Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology; Archaeology Program

Areas of Expertise

Human skeletal biology; sex and ancestry/population affiliation estimation; skeletal variability of sexual dimorphism and ancestry in East and Southeast Asia; human identification; population history and structure; forensic methods; CT scan data; secular change; diversity, inclusion, and mentorship in forensic anthropology

Website

https://bu.academia.edu/SeanDaleTallman

About Professor Tallman 

Prof. Tallman is a biological anthropologist specializing in forensic anthropology, human skeletal biology, and forensic archaeology. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, M.A. from the State University of New York, Binghamton, and B.A. from the University of Washington. Prof. Tallman has held positions of Forensic Anthropologist, Osteologist, Archaeologist, Consultant, and Anthropology Instructor in various contexts. In particular, he served as a Forensic Anthropologist with the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command’s Central Identification Laboratory (now DPAA), where he contributed to the identification of numerous U.S. service members killed during past conflicts, and led archaeological recovery missions in France, Germany, Hawaii, Laos, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vietnam. Prof. Tallman is presently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Department of Anthropology, and in the Archaeology Program at BU. In the Program in Forensic Anthropology, he heads the Forensic and Bioanthropology Laboratory Group, where he teaches and advises students in human osteology, biological anthropology method and theory, bioarchaeology, and forensic anthropology. Additionally, he is a Registered Professional Archaeologist, Fellow in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (Anthropology Section), Scientific Recovery Expert/Senior Archaeologist with SNA International, and Forensic Anthropologist with the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT IX). His research interests include sex and ancestry estimation in Asian populations, cranial nonmetric variability, population-specific biological profile methods, secular change, diversity and inclusion in forensic anthropology, and issues of human identification. His research has appeared in the Journal of Forensic SciencesForensic AnthropologyForensic Science International, and the American Journal of Physical Anthropology and he serves on the editorial board for Forensic Anthropology and American Anthropologist.

Select Courses

  • FA 704 Bioarchaeology
  • AN 550 Human Skeleton
  • AN 597 Seminar in Forensic Anthropology
  • KHC MD 101 Fractured Lives and Bodies: Forensic Anthropology, Disasters, and Human Rights 

Select Publications

  • in press Winburn AP, Tallman SD, Scott AL, Bird CE. “Changing the Mentorship Paradigm: Survey Data and Interpretations from Forensic Anthropology Practitioners.” Forensic Anthropology (special diversity issue)
  • in press Tallman SD, Bird CE. “Diversity and Inclusion in Forensic Anthropology: Where We Stand and Prospects for the Future.” Forensic Anthropology (special diversity issue)
  • 2020  Kilroy G, Tallman SD, DiGangi EA. “Secular Change in Morphological Cranial and Mandibular Trait Frequencies in European Americans Born 1824-1987.” American Journal of Physical Anthropology DOI 10.1002/ajpa.24115.