-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
High school students explore forensic anthropology at MSU
High school students from the Minority Student Achievement Network (MSAN) recently got a behind-the-scenes look at Michigan State University’s Forensic Anthropology Lab (MSUFAL). In November, these students spent the day on campus meeting MSU students and faculty while exploring labs. Dr. Carolyn Isaac, assistant professor of anthropology and director of MSUFAL, shared how impactful it was to witness the interactions between anthropology graduate students and high school students as they explored the unique findings revealed from studying a person’s skeleton. “The passion with which the graduate students discussed the wonders of the bones and the look of amazement in the…
-
MSU Professor Emeritus Co-Authors Study on Indigenous Maize Use in Michigan
Professor Emeritus Dr. William Lovis of the Department of Anthropology at Michigan State University found something he didn’t expect when studying maize in Michigan. “The most unexpected outcome was the observation that there was a clear separation of living spaces used for residential, food preparation and consumption activities, and areas used for subterranean food storage and possibly crop production,” Lovis said. “Similar patterns had been noted elsewhere in Michigan, but it was only with the use of many lines of data were we able to discern this on the Bay City Moraine.” Lovis and MSU alumna Dr. Kathryn Egan-Bruhy of…
-
MSU completes first-ever repatriation to The Bahamas
Dr. Jessica Yann believes everyone should have a right to their own history. Yann, Program Manager for Michigan State University’s Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) program and a faculty member in the Department of Anthropology, completed the first-ever human Ancestral remains repatriation to The Bahamas. “To see how important this return was to the people of The Bahamas, to know that their cultural heritage is back where it belongs, and that I was a part of it, is incredibly humbling,” Yann said. “I’m glad to have been able to facilitate it.” While reviewing a collection donated by…