For this blog post I explored the American Association of Physical Anthropologists website for the subfield of Bioarchaeology. Bioarchaeology is the study of human skeletal remains from archaeological contexts. I then looked at the committees and other associations and the one that caught my attention for this assignment was the Paleoanthropology Society. Paleoanthropology is a subfield of Bioarchaeology and is defined as the study of fossil remains, evolution of the human form, and reconstructing behavior from old societies. I choose this one specifically because when I was younger I always found fossils fascinating. I used to look for fossils at a park my parents took me to when I was younger. Plus, I find the way societies used to work very interesting which relates to the reconstructing behavior side of paleoanthropology.
The Paleoanthropology Society was founded in 1992. The society recognizes that paleoanthropology is multidisciplinary in nature and the central goal is to bring together physical anthropologists, archaeologists, paleontologists, geologists and a range of other researchers that have the potential to provide insight on the hominid behavioral and biological evolution. The primary activity that the Paleoanthropology society holds is the annual meeting in which papers are presented. All of the papers are presented either as posters or in single non-concurrent plenary sessions. This event allows paleoanthropologists and those interested in paleoanthropology to interact and share information.
The society provides a dissertation distribution service as well. The society places one’s dissertation, in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, on their web server so that others can easily access. Plus, the publisher is still allowed to publish their work elsewhere. In addition to this, they host addition publications in Paleoanthropology. These are provided as a service to the community. These are not published by the society, but they strongly encourage “you or your institution” to purchase the actual printed volume. Plus, the Paeloanthropology Society has a journal called “PaleoAnthropology”. The journal is published jointly by the Society and the University of Pennsylvania Museum. The journal is accessible with no charge to everyone, including non-members of the Society. The journal includes the publication of articles, book reviews, and abstracts of the annual meetings. Plus, the journal accepts commentaries on articles and summaries of current work in the various fields of paleoanthropology. The journal can be used as an outlet for the presentation of paleoanthropologists research. Furthermore, the members of the Society maintain a mailing list to keep members informed of issues, events, upcoming meetings, and new publications in the journal. In addition, you can search for members on their website to find colleagues and other members.
Lastly, there is a student section of the Paleoanthropology Society. The goal of the student section is to promote the interests and resources of the society within the student community. The section is designed to encourage student membership and participation. Moreover, this provides a source for student-specific information regarding the study and application of Paleoanthropology. Plus, the Society gives a list of national and international gradate and undergraduate departments in which students can study paleoanthropology.
I found this information very interesting. I thought it was very inclusive with involving students, professionals, and people who are simply interested in the field.
Word Count: 531
Reference sites:
http://www.paleoanthro.org/home/
http://physanth.org/about/other-associations/
Hey burrel30!
First off, I thought the websites you chose to visit and the topic of bioarcheology were super interesting and important to the broader themes of anthropology! When going over your post, i chose to visit the websites you chose first to read what the organizations are all about, and then to go over your post, and might i say, i think you did a great job at summarizing what both companies stand for and are trying to accomplish!
Personally, I think that the way you explained bioarcheology was very similar and different to that of medical anthropology at the same time! i think the way that they both affect the broader aspects of anthropology are very similar in that both are crucial to different aspects of anthropology, but on the other hand, they specifics of how they obtain their information and what they focus on vary greatly!