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MSU to create first-of-its-kind database for analyzing human remains
When a medical examiner needs help identifying a deceased person and determining how that person died, they turn to forensic anthropologists. To aid in the identification of unknown human remains, forensic anthropologists are often called upon to create a biological profile, or an estimation of the unknown individual’s age, biological sex, social race (or ancestry) and stature. If you’ve watched the TV show, “Bones,” in which the FBI teams up with a forensic anthropologist to solve federal cases that may involve murder and human skeletal remains, you have some familiarity with the field of forensic anthropology. However, the real work…
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Anthropology student wins Outstanding Student Award for Undergraduate Research
Melissa Teja, a junior majoring in anthropology, started her journey at Michigan State University (MSU) seeking a communications degree. But after taking Introduction to Archaeology and participating in a study abroad field school in Belize her freshmen year, something changed her mind. “I cannot think of a month that went better for me, where I was constantly covered in dirt and bugs,” she said. “I loved it.” Two years later, the College of Social Science’s Dean’s Student Advisory Council named Teja the recipient of the 2025 Undergraduate Research Award. “Archaeology and anthropology involve listening to people’s stories through data and…
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Spartan Spotlight: Claire Siegert
Last week, we had the opportunity to visit Dr. Monir Moniruzzaman’s Medical Anthropology class during student presentations. Claire Siegert, a sophomore anthropology student, and her group presented on a case study discussing global health issues and programs. Discover her story and learn how this class broadened her perspectives. What interested you about obtaining a degree in anthropology? When I started at MSU I hadn’t thought I would be obtaining a degree in anthropology. It had been a lifelong interest, but I didn’t know much about it as a career path or the sort of research it involved. I started at…
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MSU forensic anthropologists use AI to enhance and accelerate human identification
An interdisciplinary team comprising of faculty and doctorial students from the Department of Anthropology and Computer Science and Engineering, have found a way to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help forensic anthropologists identify individuals faster and more efficiently. Members of the Michigan State University Forensic Anthropology Lab (MSUFAL), including Dr. Carolyn Isaac, Dr. Todd Fenton, Dr. Joseph Hefner, and doctoral student Alexis VanBaarle, co-authored a new study which analyzed over 5,000 chest radiographs, identifying different regions of interest (ROIs) that aid in identifying a person. The study used deep neural networks, a type of AI program, which allow for…
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MSU student to aid in identifying missing military personnel through internship
According to Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), approximately 81,096 military personnel remain unaccounted for. Allison Thomson wants to change that. Thomson, senior anthropology undergraduate at Michigan State University (MSU), was selected for an internship with the DPAA in Omaha, Nebraska. Out of 135 applications, Thomson was one of six students selected. “I was incredibly excited because I knew it was competitive, but it will be a great opportunity and provide me with valuable experience,” Thomson said. DPAA works to identify the thousands of missing military personnel by collaborating with military members, historians, life support specialists, language interpreters, anthropologists, archaeologists, DNA…
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Michigan State University anthropologist explores Maya land governance in Belize
In Dr. Laurie Medina’s new book, Governing Maya Communities and Lands in Belize: Indigenous Rights, Markets, and Sovereignties, she examines the decades-long struggle by Q’eqchi’ and Mopan Maya communities in Belize to win state recognition of their Indigenous right to lands on which they have depended for generations. During the 1990s, in response to a debt crisis, the Belizean government looked to generate revenue by exploiting its natural resources. The government issued concessions for logging and oil exploration on lands claimed by the Maya. The state also established protected areas to attract ecotourists on lands claimed by Maya communities. Medina said…
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Michigan State University hosts Maya educator to discuss cultural and educational initiatives
Preserving Maya culture matters greatly to Filberto Rash and Dr. Gabriel Wrobel. Rash, a Q’eqchi’ Maya and principal of the Tumul K’in Center of Learning in the Toledo District of Belize, spent a week on campus in January as a guest of Wrobel, a professor and associate chair of the Department of Anthropology. The two collaborate through Wrobel’s public archaeology work in Belize. Through his school, Rash expands educational opportunities for Maya youth, focusing on the preservation of Maya culture for future generations. Wrobel sees their partnership as a natural extension of his commitment to public archaeology. “Rash’s work is…
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New study explores how Indigenous Knowledge shapes child development
Associate Professor Dr. Heather Howard of Michigan State University’s Department of Anthropology has always been interested in the politics of food. “I’ve long been interested in the socio-cultural dimensions of nourishment and how these connect to knowledge about illness and disease,” Howard said. Howard is part of Wiba Anung—a collaborative partnership between MSU and the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan who support the health and well-being of indigenous children and families in Michigan. Their research on how Indigenous communities foster cultural, intergenerational, and communal connections is recently published in ScienceDirect. “We emphasized the importance of Indigenous Knowledge around food and its ties…
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Bone Needles Uncover New Insights Into Clovis Culture and Ice Age Life
Tiny bone needles discovered at an archaeological dig site in Wyoming are helping tell the story of Indigenous communities during the Ice Age in North America. Dr. Madeline Mackie, faculty for the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University, co-authored a new bone needle study in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. “These needles offer a really different understanding of the type of animals people were using during these time periods that are just really hard to see in the archaeological record,” Mackie said. Using a technique called zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry (ZooMS), Mackie and colleagues identified the species of the bones…
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Meet New Faculty Member: Dr. Madeline Mackie
For some, the Ice Age is best understood through the 2002 animated film with a woolly mammoth, ground sloth, and smilodon. For Dr. Madeline Mackie, new assistant professor of anthropology, it’s a bit different. Mackie, originally from Southern California, knew from a young age that she wanted to be an anthropologist. During her undergraduate years at the University of California, Davis, Mackie fell in love with the archaeology of foragers—individuals who do not source their food from cultivated crops or domesticated animals. “This led me to do archaeology on Indigenous communities in North America and understand the communities that call…