Professor Armelagos lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on May 15 at the age of 77. He was born on May 22, 1936 in Lincoln Park, outside Detroit and his Greek origins derive from his parents who immigrated from Greece to the U.S.
Armelagos studied in Michigan University and then earned a Master and a Ph.D. in the field of anthropology at the University of Colorado. He became a distinguished anthropologist, founder of paleopathology — a science field that combines biology, medicine, evolution, archaeology and culture and reaches conclusions about one’s way of living through the detailed examination of ones skeleton. As Professor Armelagos used to say “Every skeleton has a story to tell.”
Through pedantic studies on skeletons Professor Armelagos made some impressive discoveries. His surveys showed that the Syphilis bacterium was transferred from the Old to the New World through sexual intercourse between Christopher Columbus and his crew as well as the native Americans.
He was also the one to suggest that tetracycline — an antibiotic sold only by prescription today — was produced by the African community Nubians more than a thousand years ago. The research has reached the conclusion that tetracycline was most likely a byproduct of their beer making process. “Discovering the tetracycline was like unwrapping an Egyptian mummy and seeing a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses strapped to the head,” Professor Armelagos said in a 2011 interview. “It was that surprising.”
Professor Armelagos also taught at the University of Utah, the University of Massachusetts and finally the University of Florida, where he was appointed head of the anthropology department. George Armelagos is also known for his book entitled “Consuming Passions,” which was published in 1980 and is a reference to foods consumed throughout history as aphrodisiacs. He also published numerous articles aiming to fight racism and demolish the common belief that racial difference derives from biological difference.
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