Categories | Department of Anthropology

Archaeology, Research

Food Globalization Dynamics in Prehistory and the Climate

Dr. Xinyi Liu, an Associate Professor of Archaeology at Washington University in St. Louis, utilizes a range of stable isotope and archaeobotanical approaches to explore how past societies domesticated, produced and consumed plants and animals, and how they adapted to new environments in the context of the spread of farming.

12.13.22

Archaeology, Research

Findings from 3,000-year-old Uluburun shipwreck reveal complex trade network

Using advanced geochemical analyses, a team of scientists, including Michael Frachetti, professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences, have uncovered new answers to decades-old questions about trade of tin throughout Eurasia during the Late Bronze Age.

11.30.22

Faculty, Sociocultural Anthropology

WashU Expert: West must grasp Putin’s worldview to avoid further surprise

To much of the world, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s actions leading up to and since the invasion of Ukraine have often appeared unpredictable and illogical. For example, when faced with embarrassing military setbacks, Putin doubled down with a massive military mobilization rather than looking for an exit strategy — as most assumed he would do.

11.17.22

Archaeology, Research

Thirsty wheat needed new water management strategy in ancient China

Research from Washington University in St. Louis shows that a practice of purposeful water management, or irrigation, was adopted in northern China about 4,000 years ago as part of an effort to grow new grains that had been introduced from southwest Asia.

11.15.22

Graduate students recognized for research excellence

Faculty and university leadership selected Benjamin Noble, a fifth-year graduate student in political science, as the winner of the inaugural Dean’s Award for Graduate Research Excellence. Six additional graduate students were recognized as finalists.

10.18.22

Biological Anthropology, Faculty, Research

Study reports first evidence of social relationships between chimpanzees, gorillas

A long-term study led by primatologist Crickette Sanz at Washington University in St. Louis reveals the first evidence of lasting social relationships between chimpanzees and gorillas in the wild.

9.30.22

Graduate, Research

Return to the field

After two years of delays and restrictions due to the pandemic, graduate students are once again trekking to field sites around the world for their dissertation research. Archaeologists Bridget Bey and Melissa Ritchey share their projects and perspectives.

8.9.22

Back Results for: Faculty

WashU Expert: West must grasp Putin’s worldview to avoid further surprise

WashU Expert: West must grasp Putin’s worldview to avoid further surprise

Study reports first evidence of social relationships between chimpanzees, gorillas

Study reports first evidence of social relationships between chimpanzees, gorillas

Baugh named to board of Oxford Dictionary of African American English

Baugh named to board of Oxford Dictionary of African American English

One researcher’s artifact is another’s result

One researcher’s artifact is another’s result

Gustafson receives Bryce Wood Book Award

Gustafson receives Bryce Wood Book Award

From the Congo to the carpool

From the Congo to the carpool

Big data arrives on the farm

Big data arrives on the farm

WashU Expert: Putin is using ‘victim’ narrative to justify Ukraine attack

WashU Expert: Putin is using ‘victim’ narrative to justify Ukraine attack

Crickette Sanz named AAAS Fellow

Crickette Sanz named AAAS Fellow

Researchers of ancient DNA set guidelines for their work

Researchers of ancient DNA set guidelines for their work

New database highlights underrepresented scholars of African archaeology

New database highlights underrepresented scholars of African archaeology

Stone receives grant to study perceptions of CRISPR in food production

Stone receives grant to study perceptions of CRISPR in food production

New evidence supports idea that America’s first civilization was made up of ‘sophisticated’ engineers

New evidence supports idea that America’s first civilization was made up of ‘sophisticated’ engineers

’Til the cows come home

’Til the cows come home

What Does Europe Have Against Halal?

What Does Europe Have Against Halal?

