Lynne Goldstein

Lynne Goldstein (born September 18, 1953- died April 18, 2026) was an American archaeologist, known for her work in mortuary analysis, Midwestern archaeology, campus archaeology, repatriation policy, and archaeology and social media. She was a professor of anthropology at Michigan State University and was the editor of American Antiquity between 1995 and 2000.

Education

Goldstein received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1976 with a dissertation titled Spatial Structure and Social Organizations: Regional Manifestations of Mississippian Society. In this dissertation and a subsequent summarising article, she re-analysed "Hypothesis 8", a prediction made by Arthur Saxe as to the relationship between the use of formal cemeteries and the organisation of a society, and reframed it:If there is a formal bounded disposal area, used exclusively for the dead, then the culture is probably one which has a corporate group structure in the form of a lineal descent system. The more organised and formal the disposal area is, the more conclusive this interpretation.

Goldstein's formulation of the hypothesis largely displaced that of Saxe, with the result that it became generally known as the Saxe–Goldstein hypothesis.

Career

Goldstein's research focuses on mortuary analysis and she was influential in the development of US policy on the repatriation of human remains.She also works on campus archaeology, digital archaeology, public archaeology, archaeological ethics, spatial analysis and statistics. Regionally, Goldstein is known for her work in the Midwest, especially the Aztalan site in Wisconsin, and for her work on the historic cemetery at Fort Ross, California.

Goldstein was professor and chair of the department of anthropology at Michigan State University from 1996 to 2006. During her time as chair she ran a field school at the Aztalan site.