News
Integrative Paleoanthropology Grant
The Biological Anthropology and Archaeology Programs of the National Science Foundation are now inviting investigators to apply for an "Integrative Paleoanthropology Grant." In 2012, contingent on availability of funds, the Programs plan to make a single award of a maximum of $1,000,000 to support a multi-year project of up to five years in duration. The deadline for proposals is fast approaching; applicants should submit their proposal to either the Biological Anthropology Program or the Archaeology Program by 18 April 2012.
Field School in Paleoanthropology and Paleolithic Archaeology
26 June to 26 July, a joint University of Winnipeg and University of Belgrade Field School in Paleoanthropology and Paleolithic Archaeology will be taking place at a hominin bearing Balanica cave complex in Serbia. The school is open to upper undergraduate and graduate students with demonstrated interest in human evolution and Paleolithic studies. Deadline for application is March 15.
AAPA Meeting Program 2012 now available
The AAPA meeting program for 2012 is now available.
Field School in Paleoanthropology at the Drimolen Hominin Site, South Africa
The joint University of Victoria-University of Johannesburg Field School in Paleoanthropology at the Drimolen fossil hominin site will be held from June 23 – July 14, 2012. The field school is hosted at the fossil hominin site of Drimolen, South Africa and students receive credit for two archaeology courses. We are currently taking applications - deadline February 15, 2012.
vis-à-vis: Explorations in Anthropology
vis-à-vis: Explorations in Anthropology is the graduate journal of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto. vis-à-vis is a peer-reviewed annual publication that provides a platform for student scholars to showcase their research and gain experience in all aspects of the publication process. We welcome submissions from current and former students of anthropology and its related disciplines.
Health and Disease in the Middle Ages
June 24-July 28, 2012. Applications are being sought for a five-week Seminar for College and University Teachers on “Health and Disease in the Middle Ages,” which will be held June 24 through July 28, 2012, in London, England. Part of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Seminars and Institutes program, the Seminar is sponsored by the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (ACMRS) and will convene at the Wellcome Library, the world’s premier research center for medical history. This Seminar will gather together sixteen scholars (including up to two advanced graduate students) from across the disciplines interested in questions of health, disease, and disability in medieval Europe and the Mediterranean.
Field School in Medieval Archaeology and Bioarchaeology at Badia Pozzeveri
July 9 - August 3, 2012. The Field School in Medieval Archaeology and Bioarchaeology at Badia Pozzeveri (Lucca, Italy) is an academic program aimed at training students in archaeological and bioarchaeological field and laboratory methods.
The Chimpanzee & Human Communication Institute Apprentice Program
The Chimpanzee & Human Communication Institute (CHCI) is currently taking applications for our Summer 2012 Apprentice Program. Graduates, undergraduates, and post-graduates from various academic backgrounds (e.g. Anthropology, Biology, Psychology, Linguistics, Philosophy, etc.) and all nationalities are encouraged to apply. The dates of the program are June 24 to August 17, 2012.
Application of Genomics to Anthropological Research (AGAR) Workshop
The Application of Genomics to Anthropological Research (AGAR) Workshop aims to provide students and scholars interested in evolutionary anthropology with a thorough introduction into the theory and application of state-of-the-art genomic research. It will take place on Jan 9-10, 2012 at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute (TBRI) in San Antonio, TX. AGAR is co-sponsored by the American Association of Anthropological Genetics (AAAG) and TBRI.
EVAN Toolbox (ET) Training Day
Form and shape analysis for complex geometries. Wednesday, 11th April 2012, 10:00-18:00 (the arrival day of the 81st AAPA Meeting). Galleria North, Hilton Hotel, Portland, Oregon, USA. The EVAN Toolbox (ET) is a software package to facilitate form and shape analysis of objects featuring a complex geometry. It uses Geometric Morphometrics (GM) which includes methods such as General Procrustes Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, Thin-Plate Spline Warping or Partial Least Squares Analysis. The software also supports data acquisition, i.e. to locate landmarks and semilandmarks on surfaces and curves. It is available for the systems Windows XP and Windows 7, Linux, and MacOS X.
William S. Pollitzer Student Travel Award Essay question announced (2012)
This is an award of $500 in honor of Dr. William S. Pollitzer. It is designed to help students defray the costs of attending the AAPA meetings. Student qualifications: This award is open to all AAPA student members (undergraduate and graduate). You do NOT have to be giving a paper to compete or receive an award.
