Senior Scientist
Director, T. Douglas Price Laboratory for Archaeological Chemistry
Archaeology
Jim Burton's research interests include the development of new archaeometric methods, particularly the use of chemical and isotopic methods for provenience studies, not only for traditional materials but also for humans who relocated. Current projects include exploration of alkaline-earth elements and various isotopic systems in the study of human mobility and the development of non-destructive methods to characterize historical materials. Current research focuses upon analyses of human remains to examine the structure of the Shang state in the second millenium B.C. China and the development of a baseline dataset for determining geographic origins of humans in ancient Mesoamerica.
Teaching
Dr, Burton teaches Anthropology 311, Archaeology in the Laboratory, a course in chemical and physical methods in archaeology, often referred to as archaeometry. The course is project-oriented and intended for graduate and undergraduate students with a defined interest in archaeology and some familiarity with archaeological materials. Course size is limited by space available in the laboratory and by requirements for one-on-one instruction in the course.
Burton, J.H. 2008 Bone Chemistry and Trace Element Analysis. In Biological Anthropology of the Human skeleton, 2nd edition, edited by M. Anne Katzenberg and Shelley Saunders, pp.443-460. Wiley-Liss, Hoboken NJ.
Burton, J.H., T.D. Price, L. Cahue, and L.E. Wright. 2003 The use of barium and strontium abundances in human skeletal tissues to determine their geographic origins. International
Journal of Osteoarchaeology 13: 88-95.
Burton, J.H., T.D. Price, and W.D. Middleton 1999 Correlation of bone Ba/Ca and Sr/Ca due to biological purification of calcium. Journal of Archaeological Science 26:609-616.
Burton, J.H., and L. E. Wright 1995 Nonlinearity in the relationship between bone Sr/Ca ratios and dietary ratios: Paleodietary implications. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 96:273-282.
Burton, J.H., and A.W. Simon 1996 A pot is not a rock: a reply to Neff, Glascock, Bishop, and Blackman. American Antiquity 61:405-413.
Price, T.D. and J.H. Burton 2010 An Introduction to Archaeological Chemistry. Springer, New York.
Office: 5444 Sewell Social Science Bldg.
Office phone number: (608) 262-4505
Email address: jhburton@wisc.edu