Brea McCauley

I am broadly interested in the variability in human behaviour. How groups adapt to similar social problems with vastly different practices, or how groups grow to have similar practices for drastically different purposes. 

My current research endeavours focus on addressing the variability in extreme body modification rituals. My M.A. work focused on exploring the extreme dysphoric ritual of finger amputation through cross-cultural ethnographic survey as well as a case study of Ancient Maya finger amputation practices. My current PhD work focuses on tattooing using Micronesia and Polynesia tattoo traditions as case studies.