Tags: anthropology

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Bram Tucker prioritizes people in work to understand cultures

Bram Tucker is an associate professor in the University of Georgia’s Department of Anthropology, where his Behavioral Ecology and Economic Decisions Labstudies how people make decisions under risks, vulnerabilities and changes. He works primarily with Mikea hunter-gatherers, Masikoro farmers and Vezo fishers in southwestern Madagascar, and previously served as president of the Society for Economic Anthropology with the American Anthropological…

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The First Kings of Europe: professor explores ancient hierarchies in Field Museum exhibit

Attila Gyucha, assistant professor of archaeology at the University of Georgia’s Department of Anthropology, and colleagues organized an exhibition at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History titled, “The First Kings of Europe”. Gyucha is the co-curator and leading editor of two books that accompany the exhibition, which runs through Jan. 28, 2024. It can be accessed by discovery or an all-access pass, and showcases more than 700 artifacts,…

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UGA students excavate Athens factory site

"Any understanding of the world must begin at home--or end there." --Siegfried Lenz, The Heritage, 1981. Faculty members at the University of Georgia have partnered with Sandy Creek Nature Center to create a field school to teach students in a hands-on environment.  “We wanted to establish a class that offers hands-on field experience to teach archaeological methods to students,” said Attila Gyucha, assistant professor in Franklin College of…

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UGA professor narrates a new 20-episode lecture series 

More than a year in the making, a new lecture series featuring University of Georgia faculty member Suzanne Pilaar Birch "Early Humans: Ice, Stone, and Survival" is now streaming on Wondrium. The 20-episode series tells the story of humanity's journey from our earliest origins in Africa to the emergence of agriculture, examines the role of climate and environmental change in driving these transitions, and how archaeological science is helping us…

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Moss, Wilkes named 2022 Marshall Scholars

Franklin College seniors Natalie Moss and Lauren Wilkes received the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, which funds graduate study in the United Kingdom at any institution and in any field of study. 2022 is the first time two University of Georgia students received the honor in the same year:   Honors seniors Natalie Moss of Norcross and Lauren Wilkes of New Orleans, Louisiana, will continue their studies in the U.K. next year through the award,…

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Anthropology study on land use, herding in Bronze Age Cyprus

New research findings, the first comprehensive study of stable isotopes from both animal and plant remains on the island of Cyprus, expand the archaeological understanding of the dynamics of landscape management in Cyprus during the development of social complexity that led to the first cities on the Mediterranean island The new study, led by UGA associate professor Suzanne E. Pilaar Birch with colleagues Patricia Fall, Steven Falconer, and…

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Noted and Quoted, October 2022

From tempests in the physical world to the discovery of an ancient canal to the reintroduction of heritage apple crops, expertise from and research by Franklin faculty was present in media around the globe. A same of stories over the past month:    As moms return to the office, companies need to demonstrate empathy – Malissa A. Clark, associate professor of psychology, quoted at Indeed Historic storm surge. Record flooding. Ian’s lesson in the…

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Kudos, October 2022

Amid the turning of the season, October brought career milestones and the dedication the McBay Science Library, along with prestigious awards, grants, and new books from Franklin faculty. A sample of recent announcement – congratulations to all: UGA oceanographer Samantha Joye has been awarded the 2022 Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration The University of Georgia has named nine faculty and academic leaders to the 2022-2023 class of the…

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Special issue focuses on growth of archeological science

Suzanne Pilaar Birch, associate professor of anthropology, served as co-editor of a special issue published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences featuring articles outlining the state of the art in archeological science. A collection of articles from the Recent Advances in Archaeological Science Techniques Special Feature explores developments in archaeological science, highlighting advancements in radiometric dating,…

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UGA study away programs frame a global mindset

At the conclusion of the spring semester, many University of Georgia students and faculty will take a greatly earned break from classes and enjoy a more relaxed time, but others will begin new chapters in new places.   Facilitated through the Office of Global Engagement, nearly 3,000 UGA students study abroad each year, selecting from hundreds of programs, including about 100 faculty-led programs. Due to the pandemic, many programs that were…

photo of ground with uncovered skeletons of humans and horse
Research opens up new revelations about Ancient Greece

Thanks to trade and colonization, 1st millennium BCE Mediterranean was characterized by an unprecedented increase human mobility. New anthropology research co-led by the University of Georgia on the diverse genetic origins of the Classical period Greek army reveals a broad mix of ethnic identity within Greece and throughout the region – as well as the use of mercenaries in battle. Accounts by ancient historians Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus…

photo of mound lodge entrance, with grass and cloudy skies
Archaeologists collaborate with Tribal Nations to hone research methods

University of Georgia researchers recently co-authored an article with members of the Muscogee and Huron-Wendat Nations (HWN) to shine a light on the importance of meaningful collaboration between archaeologists and descendant communities and nations as a necessary component of archaeological practice in the 2020s and beyond. Jennifer Birch, associate professor and undergraduate coordinator in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences…

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New study shows resilience of early coastal communities in Georgia

Archaeologists have hypothesized that more than 4,500 years ago, communities on barrier islands along the southeastern coastlines of the North America were abruptly abandoned due to a sudden shift in climate. But new research from the University of Georgia Laboratory of Archaeology indicates that environmental change was happening both during the settlement of these island villages and—over centuries longer than previously believed—during their…

illustration with children, boar, water, and birds
UGA collaboration weaves story of Indigenous environmental relationships in a new book

