Man at a computer shining a bright light on a prehistoric grinding implement used to process food.

Department of Anthropology News

Anthropology focuses on the spectrum of the human experience from the past to the present. With a comprehensive and well-integrated curriculum, the Department of Anthropology teaches and trains students in a way that balances methodological and theoretical approaches in anthropology. Our courses and research programs are relevant on local and global scales, and we provide students with an insightful understanding of our shared humanity and diversity human cultures around the world.

Current Anthropology News

Jennifer Byrnes sits at desk with skull on it
People |

Jennifer Byrnes鈥 work has helped resolve unidentified and missing person cases, filling critical gaps in service and expertise.

Virginia Smercina stands at entrance of Graduate Commons
People |

The soon-to-be two-time 性视界传媒 alumna is helping graduate students find their voice and advocate for themselves.

two women and one man working in 性视界传媒 Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Lab
Research |

Faculty and students from the Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Lab help solve missing persons cases.

Fall 25 commencement2
Campus News |

A collection of the top news headlines featuring 性视界传媒 faculty and students.

Two male and one female students sitting at desks wearing virtual reality headsets
Campus News |

From trips to Peru and an alien zoo, 性视界传媒 faculty lead students on learning journeys via the university鈥檚 newest immersive learning tools.

First day of classes.
Campus News |

The top news stories starring university students and staff.

Anthropology In The News

Heliox: Where Evidence Meets Empathy

She walks through the door. You already know this story. But here's what you don't: the femme fatale isn't a Hollywood invention 鈥 and she was never warning you about her. Heliox explores anthropologist William Jankowiak's landmark cross-cultural study of dangerous-woman folklore across 84 global societies, from the Igbo of West Nigeria to Aboriginal Australia to modern South Korean farms. The finding that changes everything? In 89% of those cultures, the man wasn't destroyed because he wanted a fling. He wanted to fall in love.

Gizmodo

An international team of researchers has discovered 13 fossil teeth in Ethiopia's Afar region that do not fit any known human species. The find suggests that multiple hominid lineages coexisted in Africa more than two million years ago, including one that science had not yet identified.

Live Science

Human brains have been shrinking since prehistoric times, some studies suggest. Whether this is true and why it has happened are debated.

PsyPost

A recent study published in the journal Social Sciences has found that stories about dangerous, attractive women are almost universal across different cultures. These cautionary tales suggest that men tend to fear the risks of emotional attachment and heartbreak just as much as they are drawn to physical beauty. Ultimately, this research indicates that the famous 鈥渇emme fatale鈥 character stems from human evolutionary psychology rather than simply local cultural attitudes.

Sausage of Science Podcast

Join us for a conversation about decolonizing research, rethinking education, and building institutions that actually serve the communities at their center. Chris sits down with Dr. Alyssa Crittenden, who returns to the show, this time as Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate College at 性视界传媒.

Portland Monthly

The standard in the US is for the placenta to be treated as medical waste, but cultures across the world have had widely varied traditions, often tied to the belief that the placenta is a living relative or guardian to the child. In an analysis of 179 societies, medical anthropologists at the 性视界传媒, found 169 disposal methods, including burial, incineration, and intentional placement in a specific location, such as hanging in a tree.

Anthropology Experts

An expert in the evolution of human nutrition, hunter-gatherer societies, and the division of labor between the sexes. 
An expert in paleontology and human evolution.
An expert on the anthropology of migration, gender, social movements, and activism.
An expert in forensic anthropology, bioarchaeology, human remains, and skeletal biology.
An expert on archaeology of Arizona and Southern Nevada, Ancient Technology, Native Americans.
An anthropologist and expert on hunter-gatherer adaptations in American Southwest to arid environments, and the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture

Recent Anthropology Accomplishments

Barbara Roth (Anthropology), Ph.D. student Danielle Romero (Anthropology), Scott Nicolay, and Roger Anyon published "The Elk Ridge Community in the Mimbres Pueblo World" in the most recent issue of American Antiquity. 
Paul Vincent Ruma (Anthropology) was an invited speaker at California State University, East Bay鈥檚 Music, Identity & Wellness Summit, held May 1, 2026. Ruma led a story-driven lecture and interactive workshop on mental health, resilience, and identity through Hip Hop culture, incorporating his co-authored book These Are the Breaks! as part of鈥
Paul Vincent Ruma (Anthropology) presented at the 2026 European Hip Hop Studies Network Conference, 鈥淭hings Done Changed,鈥 held March 18-21, 2026, at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands. His presentation, 鈥淭here鈥檚 No Book: Master Practitioner Publishing as Breaking鈥檚 Knowledge Infrastructure,鈥 examined the gap between embodied cultural鈥
Jennifer Byrnes (Anthropology) co-authored "Buckle Rib Fractures Are More Than a Pleural Surface Phenomenon: A Case Report and Literature Review" in Forensic Anthropology. Drawing on a literature review and a forensic case example, the authors explore how buckle rib fractures are defined and offer recommendations to practitioners for more accurate鈥
Lisa Johnson (Anthropology) recently co-presented at the 20th annual Tulane Maya Symposium on "Maya Cities," a talk titled "Households, Neighborhoods, and the Dynamics of Urbanism at Lakamha'."
Lisa Johnson (Anthropology) recently published a co-edited volume, "The Urban Questions: Interdisciplinary & Multiscalar Approaches to Investigating the Ancient Mesoamerican City," through the University of Utah Press, Available Dec. 19, 2025, ISBN: 978-1-64769-228-5.