Faculty | Anthropology | SIU

My research interests are two fold. In the field of forensic anthropology, I am interested in the use of accumulated degree days in estimating the postmortem interval, establishing known decompositional rates for specific geographic and climatic regions, and developing and testing methods for the estimation of age and sex from skeletal remains.

My empirical work focuses on the primate community of Khao Yai National Park, Thailand, where my students and I study white-handed gibbons (Hylobates lar), pileated gibbons (Hylobates pileatus), and northern pig-tailed macaques (Macaca leonina). We continuously monitor individual life histories and collect demographic data. Specific current projects on white-handed gibbons include: behavioral responses to simulated predators, population-level relatedness, sleeping patterns, individuality of song repertoires, and spatial intelligence.

A biological anthropologist with training in archaeology, anatomy, and chemistry, Dr Stantis focuses on analyzing bones and teeth to place people in their past environment. For archaeological work, her research focuses on methods and types of questions rather than a specific region, culture, or time period. In forensic anthropology, she focuses on methods improvement surrounding stable isotopes chemistry.