A new children’s book published in three languages focuses on the Wounaan, Indigenous people of Panama and Colombia, and their relationships with birds. A collaborative effort, the book results from two projects supported by the Global Environment Facility and UNDP Small Grants Program and the US-based non-profit Native Future on bird guiding, birds and culture, and forest restoration in Panama. The Wounaan National Congress and the Foundation…

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Noted and Quoted, October 2021

Franklin faculty members provided clarity and guidance in the media on a range of issues from climate change to workaholism over the course of October. As sampling of a few of the many recent stories: The “extra” Atlantic hurricane name list will likely be used soon — but not the Greek alphabet – Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of geography and atmospheric sciences Marshall Shepherd writing at Forbes Why Bezos, Musk, Page…

photo of gorilla, outdoors, day
Gorillas can tell human voices apart

Many animals recognize the voices of members of their own species, and some can even recognize those of other species, such as humans. But it turns out a few animals, such as gorillas, can not only recognize familiar voices but also connect those voices to pleasant or not so pleasant memories. A new study from the University of Georgia is the first to show that gorillas are able to recognize familiar human voices based on their relationship with…

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Archeologists help quell COVID-19 in Madagascar

In times of the pandemic it's all hands on deck, including associate professor of anthropology Bram Tucker and other members of Pennsylvania State University’s Morombe Archaeological Project (MAP), which aims to reconstruct the impact of human settlement in the Velondriake area, a marine protected biodiversity hotspot on the southwest coast of Madagascar. The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 arrived in the fishing community of Andavadoaka, Madagascar, in…

photo of interior of old fort, with cannon and grass
Franklin alumna leads Fort Pulaski site

An excellent story about a trio of UGA engineering students developing a plan to maintain the Fort Pulaski National Monument site in the face of sea level rise, severe storms and more frequent flooding includes a quote from Fort Pulaski Superintendent Melissa Memory, a 1989 graduate from the Department of Anthropology: “They’ve blown it out of the water metaphorically and literally with how far they’ve taken this project,” said Memory. “A lot of…

photo of globe made from small puzzle pieces
How people solve global problems

What do the 3,000-year-old actions of an Egyptian pharaoh say about how we should tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st century? Quite a bit, according to anthropologists at the University of Georgia who analyzed archeological evidence over thousands of years to examine how societies have approached adversity. Their work suggests that rigid, top-down approaches to complex problems have been a doomed strategy throughout human history. Instead…

photo of woman with microscope and tree cookie
A million little rings

Doctoral student uses dendrochronology—the study of tree rings—to explore the ancient environment, constructing a 5,177-year chronology of the Georgia coast, the longest in eastern North America: Kat Napora didn’t plan to study trees. The UGA grad student originally worked on shell middens, or ancient trash piles. She’d planned to continue researching them in Ireland, but a tip from a colleague led her to a site much closer to campus—and an…

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Ancient oyster shells provide historical insights

An interdisciplinary team of scientists studying thousands of oyster shells along the Georgia coast, some as old as 4,500 years, has published new insights into how Native Americans sustained oyster harvests for thousands of years, observations that may lead to better management practices of oyster reefs today. Their study, led by University of Georgia archaeologist Victor Thompson, was published July 10 in the journal Science Advances. The new…

image of historic shell concrete
Archaeologists verify Florida’s Mound Key as site of elusive Spanish fort

Archaeologists from UGA and the Florida Museum of Natural History have discovered the location of Fort San Antón de Carlos, home of one of the first Jesuit missions in North America. The Spanish fort was built in 1566 in the capital of the Calusa, the most powerful Native American tribe in the region, on present-day Mound Key in the center of Estero Bay on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Archaeologists and historians have long suspected that the fort,…

illustration of people fishing with a large net
Calusa stored fish in 16th-century 'watercourts'

New research from anthropology professor Victor Thompson sheds light on innovative hunter-gatherer practices in early Florida: [The] Calusa ruled South Florida for centuries, wielding military power, trading and collecting tribute along routes that sprawled hundreds of miles, creating shell islands, erecting enormous buildings and dredging canals wider than some highways. Unlike the Aztecs, Maya and Inca, who built their empires with the help of…

photo of motorcycle driving on a road with monkeys on the sides of the road
Feeding wildlife can disrupt the social lives of animal communities

New research from UGA Anthropology has found that the practice of feeding wildlife could be more detrimental to animals than previously thought. In a paper published recently in Nature Scientific Reports, researchers found that feeding wildlife can disrupt the social lives of animal communities, which they discovered by observing and documenting the behavior of moor macaque monkeys along a wooded roadway on the island of Sulawesi in eastern…

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New research traces the spread of Neolithic practices into Europe

The spread of agriculture from the Near East and Fertile Crescent through Turkey and into Europe around 10,000 years ago was a complex and multifaceted process, one that archaeologists are trying to understand using one of the latest scientific techniques: stable isotope analysis.  A new paper published in the journal PLOS One by Suzanne Pilaar Birch, assistant professor of geography and anthropology at the University of Georgia, and colleagues…
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