Laurie E. Burgess is an American museum professional,
archaeologist, and
repatriation expert specializing in
glass trade beads and coffin hardware. She chaired the department of anthropology
and developed an international
repatriation program within the
Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.
Education.
Burgess was educated at the University of
Maryland, where she
received a MS in Anthropology, and at Pennsylvania State University, where she
received a BA in English in 1985; in 2022, she was awarded an Outstanding Scholar Alumni
Mentor Award for her impact on young scholars.
Research.
Her research focuses on historic North American material culture, and in
particular historic mortuary practices, coffin
hardware, and glass
trade beads as used for dating burials, human remains, and museum collections in
anthropology. With Harold Mytum, she edited a scholarly monograph on mortuary culture as found in the study of coffins and
burial vaults.
Work.
While chair of anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History, Burgess
led a program for international repatriation of human remains. She represented the
museum on international repatriation and human remains issues featured in Pulitzer-nominated
journalistic coverage.
Burgess served as an expert archaeologist, alongside noted
forensic anthropologist Doug Owsley,
on preservation efforts at the United States’ Congressional Cemetery on Capitol Hill,
when remains were excavated from and then returned to 19th-century burial vaults slated for restoration. For this project, Burgess
“worked through layers of casket debris, bones, dirt and twigs to date and identify
Washington’s early residents. Burgess dates the remains via coffin styles and
ornamentation, as well as materials such as buttons and pins from clothing that has
long since turned to dust."
Service.
Burgess served as president of the Council for Maryland Archaeology, on an national advisory board
 for the development of the
research data management tool
DMPTool, and has held multiple leadership roles
in the Society of Bead Researchers.
Works.
Burgess’ scholarly publications include: