Anthropology | Penn Today

A person standing outside in front of a brick building, hands in the pockets of a gray swearing, over a black shirt and purple necklace.

Turning an archaeological practice on its head

In a new book, Megan Kassabaum challenges the field to take a forward-looking approach, rather than one that looks backward. She does this through the study of a Native American architectural feature called platform mounds.

Cartoon depicting Black Lives Matter images, a black fist, NO JUSTICE NO PEACE, and a statue of a horse.

National myths and monuments

Season two, episode four, of the OMNIA podcast “In These Times” features three faculty discussing the movement to reexamine monuments and the history and myths they symbolize, and how the public should think about the artworks in public squares.

Connecting students with Indigenous leaders

People of the Land, a new Penn Global seminar taught by political science Professor Tulia Falleti, enables students to learn from Indigenous community members in South America.

To improve climate models, an international team turns to archaeological data

The project, called LandCover6k, offers a new classification system that the researchers hope will improve predictions about the planet’s future and fill in gaps about its past.

Penn Museum announces the repatriation of the Morton Cranial Collection

The remains of Black Philadelphians within the Samuel G. Morton Cranial collection will be repatriated or reburied, based on a report that outlined recommendations from the Morton Collection Committee.

Don’t count on evolution to save us from toxic chemicals and pollution

PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff spoke about how humans continue to evolve. For example, she said, a genetic variant that enables lactose tolerance didn’t emerge until somewhere between the past several hundred and 2,000 years. “When you’re talking about evolutionary time scales, that’s like a flash.”

Modern dancers with arms outstretched perform in a spotlight as confetti rains

Transcending movement with Philadanco!

In a live virtual performance, principal dancers from Philadanco! performed “Oshun” before sitting down to a conversation on dancing, choreography, and choice.

A close-up of an old chipping door. Blurred in the background is a sign that reads "EVICTION NOTICE" in all capital letters.

Eviction linked to depression risk in young adults

Research from sociologist Courtney Boen and anthropologist Morgan Hoke shows that this issue, compounded by the toll of the pandemic, disproportionately affects low-income households and communities of color.

Africans begin to take the reins of research into their own genomes

PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff spoke about her research sampling the genes of remote populations in various African regions. “Our studies combined are just the tip of the iceberg,” she said.

Humans were drinking milk before they could digest it

PIK Professor Sarah Tishkoff spoke about the anthropological origins of dairy farming and consumption. “If you have cows, you have a source of liquid and proteins and nutrition,” she said. “As long as you can keep your cattle alive, of course.”

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