The field of paleoanthropology has always interested me (even before I knew the actual word for it), so for this week, I decided to explore the website of the Paleoanthropology Society.
“The Paleoanthropology Society was founded in 1992. It recognizes that paleoanthropology is multidisciplinary in nature and the organization’s central goal is to bring together physical anthropologists, archaeologists, paleontologists, geologists and a range of other researchers whose work has the potential to shed light on hominid behavioral and biological evolution.”
On the first page of the website, the purpose of the society is clearly stated, with an emphasis on the multidisciplinary nature of the study of paleoanthropology. The society’s aim, according to this, is to bring together professionals from the various fields and disciplines that work together to bring paleoanthropology into focus.
One of the primary activities of the paleoanthropology society is an annual meeting in which papers and other findings are presenting, allowing for the paleoanthropologists and those who are interested to share information. On top of this annual meeting, the society also has a journal that is available online. An exciting thing about this journal is that it is available free of charge to members and nonmembers alike, allowing for easy accessibility into the field of study! This accessibility is important because not all scholarly journals are available free of charge, and this allows the spread of knowledge to people who might not otherwise be able to afford it!
Another thing I find interesting about the Paleoanthropology Society is that on the very front page of their website, they also include their stance on sexual harassment and assault, stating clearly that they are committed to providing a safe space to everyone! I find clear statements such as this to be increasingly important as oftentimes many different demographics find themselves feeling unrepresented or unwelcome in such fields.
Paleoanthropology is an important subfield of anthropology as it provides a window into the past and helps physical anthropologists learn how people were in the distant past and how we came to be the way we are today. I think that it’s really awesome that the Paleoanthropology Society is so open in spreading and making available their studies!
Hi Theo,
I thought your post about paleoanthropology was really interesting. I myself am not educated too much on the subfield of paleoanthropology. The only time I’ve really heard of the field paleontology itself is from the show Friends since Ross is a paleontologist. Reading your post however sparked my interest in learning more about this subfield of anthropology. The Paleoanthropology Society seems passionate about the work they do. I love how their mission is to bring together professionals from various fields and disciplines. I personally believe that so much more can be discovered and accomplished when individuals from different specialities work together. It seems that the Paleoanthropology Society believes in this as well! I think it’s awesome that the society has a scholarly journal free of charge to members and non-members. I’ve always believed that the more people are educated about any subject, the better off society is as a whole.
Hi Theo!
I am super excited about this post because I have been forever interested in paleontology, and when I got a little older and realized that anthropological archaeology and paleontology were not in fact interchangeable, I was quite disappointed. Thus, reading your post on how there are continuous pushes for fields which bring these components together was very exciting. The interactions between these fields would absolutely further and speed up many processes which each discipline strives to achieve, yet often struggles to do on their own. Their coming together would help with the sharing of gathered knowledged and thus better and more accurate analysis of their findings. The free journal that you spoke about is incredible and shows just how much these people care about their work and the furthering of their fields instead of a monetary pursuit. All in all, I was very pleased to see that these professionals feel that they and their fields are stronger when together.
Thank you for sharing your interest in paleoanthropology and expressing your thoughts on the subject to your peers. The website you share is also great source to finding more about this topic, especially since anthropologists and archaeologists always want to share the importance of their career. The website is also a great platform for outsiders to learn more, but like you mentioned more important to professionals to communicate and dive in deeper with their study.
I also think it is great that the site includes free journals. Like you said, this is a great accessibility, as many journals are more worried about gaining rights and will only sell them in order for others to view. This is another instance where I feel this field is really more invested to share this information of paleoanthropology to the public to spark more interest and inform more to show that this is important to world to learn about.
Personally, I have never looked into paleoanthropology, but your post really interested me. Getting to know the basics about paleoanthropology and learning more about the Paleoanthropology Society. I especially liked learning how the website provides the journals for free, whether you are a member or not, in order to inform the public more. It is vitally important that the public begins to learn more about anthropology, including paleoanthropology. I did appreciate you adding about how the Paleoanthropology Society puts its stance about sexual assault and sexual harassment on their front page. Which I think should start being more prevalent with companies and societies in order to allow those who have been abused, to have a safe space. I believe that paleoanthropology should be studied more by students and professors alike since it gives us a window into the past.
Reading your post, I learned a few things on what paleoanthropology really is. I am not educated on the subject at all, and I actually believed it was the same as the field of archaeology. I had always thought paleontologists studied fossils and incorporated dinosaurs in their work. However, your review showed me that they study more of past life in general rather than specific species. I also realized how they use other subfields as well. It continues to shock me how interrelated all anthropology areas are. I did my post on forensic anthropology and forensic scientists use paleontology almost daily. When they study the subject’s remains, they spend majority of their time deciphering body parts and studying bones to see any injuries.
After reading your post I have been able to learn much more about paleoanthropology and I too find it interesting! It is very cool that paleoanthropology gives researchers the opportunity to look into the past and look at how we have evolved and sharing that information. The subfields of anthropology are so interesting to me because they are all interrelated and connected in some sort of way. They all come together to explain important things and help us continue to move forward. I really enjoyed this blog post because I’ve been able to become more informed on another subfield and it’s really cool to see how it connects. I think it’s great that they provide free access to journals so that anyone can learn what is going on in the field. Their support of sexual assault and harassment is really great to hear, too!
Hi Theo! I think you did a great job at pointing out some key points about the website and the society in general as far as their focuses and goals. I would think that their annual meeting, the one in which they present findings and scholarly papers, would be extremely interesting since I imagine the best paleoanthropologists in the world are a part of this society. Your appreciation for their stance on sexual assault is exciting to see as well since a society taking a stance so clearly at the forefront of their website is mostly unusual to see. This society really seems to be on the cutting edge of research and I now know more about what they do and can keep an eye out for future research publications from them!