchaeology from Ohio State University. 

Curriculum Vitae

Teaching Interests

  • Biological Anthropology

Research Focus

Dental development, physiological stress markers, tooth morphology, ancient health and social systems, disease and trauma.
 

Department

Oral Biology

Position

Assistant Professor

Articles

  • Ancient Mesoamerica
    First steps-Dentition, kinship, social group, and stats in the Upper Belize River Valley: Small sample insights into Classic Maya social organization in Central Western Belize 2019
  • Dental Anthropology
    Expressions of two near absent dental traits, lingual cuspule and paraconid, on one Archaic period modern human from the Ohio Valley 2019
  • Dental Anthropology
    Maxillary lateral incisor variation and rare trait expression: A case study from Pre-historic Paa-ko, New Mexico 2013

Publications

  • Assessing the effects of dental developmental stress and the shift to agriculture on tooth crown size, cusp spacing, and accessory cusp expression in modern humans through the Patterning Cascade Model of morphogenesis. 2019

Presentations

  • "Dental reduction, physiological stress, and changing lifeways: Alterations to dental characteristics associated with the transition to agriculture in Prehistoric Ohio" -American Association of Physical Anthropologists Annual Meeting, Cleveland, OH, April 2020
  • "Lingual cuspule and paraconid on one Archaic period individual from the Ohio Valley" -American Association of Physical Anthropologists Annual Meeting, Cleveland, OH, March 2019
  • "Dentition, kinship, and status in the Mopan-Macal Triangle: Small-sample insights into Classic Maya social organization in Central Western Belize"-Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting, Washington DC, Invited Symposium, April 2018
  • "Tooth size, cusp expression, and nutritional stress"-American Association of Physical Anthropologists Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Poster Presentation, April 2017
  • "Archaeology and the Maya" -Columbus' Center of Science and Industry; Synapse Program, April 2016