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New Article in The Conversation by Associate Professor Gabriel D. Wrobel on Ancient Maya
Department of Anthropology Associate Professor Gabriel D. Wrobel recently published in a new article in The Conversation in which he discusses how how trophies made from human skulls hint at regional conflict around the time of the Classic Maya civilizations collapse. Read the full article at https://theconversation.com/trophies-made-from-human-skulls-hint-at-regional-conflicts-around-the-time-of-maya-civilizations-mysterious-collapse-115025
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Anthropology Department Recognizes Graduating Seniors
This past Saturday, the Anthropology Department recognized the success of 29 undergraduates that either have completed, or will complete, their degree requirements this spring or summer. The department hosted a reception following commencement, in further recognition of our students’ achievements. As part of the festivities, we asked all of our graduates to provide us with a short description of their interests, successes, and their future plans. We congratulate everyone on their accomplishments, and wish them the best of luck with their future endeavors, wherever anthropology may take them! Erikka Arno: Erikka is primarily interested in cultural anthropology, and as such…
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Professor Joe Hefner Quoted in Washington Post Article on Sri Lanka Easter Bombing
In a recent Washington Post article (subscription required) Dr. Joe Hefner, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology, discusses the Easter terrorist bombing in Sri Lanka. Hefner, a board-certified forensic anthropologist who assisted in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, provided The Washington Post with his expert perspective on the incredible challenges in identifying victims in a disaster of this magnitude.
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PhD Student Jordi Rivera Prince Awarded the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Ford Predoctoral Fellowship
The Department of Anthropology is pleased to announce that PhD student Jordi Rivera Prince has been awarded a prestigious National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Ford Predoctoral Fellowship to support her dissertation research. This year the program awarded approximately 70 predoctoral fellowships in a national competition administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on behalf of the Ford Foundation. The awards are made to individuals who, in the judgment of the review panels, have demonstrated superior academic achievement, are committed to a career in teaching and research at the college or university level, show promise of…
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Dr. Lynne Goldstein Receives Society for American Archaeology Lifetime Achievement Award
The Department of Anthropology is extremely happy to announce that Dr. Lynne Goldstein (Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Founding Director of the Campus Archaeology Program) has received the Society for American Archaeology Lifetime Achievement Award. The prestigious award is in recognition of her pivotal theoretical and empirical contributions to the field, in the areas of mortuary archaeology, Midwestern prehistory, historical archaeology, archaeological ethics and repatriation, and public engagement, as well as professional and institutional leadership. Lynne Goldstein earned her BA degree in Anthropology from Beloit College in 1971 and her MA and PhD from Northwestern University (in 1973 and 1976,…
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Annual Anthropology Fieldwork Photo Contest for 2019
The Department of Anthropology is pleased to open the call for submissions to the 2019 Annual Anthropology Fieldwork Photo Contest. This contest is open to MSU Department of Anthropology graduate students, undergraduates, alumni and faculty. Entries must be the original work of the entrant. We will accept photographs from the last five calendar years (taken in 2014 or later). Help the department spread the message about who we are and what we do by sharing your experiences through photographic images! Submissions are due by March 11, 2019. For more information, check out the contest submission form.
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Monir Moniruzzaman Selected for WHO Task Force
The Department of Anthropology is pleased to announce that Monir Moniruzzaman, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology, has been selected by the World Health Organization to serve on the Task Force on Donation and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues. As a member of the Task Force, Moniruzzaman will advise and assist the Word Health Organization in developing a sustainable transplant system in order to combat organ trafficking and transplant tourism. Moniruzzaman’s specific task force includes 31 members from various countries, including experts in medicine, surgery, ethics, law, patients’ rights, public administration, and health systems. Moniruzzaman was chosen for…
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Emily Milton awarded a Sigma Xi Grant in Aid of Research
The Department of of Anthropology is pleased to announce that grad student Emily Milton has been awarded a Sigma Xi Grant in Aid of Research for her MA thesis project. The goal of the project is to develop a method to approximate the season of death for South American camelids (the wild ancestors of the llama and alpaca) found in archaeological sites. To do this, the work matches the isotopic values captured in single teeth to the environmental values which vary between dry and wet seasons of the year. If successful, the project will provide a way for archaeologists to…
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Ethan Watrall Part of Team Awarded a European Cooperation of Science & Technology Grant
The Department of Anthropology is pleased to announced that Assistant Professor Ethan Watrall is part of a team that was recently awarded a European Cooperation of Science & Technology grant for the Saving European Archaeology from the Digital Dark Age (SEADDA) Project. The project is based on the premise that while making archaeological data open and freely accessible is a priority across Europe, the domain lacks appropriate, persistent repositories. The result is that, due to the fragility of digital data and non-repeatable nature of most archaeological research, the domain is poised to lose a generation of research to a “digital dark age.” …
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Kurt Rademaker’s Work on the Peopling of the Americas Featured in the New York Times
An international research team, including MSU Dept. of Anthropology Assistant Professor Kurt Rademaker and five team members, contributed some of the key ancient human remains that documented population dynamics in the Andean region. The results of this research were revealed in a recent article published in the journal Cell. In 2015 Rademaker’s team excavated several ancient individuals from Cuncaicha rockshelter, in the high-elevation Peruvian Andes. Rademaker hand-carried the three rare, ancient individuals which included a 9000-year-old female and two males dating from 4200 and 3300 years ago from Peru to labs in the US and Germany for radiocarbon dating, CT…