Vera Tiesler is currently research professor at the University of Yucatan, Mexico. She holds a Ph.D. in anthropology (National University of Mexico, Mexico), a B.A. degree in art history (Tulane University, New Orleans, USA), B.A. and M.A. degrees in archaeology (Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico), and five years of additional training in human medicine (Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Germany, and Politécnico Nacional, Mexico). Tiesler is member of the Mexican National Research Foundation and of the Mexican National Academy of Sciences. Her research has focused on the integrated study of human remains within their archaeological, cultural and social undercurrents. Her studies assess general health and dietary conditions, along with physical embodiment and mortuary traditions among pre-Hispanic and colonial Maya. She has participated in several field projects and has studied hundreds of skeletal collections from Mesoamerica, the Caribbean, Andes, and Europe, including forensic research. Recent publications include the co-edited books: Janaab’ Pakal of Palenque. Life and Death of a Maya Ruler (Arizona University Press), Natives, Europeans, and Africans in Colonial Campeche. History and Archaeology (University Press of Florida), and New Perspectives on Human Sacrifice and Ritual Body Treatments in Ancient Maya Society (Springer Press).