Because I’m double majoring in anthropology and art history here at Michigan State (both being Bachelor of Arts degrees), my relationship with science is pretty spotty. However, while these studies may seem to have zero correlation to human evolution, there are still interesting and unique connections that can be and have been drawn between these subjects  (science and humanities working together, who knew, right?). I’ll start with my anthropology major. Within this, I focus more heavily on archaeology than any of the other three subfields. Archaeology, at least within my experience, understands evolution as something, Alters and Alters noted, that “… ties [humans] together” (pg. 10). I’ve noticed that across all archaeological studies, from Peru to Greece, the idea that humans, though they can differ in material culture, can be traced back to similar peoples and humans change as they interact with different environments. Art history  has a little bit more of a complicated relationship because we look at the physical art and the culture from which the art is derived from. Because of this it’s easier to think about variability in terms of how each culture has their own traditions (and even traditions within traditions) – it’s not fair in the least bit to say art history has “evolved” because art history pertains to more than just one group of people, it varies all over the world and changes throughout time. Cultures are not static and are constantly changing throughout history, leading to new avenues of exploration in the arts and sometimes a resurgence of old artistic practices, constantly diversifying the world of art. Over all in my admittedly limited experience, because I’m using these majors to piece together the beginnings of a classical archaeology career, I look at both views of evolution to sniff out instances of racism in past studies while looking at groups as individuals (if that makes sense). Humans may vary but, once we look back, it’s clear to see that we’re all connected in our past.

After going through the lectures, reading, and activities for this week, I feel like I think about anthropology and art history a little differently. I have a deeper understanding and respect for the variability among humans and how we became who we are today, though more specifically from an archaeological standpoint. Different humans and different bodies have variable needs based on not only their environment but also their evolutionary history. Previously, I mainly focused on haplogroups while studying evolution, seeing who descended from who and not focusing on how humans became so variable. Going forward, it’ll be interesting to look at the context of artifacts and be able to ask deeper questions about the person or even persons who once handled said artifact. Classical archaeology is notorious for isolating itself from all other areas of art and archaeological studies and does an exceptional – yet rather unfortunate – job of specifically excluding bioarchaeological input from its research. Coming into this field armed with the knowledge that humans have a lot to say biologically will be greatly beneficial, providing richer and deeper research.