About me
I am an anthropological archaeologist of coastal South America. My research centers human adaptations to life at the intersection of two challenging environments: the Pacific Ocean and the deserts of the Peruvian coast. This work examines the intersection between subsistence strategies, economic systems, and environmental variability.
The aridity of the Peruvian coast allows for outstanding preservation of materials which are normally not observed in archaeological contexts, such as plant remains and basketry. To address these rich datasets, I draw on a diverse set of interdisciplinary approaches, especially ethnohistory, zooarchaeology, and spatial approaches (GIS, drone mapping). I am also interested in Bayesian approaches to archaeological problems.
I received my BA in Anthropology from Harvard College (2012), and my MA (2015) and PhD (2022) from the University of Michigan. Currently, I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Zooarchaeology for the ERC-LASTJOURNEY project at the University of Exeter.
Research
Click the links below to learn more about my research, past and present!
LASTJOURNEY
Postdoctoral Researcher in Zooarchaeology
2023–present
Adapting to new and changing environments during the initial peopling of South America
Valle de Topará
Principal Investigator
2023–present
Human-environmental dynamics the Peruvian south coast
Publications
A Bayesian Approach to Andean Faunal Assemblages
Osborn | Latin American Antiquity | 2019
Marine Shellfish Exploitation as a Means of Reducing Vulnerability to Resource Uncertainty in Southern Coastal Peru (200 BCE–150 CE)
Weinberg, Osborn, and Espino | The Holocene | 2022
Reassessing the Chronology of Topará Emergence and Paracas Decline on the Peruvian South Coast: A Bayesian Approach
Osborn, Hundman, Weinberg and Espino | Radiocarbon | 2023
Subsistencia y producción en la comunidad marítima de Jahuay, Quebrada de Topará
Osborn and Weinberg | Badilejos del Sur | 2023
The peopling of Amazonia: Chrono-stratigraphic evidence from Serranía La Lindosa, Colombian Amazon
Aceituno, Robinson, Morcote-Ríos, Aguirre, Osborn, and Iriarte | Quaternary Science Reviews | 2024
Select Presentations
2021 Espino Huaman, R., J. Osborn, C. Weinberg and B. Hundman. “Sitios tardíos en el camino litoral entre el limite de los valles de Chincha y Cañete.” VII Congreso Nacional de Arqueología, Ministerio de Cultura del Perú (online conference). August 17th.
2019 Osborn, J. “Observaciones preliminares sobre las tradiciones mortuorias tardías en Jahuay, Quebrada de Topará, Chincha.” Universidad Nacional San Luis Gonzaga de Ica. March 29th.
2019 Osborn, J. “Climate Disaster in Prehispanic Peru: Lessons from Jahuay.” Presentation and Pop-Up Exhibition presented to the U.S. Ambassador to Peru for Earth Day 2019, April 26th.
2018 Osborn, J. “El desarrollo de especialización económica entre pescadores prehispánicos: El caso de Jahuay, Quebrada de Topará, Chincha.” Invited lecture for the Instituto de Arqueología, Universidad Nacional San Luis Gonzaga de Ica, November 16th.
In Peru
2023 Osborn, J. Fishing with Dogs: Canine Contributions to Andean Maritime Communities. 88th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Portland, OR. March 31st.
2023 Osborn, J. Maritime Specialization and Economic Diversity at Jahuay, Quebrada de Topará (200 BC–AD 150). 63rd Annual Meeting of the Institute of Andean Studies (online conference). January 12-15th.
2023 Osborn, J. Maritime Specialization and Economic Diversity on Peru’s South Coast. Penn State University Anthropology Department. March 15th.
2022 Osborn, J. A Bayesian Approach to Topará Emergence on the Peruvian South Coast. 39th Annual Meeting of the Northeast Conference on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory, New Haven, CT. November 19th.
2021 Osborn, J. The Development of Fishing Communities on the Peruvian Coast: New Insights from Excavations at Jahuay, Peru. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, February 22nd.
2021 Osborn, J., C. Weinberg, R. Espino Huaman, and K. Pérez Cubas. “The Development of Economic Specialization Among Prehispanic Fisherman: The Case of Jahuay, Quebrada de Topará, Chincha.” 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. April 16th.
2020 Osborn, J. “Killing Man’s Best Friend: Canine Sacrifice at Jahuay, Quebrada de Topará.” 48th Annual Midwest Conference on Andean and Amazonian Archaeology and Ethnohistory. East Lansing, MI. February 29th.
2019 Osborn, J., B. Hundman, C. Weinberg, and K. Pérez Cubas. “Chincha-Inca Mortuary Traditions at Jahuay, Quebrada de Topará.” 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Albuquerque, NM. April 10-14th.
In the United States
Contact me: I can be reached at jeosbo@umich.edu
Visit my profiles at GoogleScholar, Researchgate, academia.edu.