Kathryn O'Donnell Miyar is the State Archaeologist for Florida and the Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Archaeological Research at the Florida Department of State in Tallahassee. Dr. Miyar manages the three Bureau programs— Archaeological Collections & Conservation, Public Lands Archaeology, and Underwater Archaeology— which are responsible for managing the State of Florida’s archaeological resources on state-owned and managed lands including sovereignty submerged lands. As State Archaeologist she is tasked with duties under 872.05, F.S., to investigate human remains cases and assume jurisdiction over, and responsibility for, Unmarked Human Burials greater than 75 years deceased.
Dr. Miyar is a bioarchaeologist specializing in dental anthropology and paleopathology and the application of these studies toward epidemiology and public health. Her regional focuses are in the Southeastern United States and Europe. Dr. Miyar received her B.A. at the University of Miami; her M.A. at Florida Atlantic University; and her Ph.D. at Florida State University. She was a postdoctoral researcher for Dr. Dennis Slice at the FSU Department of Scientific Computing, conducting collaborative research with the Anthropology Team at US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center (NSRDEC).
Previously, Dr. Miyar was an Osteologist and NAGPRA Supervisor for the National Park Service (NPS) at the Southeast Archeological Center (SEAC) in Tallahassee, FL. Her role involved assisting the National Parks with legal compliance regarding the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), being the lead investigator for inadvertent discoveries of human remains in Southeastern National Parks, as well as a Principle Investigator in bioarchaeological research for the National Park Service and university affiliates, as well as Tribal collaborative research.
Her research employs morphometric analyses to investigate modern human variation and environmental effects on skeletal development. Dr. Miyar also has an interest in unique dental morphology, pathology and extramasticatory wear patterns. Miyar's research interests extend to epidemiology and public health and she has conducted research on the etiology of spina bifida in historic and modern Ireland. She is also a proponent of utilizing dental anthropological assessments of archaeological populations to address modern dental problems such as malocclusions.
Contact Information:
Kathryn O'Donnell Miyar
kathryn.miyar@dos.myflorida.com
Bureau Chief, Bureau of Archaeological Research | State Archaeologist
dos.myflorida.com/historical