New PhD Program, Genetic Engineering & Society, North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University is pleased to announce a new doctoral program in Genetic Engineering and Society: Exploring the Case of Transgenic Pests, funded under the National Science foundation’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program. Our program examines questions linked to the genetic modification of mosquitoes, mice, fish, and other species that affect human health, biodiversity, and sustainable development. These questions include: What genetic engineering techniques are under development? What are the social, ethical, and ecological consequences of these techniques? How can all stakeholders be appropriately and effectively involved in decisions about these products?
Bioarchaeology field school on the island of Astypalaia, Greece
The field school takes place on Astypalaia, a small, beautiful island in the Aegean Sea and part of the Dodecanese island group in Greece. It is based on a unique archaeological site – the largest ancient children’s cemetery in the world, with at least 2700 children’s burials. In the field laboratory overlooking the sea, students learn the specialist skills required to excavate, record, identify, conserve, measure and catalogue the tiny bones and teeth of young children. This is one of the few sites in the world where children’s remains are abundant enough to provide such experience. Everyone carries out all the tasks required for each burial and so gains a useful range of experience for work on human remains.
AAPA Professional Development Grants
The American Association of Physical Anthropologists recognizes that the professional development of young, talented scientists in the early stages of their careers is critical to the continued health and vitality of the discipline. To that end, the AAPA offers up to six Professional Development Grants annually to qualified recipients, each in the amount of $5,000.
Site update complete
For those who are interested, I've posted a few details about the update.
Site upgrade in progress
I'm currently upgrading the site. In the interim, it will look different but all content is available. Thanks for your patience.
Forensic anthropology courses at the University of Tennessee Knoxville
The Forensic Anthropology Center offers several non-credit courses.
Early Farmers - the view from Archaeology and Science
Cardiff University, UK, 14th-16th May 2012. Scientific and interpretative archaeology often speak to very different audiences despite shared interests in themes such as landscape, climate, subsistence, social structure and cultural identity. This conference challenges different disciplinary paths to find ways of talking to each other, taking the European Neolithic as its focal point. Contributors will cover a broad range of innovative approaches across different subjects, from archaeological theory to ancient DNA, bringing together vital new research that has forced the reconsideration of long held assumptions about the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition, the social organisation of the earliest farmers and individual biographies of past persons.
AAPA responds to Florida Governor Rick Scott
“If I’m going to take money from a citizen to put into education then I’m going to take that money to create jobs,” Scott said. “So I want that money to go to degrees where people can get jobs in this state...Is it a vital interest of the state to have more anthropologists? I don’t think so.”
Obama Names Valeggia PECASE Award Winner
President Barack Obama named Dr. Claudia R. Valeggia, who conducted her PhD research at the California National Primate Research Center, as one of 94 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. Valeggia's work is primarily concerned with the interactions between human reproductive biology and the ecological and cultural context in which it develops.
Another sex estimation methodology survey
As you know, with some methods of sexing, a 5-point scale is used. Using only five categories could be criticised for producing over-simplified results and we are investigating the extent to which a greater scoring range (1 to 100) is a more useful way to record opinions on the expression of sexually dimorphic characteristics.
Registration for 2012 Annual Meeting now open
Registration for the 2012 AAPA Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon, is now open. This year we are using a new registration system, developed in-house. The major change is that abstracts will be entered directly, and NOT uploaded as MS Word docs.
Call for papers for the 8ICAANE
A call for papers for the 8ICAANE (8th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East; Warsaw, April 30 - May 4, 2012) theme Bioarchaeology in the Ancient Near East is now open. This congress theme aims to gather together researchers working on all aspects of biological remains (plant/animal/human) from archaeological sites, as well as archaeologists addressing key issues with bioarchaeological input, in order to promote integrated approaches to bioarchaeological remains in the Near East.
Sex Estimation Methodology Survey
As a member in this professional anthropology organization, you are receiving this invitation to participate in a research survey regarding sex estimation techniques employed in anthropology. This study seeks to evaluate the methods being currently utilized by physical anthropologists (skeletal biologists, bioarchaeologists, forensic anthropologists, etc.) and human biologists when assessing skeletal indicators of sex. Those individuals tasked with estimating sex from skeletal remains are encouraged to participate in this research.
NSF: Partnerships for International Research and Education
The primary goal of PIRE is to support high quality projects in which advances in research and education could not occur without international collaboration. PIRE seeks to catalyze a higher level of international engagement in the U.S. science and engineering community.
