Tiffiny A. Tung – författare

The Wari Empire thrived in the Peruvian Andes between AD 600 and 1000. This study of human skeletons reveals the biological and social impact of Wari imperialism on people's lives, particularly its effects on community organisation and frequency of violence of both ruling elites and subjects.The Wari state was one of the first politically centralised civilisations in the New World that expanded dramatically as a product of its economic and military might. Tiffiny Tung reveals that Wari political and military elites promoted and valorised aggressive actions, such as the abduction of men, women, and children from foreign settlements. Captive men and children were sacrificed, dismembered, and transformed into trophy heads, while non-local women received different treatment relative to the men and children.By inspecting bioarchaeological data from skeletons and ancient DNA, as well as archaeological data, Tung provides a better understanding of how the empire's practices affected human communities, particularly in terms of age/sex structure, mortuary treatment, use of violence, and ritual processes associated with power and bodies.

What is a bioarchaeologist? What does he or she do?Meet Tiffiny, a kid like you and me, who grew up and became a bioarchaeologist! Tiffiny's father emigrated from China to the United States before she was born. She grew up exploring museums and the outdoors with her father, and discovered her passion for understanding different peoples and cultures. Learn about how she uses archaeology and biology to understand how people in the past lived and why they moved from one part of the Earth to another.The Who Me? series features inspirational biographies of scientists who young readers will be able to identify with as people like themselves. Written by the scientists themselves and co-authors from Vanderbilt University, the books are designed to help young readers understand that scientists are regular people like themselves who are excited about learning and discovering new things and who decided to work hard in school in order to create for themselves the opportunity to become scientists. As they learn the stories of these scientists, readers will also learn some basic science ideas, that are well-explained and easily understood, and be introduced to the cutting-edge science these scientists are working on today.