-
MSU archaeologist and team publish key insights on natural and human processes in the Andes Mountains
Doctoral student Sarah Meinekat working with other graduate students at the Cuncaicha rock shelter archaeological site. The intersection of archaeology and geology tells the story of human connection and interaction with the earth. What if we could go back in time to understand how people lived in the highest altitudes in the Americas across time? The archaeological and geological record has left behind clues for MSU Department of Anthropology Assistant Professor Kurt Rademaker and his team. “People at the end of the last Ice Age managed to live in the high Andes, an extremely challenging environment where modern nighttime temperatures…
-
Early Chiquihuite Cave “artifacts” are likely natural in origin
The timing of humans’ first arrival in the Americas south of glacial ice remains a topic of heated debate in archaeological circles. In the summer of 2020, a team working in Mexico claimed discovery of evidence for human occupation of a remote highland cave beginning over 30,000 years ago. Because this announcement was made in the journal Nature, it was disseminated broadly and thus rapidly became accepted doctrine in the public mind before it had been vetted by the scientific community. Today in the journal Paleoamerica, which focuses on first Americans issues, a group of 20 researchers from the US…
-
Dr. Lucero Radonic, Dr. Rowenn Kalman, PhD student Cara Jacob, and E. Yvonne Lewis publish in Qualitative Research on short-term community-based participatory research
Department of Anthropology Assistant Professors Lucero Radonic and Rowenn Kalman, PhD student Cara Jacob, and Co-Director of the Healthy Flint Research Coordinating Center Community Core (HFRCC) E. Yvonne Lewis recently published an article in Qualitative Research. The article is titled “It’s a sprint, not a marathon: a case for building short-term partnerships for community-based participatory research.” The article discusses the ways in which scholars can engage in community-based participatory research within the time constraints of an academic schedule. Read the full article at: https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941211029477 Abstract: “Academic calendars and university timelines set an urgent pace for researchers, which can hinder the…
-
Dr. Linda Hunt, Dr. Heather Howard, Dr. Elisabeth Arndt, and Hannah S. Bell publish in Bioethical Inquiry on the pharmaceutical industry’s involvement in diabetes treatment
Department of Anthropology Professor Dr. Linda Hunt, Associate Professor Dr. Heather Howard, alum Dr. Elisabeth Arndt, and alum Hannah S. Bell recently published an article in Bioethical Inquiry. The article is titled “Are Corporations Re-Defining Illness and Health? The Diabetes Epidemic, Goal Numbers, and Blockbuster Drugs.” The article discusses the influence of the pharmaceutical industry in screening, diagnosis, and treatment guidelines for type 2 diabetes and raises concerns about the pervasive conflicts of interest in medical research. Read the full article at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-021-10119-x Abstract: “While pharmaceutical industry involvement in producing, interpreting, and regulating medical knowledge and practice is widely accepted…
-
PhD Student Clara Devota awarded National Institute of Justice American Indian & Alaska Native Student Travel Scholarship
To enhance diversity in the field of criminal justice, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) American Indian and Alaska Native Student Travel Scholarship supports 15 American Indian and Alaska Native students to attend criminal justice-related conferences. The award supports travel, room and board, and conference fees for the selected student. Department of Anthropology PhD Student, Clara Devota, has been selected to receive two travel scholarships to attend the American Society of Criminology (ASC) Annual Meeting, Nov. 17-20, 2021 in Chicago, and the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) 774th Annual Scientific Meeting, Feb. 21-26, 2022, in Seattle.
-
Dr. Stacey Camp co-authors a publication in the Journal of Contemporary Archaeology on the archaeology of COVID-19
Department of Anthropology Associate Professor Dr. Stacey Camp recently co-authored a publication in the Journal of Contemporary Archaeology. The article is titled “Private Struggles in Public Spaces: Documenting COVID-19 Material Culture and Landscapes.” The article discusses the material response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as altered landscapes in the authors’ communities. Find this publication at: https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.43379 Abstract: “The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted nearly every facet of our world, including some of the most fundamental forms of human behavior and our conception of the social. Everyday activities now pose a risk to individuals and to society as a whole. This…
-
Dr. Gabriel Sanchez publishes in PLoS ONE on new perspectives of the antiquity of the Palmrose Site (Oregon)
Department of Anthropology Assistant Professor Gabriel Sanchez recently published an article in PLoS ONE. The article is titled “Reevaluating the antiquity of the Palmrose site: Collections-based research of an early plank house on the northern Oregon Coast”. The article discusses new perspectives on radiocarbon dates from the Palmrose site and presents a refined chronology based on 12 new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dates of ancient cervid bones. Read the full article at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255223 Abstract: “Large-scale excavations conducted by Smithsonian Institution archaeologists and avocational archaeologists during the 1960s and 1970s at three sites in Seaside, Oregon, resulted in the recovery of a diverse…
-
MSU Department of Anthropology to host joint annual meeting of the Midwest Archaeological Conference and Midwest Historical Archaeology Conference
The Michigan State University Department of Anthropology will be hosting a joint annual meeting of the Midwest Archaeological Conference and the Midwest Historical Archaeology Conference October 7–9, 2021 at the Kellogg Center. The MSU conference organizers are Drs. Jodie O’Gorman, Stacey Camp, and Jessica Yann with participation of the archaeology faculty. Details of this event will be announced as the meeting approaches.
-
Dr. Heather Howard publishes in Frontiers in Medical Sociology on COVID-19 in urban Indigenous communities in the U.S. and Canada
Department of Anthropology Associate Professor Heather Howard recently published an article in Frontiers in Sociology: Medical Sociology with co-authors Jennie Joe and Susan Lobo of University of Arizona. The article is titled “Concrete Lessons: Policies and Practices Affecting the Impact of COVID-19 for Urban Indigenous Communities in the United States and Canada”. The article discusses the shortcomings of existing policies and practices, and how the urban Indigenous experience with COVID-19 is shaped by historical and ongoing settler colonial actions. Read the full article at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2021.612029 Abstract: “Throughout the Americas, most Indigenous people move through urban areas and make their homes…
-
Dr. Lucero Radonic and PhD student Cara Jacob featured by College on research revealing how the women of Flint are coping with the water crisis
Department of Anthropology Assistant Professor Lucero Radonic and PhD student Cara Jacob were recently featured by the College of Social Science for their community-based research that focuses on how the women of Flint are still coping with the water crisis. In collaboration with E. Yvonne Lewis, co-director of the Healthy Flint Research Coordinating Center Community Core (HFRCC), Dr. Radonic and Jacob conducted a “photovoice” study which examined how women are impacted by the Flint water crisis. Their research revealed the physical, emotional, and economic burdens encountered by these women and the resilience with which they have been confronting abrupt water…