Anthropology

Francisco Díaz studies Maya contributions to archeology at a time when Indigenous people were viewed as little more than laborers. His research shows that Indigenous people were archaeologists in their own right, working season after season with specialized skills to excavate the past.

Kristina García ・February 14, 2023

Researchers from the School of Arts & Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Perelman School of Medicine, and School of Veterinary Medicine join a class of scientists, engineers, and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines.

Michele W. Berger ・January 31, 2023

Building on previous work from the community-initiated Anson Street African Burial Ground project, a team of researchers from Penn led a community-engaged collaborative study that confirmed that the individuals closely align genetically with populations in West and West Central Africa.

Michele W. Berger ・January 24, 2023

When Holly Pittman and colleagues from the University of Pennsylvania and University of Pisa returned to Lagash in the fall of 2022 for a fourth season, they knew they’d find more than ceramic fragments and another kiln.

Michele W. Berger ・January 23, 2023

Scientists from Denmark recently extracted and sequenced the oldest-ever DNA, from permafrost in Greenland, revealing a robust ecosystem of 135 species. Penn Today spoke with four faculty members about the potential power of ancient DNA.

Katherine Unger Baillie ・December 15, 2022

Featuring 400 objects that span a period of 4,000 years, the Penn Museum is opening its new Eastern Mediterranean Gallery, the latest step in a multi-year building transformation.

Louisa Shepard ・November 17, 2022

Lucía Stavig, a Peruvian postdoctoral fellow in anthropology, works on healing through connection in the Andes.

Kristina García ・October 31, 2022

In a new book, Penn nutritional anthropologist Janet Chrzan and Kima Cargill of the University of Washington, Tacoma, explain the cultural, social, and psychological fixation on fad diets and why they don’t typically succeed.

Michele W. Berger ・October 17, 2022

Three Maya activists from Belize spoke with Richard M. Leventhal about the challenges and progress they’ve made on land rights in recent years.

Kristen de Groot ・October 13, 2022

College fourth-year Wes Matthews is combining writing, music, research, and service during his Penn experience. A former Youth Poet Laureate of Philadelphia, the anthropology major and religious studies minor works at the Kelly Writers House and is a Wolf Humanities Center fellow.

Louisa Shepard ・October 7, 2022