Lois Beck Quoted in June 2021 Issue of Smithsonian Magazine

Lois Beck Quoted in June 2021 Issue of Smithsonian Magazine

Wealth, status could not shield 19th-century families from parasitic infection

Wealth, status could not shield 19th-century families from parasitic infection

A tale of two forests could reveal path forward for saving endangered lemurs

A tale of two forests could reveal path forward for saving endangered lemurs

WashU Expert: How to cope with pandemic anniversary emotions

WashU Expert: How to cope with pandemic anniversary emotions

Africa Initiative awards new round of pilot grants

Africa Initiative awards new round of pilot grants

Under climate stress, human innovation set stage for population surge

Under climate stress, human innovation set stage for population surge

Trust your gut: A healthy sense of disgust can prevent sickness

Trust your gut: A healthy sense of disgust can prevent sickness

Now Streaming: Assistant Professor Helina Woldekiros, The Kingdom of Aksum: Africa's trading empire

Now Streaming: Assistant Professor Helina Woldekiros, The Kingdom of Aksum: Africa's trading empire

Rebecca Lester mentioned in an article about the Rites of Passage in the New York Times

Rebecca Lester mentioned in an article about the Rites of Passage in the New York Times

Faculty Spotlight with Krista Milich, Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology

Faculty Spotlight with Krista Milich, Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology

Holland-Lulewicz discovery named Top 10 in 2020

Holland-Lulewicz discovery named Top 10 in 2020

Secrets of the ‘lost crops’ revealed where bison roam

Secrets of the ‘lost crops’ revealed where bison roam

David Strait in a New York Times story about ancient human cousins

David Strait in a New York Times story about ancient human cousins

Newly discovered fossil documents small-scale evolutionary changes in an extinct human species

Newly discovered fossil documents small-scale evolutionary changes in an extinct human species

Local cooking preferences drove acceptance of new crop staples in prehistoric China

Local cooking preferences drove acceptance of new crop staples in prehistoric China

Bolivia in the Age of Gas By Bret Gustafson

Bolivia in the Age of Gas By Bret Gustafson

Krista Milich honored with Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award

Krista Milich honored with Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award

Fritz wins book award for ‘Feeding Cahokia’

Fritz wins book award for ‘Feeding Cahokia’

COVID-19 course moved beyond the science to explore virus’s impact on society

COVID-19 course moved beyond the science to explore virus’s impact on society

COVID-19 human milk studies should continue without stopping breastfeeding, researchers say

COVID-19 human milk studies should continue without stopping breastfeeding, researchers say

Lester’s book on eating disorders wins Victor Turner Prize

Lester’s book on eating disorders wins Victor Turner Prize

Announcing new course about the COVID-19 pandemic

Announcing new course about the COVID-19 pandemic

Monkeying around: Study finds older primates father far fewer babies

Monkeying around: Study finds older primates father far fewer babies

Rewriting history: New evidence challenges Euro-centric narrative of early colonization

Rewriting history: New evidence challenges Euro-centric narrative of early colonization

Professor Rebecca Lester's book won 3rd prize in the 2020 Victor Turner Prize in Ethnographic Writing

Professor Rebecca Lester's book won 3rd prize in the 2020 Victor Turner Prize in Ethnographic Writing

Marshall elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Marshall elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Milk pioneers: East African herders consumed milk 5,000 years ago

Milk pioneers: East African herders consumed milk 5,000 years ago

Fossil discoveries rewrite our family history

Fossil discoveries rewrite our family history

Lifestyle trumps geography in determining makeup of gut microbiome

Lifestyle trumps geography in determining makeup of gut microbiome

Tang Dynasty noblewoman buried with her donkeys, for the love of polo

Tang Dynasty noblewoman buried with her donkeys, for the love of polo

Long-term analysis shows GM cotton no match for insects in India

Long-term analysis shows GM cotton no match for insects in India

No clear path for Golden Rice to reach consumers

No clear path for Golden Rice to reach consumers

The Life and Legacy of a Himalayan Buddhist Master: Pema Döndrub (1668 –1744)

The Life and Legacy of a Himalayan Buddhist Master: Pema Döndrub (1668 –1744)

Green in tooth and claw

Green in tooth and claw

Now Streaming: Professor Geoff Childs, Anthropological Demography in Nepal

Now Streaming: Professor Geoff Childs, Anthropological Demography in Nepal

Church Unearthed in Ethiopia Rewrites the History of Christianity in Africa

Church Unearthed in Ethiopia Rewrites the History of Christianity in Africa

New book examines eating disorders, failure to care for those impacted

New book examines eating disorders, failure to care for those impacted

Famished: Eating Disorders and Failed Care in America

Famished: Eating Disorders and Failed Care in America

WashU Expert: Political chaos in Bolivia is a ‘coup’

