Jo Griffin earned her MA in Biological Anthropology at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
(2025) researching how osteological traits could be used to determine population interaction
between early Polynesians and the Mapuche Native Americans of South America. She obtained
her BA in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2020). She earned a
certification in Celtic studies while studying abroad in Ireland, focusing on Celtic archaeology,
culture, and language. She participated in archaeological fieldwork in Huanchaco, Peru, and
assisted in excavating burial sites connected with Moche culture and settlement. During her
graduate career, she volunteered at John A. Burns School of Medicine, preparing crania for
medical classes and setting up human anatomy practical exams. She has been an intern with the
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) since 2023 and continues to aid in the work
done by the forensic anthropologists within the laboratory and assisting in the process of
identifying individuals lost in the Korean War, Vietnam War, WWI, and WWII. Her interests
include biological anthropology, human anatomy and physiology, human variation, and
zooarchaeology.