Raquel Fleskes

|Assistant Professor
Academic Appointments
  • Assistant Professor

  • Ecology, Evolution, Environment and Society PhD Program

Connect with Us

My research uses ancient DNA to understand histories of historic period archaeological populations in North America. I am specifically interested in understanding the lived histories of European and African descended individuals by co-interpreting ancient DNA data with archaeological, osteological, archival and oral history sources. Within this context, I focus on developing theoretical and methodological frameworks for community engagement and scientific communication in collaboration with descendant communities and other community stakeholder groups to make science accountable to the communities it impacts.

Contact

Silsby, Room 413B
HB 6047

Department(s)

Anthropology

Education

  • B.A. University of Maryland at College Park
  • Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania

Selected Publications

  • 2023. Fleskes, R. E., Cabana, G. S., Gilmore, J., Juarez, C., Karcher, E., Oubré, L., Mishoe, G., Ofunniyin, A. A., Schurr, T. G. Community Engaged Ancient DNA Project Reveals Diverse Origins of 18th Century African and African descendants in Charleston, South Carolina. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 120(3), e2201620120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2201620120

  • 2023. Fleskes, R. E., Owsley, D. W., Bruwelheide, K. S., Griffith, D. R., Cabana, G. S., & Schurr, T. G. Historical genomes elucidate European settlement and the African diaspora in Delaware Report Historical genomes elucidate European settlement and the African diaspora in Delaware. Current Biology, 33, 1- 9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.069

  • 2022. Fleskes, R. E.,* Bader, A. C.,* Tsosie, K. S., Wagner, J. K., Claw, K. G., Garrison, N. A. Ethical Guidance in Human Paleogenomics: New and Ongoing Perspectives. Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-genom-120621-090239

    *Both authors contributed equally

  • 2021.* Fleskes, R. E., Ofunniyin, A. A., Gilmore, J. K., Poplin, E., Abel, S. M., Bueschgen, W. D., Juarez, C., Butler, N., Mishoe, G., Oubré, L., Cabana, G. S., & Schurr, T. G. Ancestry, Health, and Lived Experiences of Enslaved Africans in 18th Century Charleston: An Osteobiographical Analysis. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 175(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24149

    *Selected as the Editor's Choice Article

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