The Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University engages in the discipline as a humanistic science of cultural and biological diversity across time and space. Our strength is in our diversity of approaches to this fundamental inquiry. Our faculty specializes in socio-cultural anthropology, archaeology, medical anthropology, physical anthropology, and anthropological linguistics. We work towards an understanding of the human condition, past and present, in countries across the world and in our own backyards. Our undergraduate and graduate students are trained to be critical thinkers. We offer undergraduates research opportunities inside and outside the classroom, and our graduates find that their degrees have prepared them for a wide variety of experiences within and outside the discipline. I encourage you to explore this new website and see for yourself the many approaches to anthropological research practiced by our faculty and graduate students, and visit us often here or on Facebook to keep up on the achievements of our faculty, students, and alums.
News & Updates
- Field Notes from Tuscany: A Student’s Perspective on Archaeology AbroadSenior anthropology major Paige Topping recently spent a month in Tuscany, Italy, working with the IMPERO Project at the Monteverdi Field School. In this Q&A, she shares her firsthand experiences of living abroad, working on an active archaeological site, and how this experience deepened her appreciation for the field of archaeology. What interested you in
- New study reveals how breastfeeding mothers adapt to environmental stressCan a mother’s body protect her breast milk even if she is malnourished? Yes. In her new study, Dual Behavioral–Physiological Buffering of Mothers’ Milk Facilitates Drought Adaptability of Pastoralists and Agropastoralists in Northern Kenya, Dr. Masako Fujita examines how environmental challenges—like drought—affect the nutrition and health of 221 breastfeeding mothers living in northern Kenya. “During a
- MSU helps advance efforts to reduce ligament injury in dog knee replacementsAn unexpected collaboration between forensic anthropologists and veterinarians could help reduce ligament injuries during total knee replacement (TKR) surgeries in dogs. Dr. Joe Hefner, a forensic anthropologist, and Savannah Holcombe, a doctoral student at Michigan State University (MSU), partnered with researchers from MSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Cambridge Veterinary School to improve the accuracy
- Anthropology researchers examine COVID-19’s ongoing impact on families and nationsA new open-access publication features the work of Dr. Heather Howard, associate professor of anthropology at Michigan State University, and MSU doctoral candidate Priyanka Jayakodi. The book, titled Covid’s Chronicities: From Urgency to Stasis in a Pandemic Era, examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved from a global emergency to a state of chronic unpredictability. Drawing
- Discovery of ancient wolf mandibles links the Illinois Hopewell to Michigan The discovery of two 2,000-year-old modified wolf mandibles has provided new insight linking the Illinois Hopewell to southern Michigan. Professor Emeritus Dr. William Lovis of the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University and the late Maurice O. Haag published an article in Illinois Archaeology, “Cut and Polished Wolf Mandible Segments from the Quanicassee River Drainage,
- Anthropology doctoral student Gungun Islam wins Shao Chang Lee AwardGungun Islam, an anthropology doctoral student, won first place in the 2024-2025 Shao Chang Lee Best Paper Competition. Islam said receiving this award was a ‘powerful reminder’ that her research is significant. “It’s rewarding to see my hard work, long hours of research, and emotional investment in the topic recognized in such a tangible way,”