WashU Expert: Political chaos in Bolivia is a ‘coup’

Now Streaming: Associate Professor Bret Gustafson

Now Streaming: Associate Professor Bret Gustafson

Washington University deepens ties with Mekelle University in Africa

Washington University deepens ties with Mekelle University in Africa

The social networks and structural variation of Mississippian sociopolitics in the southeastern United States

The social networks and structural variation of Mississippian sociopolitics in the southeastern United States

Halting spread of HIV in Midwest is aim of new network

Halting spread of HIV in Midwest is aim of new network

Time to retire the ‘pristine myth’ of climate change

Time to retire the ‘pristine myth’ of climate change

Sometimes you feel like a nut

Sometimes you feel like a nut

Forest landscapes, wildlife of Northern Congo declining under logging pressure

Forest landscapes, wildlife of Northern Congo declining under logging pressure

Long live the long-limbed African chicken

Long live the long-limbed African chicken

Sanz recognized with Women-in-Primatology award

Sanz recognized with Women-in-Primatology award

Bison overlooked in domestication of grain crops

Bison overlooked in domestication of grain crops

Dr. Fiona Marshall to receive Compton Award

Dr. Fiona Marshall to receive Compton Award

Can Human Beings Understand the Economy?

Can Human Beings Understand the Economy?

Are there Zika reservoirs in the Americas?

Are there Zika reservoirs in the Americas?

Coal ash in the Missouri River flood plain is a bad idea

Coal ash in the Missouri River flood plain is a bad idea

Pottery reveals America’s first social media networks

Pottery reveals America’s first social media networks

Prehistoric food globalization spanned three millennia

Prehistoric food globalization spanned three millennia

From a Trickle to a Torrent: Education, Migration, and Social Change in a Himalayan Valley of Nepal

From a Trickle to a Torrent: Education, Migration, and Social Change in a Himalayan Valley of Nepal

Frequent inbreeding may have caused skeletal abnormalities in early humans

Frequent inbreeding may have caused skeletal abnormalities in early humans

Monkey DNA may solve mysteries, help conservation

Monkey DNA may solve mysteries, help conservation

Ancient livestock dung heaps are now African wildlife hotspots

Ancient livestock dung heaps are now African wildlife hotspots

Liu and colleagues receive NSF funding for millet research

Liu and colleagues receive NSF funding for millet research

Anthropology faculty receive funding through Living Earth Collaborative

Anthropology faculty receive funding through Living Earth Collaborative

Now Streaming: Professor Rebecca Lester, Eating Disorder Treatment in America

Now Streaming: Professor Rebecca Lester, Eating Disorder Treatment in America

NSF Fellowship encourages graduate students to go beyond research

NSF Fellowship encourages graduate students to go beyond research

Lewis Wall's new book "Tears for My Sisters" will donate all book royalties

Lewis Wall's new book "Tears for My Sisters" will donate all book royalties

Bret Gustafson talks with NACLA on Fossil Fuel Imperialism

Bret Gustafson talks with NACLA on Fossil Fuel Imperialism

Now Streaming: Professor John Bowen

Now Streaming: Professor John Bowen

Marriage at the Margins: Come-We-Stay Relationships in Kibera, Kenya

Marriage at the Margins: Come-We-Stay Relationships in Kibera, Kenya

Finding Peace

Finding Peace

Now Streaming: Professor Geoff Childs

Now Streaming: Professor Geoff Childs

Now Streaming: Professor Glenn Stone, Genetically Modified Foods

Now Streaming: Professor Glenn Stone, Genetically Modified Foods

Long term study demonstrates impacts of logging on chimpanzees and gorillas

Long term study demonstrates impacts of logging on chimpanzees and gorillas

What's in a kiss?

What's in a kiss?

Frachetti Uncovers Lost City

Frachetti Uncovers Lost City

Targeted excavating leads to lost city

Targeted excavating leads to lost city

Fiona Marshall named to the US National Academy of Sciences

Fiona Marshall named to the US National Academy of Sciences

Regulating Style: Intellectual Property Law and the Business of Fashion in Guatemala

Regulating Style: Intellectual Property Law and the Business of Fashion in Guatemala