Anthropology News Archive | 2024

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  • Spring/Summer 2024

    • Congratulating to graduate student, Anna Maier (Dr. Nick Herrmann, mentor), who has received a P.E.O. International Peace Scholarship which is an award that gives up to $12,500 for international women pursuing graduate studies in the United States, and Anna will be able to apply for a one-time renewal.

    • The John Michael Kilby Memorial Endowed Graduate Fellowship in Anthropology was established in 2018 to provide funding to support the costs of doctoral and thesis research for students at Texas State University. The 2024 John Michael Kilby Fellowship included one award for doctoral research and two awards for thesis research.

      Sameeha Vardhan, a Doctoral student in Cultural Anthropology, was awarded $2000 for her proposed research on the effects of digital matchmaking apps on Hindu marriage practices in India. Stefanie Haliburton, an MA student in Archaeology, was awarded $1200 to undertake microscopic analysis of stone woodworking tools from an archaeological site in San Marcos. Rebekah Stowe, and MA student in Bioanthropology, was awarded $1200 to explore cranial variation as a method for identifying region of origin for human remains from migrant populations in the United States.

      Congratulations to these winners and we look forward to seeing the results of their research. 
       

    • Congratulating Dr. Danny Wescott who has been awarded the Presidential Seminar Award which is given to highlight and recognize superlative research, creative work, or other scholarly efforts by faculty members at Texas State. The recipient is chosen from those who were nominated for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Scholarly and Creative Activity at the university level. He will be honored at a reception during fall semester and will deliver the Presidential Seminar in the spring. In addition, he will be recognized with the Valero Award for Excellence. The two awards come with a $7500 stipend.

       

    • Sameeha Vardhan

      Sameeha Vardhan, a PhD Candidate in Applied Anthropology, has been awarded $1000 from the Henrietta Stockel Scholarship and a John Michael Kilby Research Fellowship for $2000 for her dissertation fieldwork. Her research, under the direction of Dr. Angela K. VandenBroek, investigates how apps are shaping and being shaped by Hindu matchmaking practices in India.

       

    • Manar Nasar

      Anthropology graduate student, Manar Nasar, will be serving as the Palestinian Fellow in Residence at Uplift Climate where she will build leadership skills for activism and community work. Uplift Climate is a fiscally sponsored project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE) that focuses on collective activism in the Southwest with a focus on climate justice.

       

    • Congratulations to Doctoral Student, Krysten Cruz, who has been selected as a recipient of the $20,000 Jacob Hirsch fellowship.  You can learn more about Krysten and the fellowship on the Texas State University Newsroom website.

    • Congratulating Dr. Todd Ahlman and CAS for being awarded $11,327,805 from the Secretary of the Army for U.S. Army Garrison Fort Knox for the project “Installation Support Services at Fort Knox.” This award is a 10-year Intergovernmental Support Agreement for environmental support and cultural resources management services. It will include 5-6 environmental researchers and will involve survey of up to 250 acres annually as well as recording as many as 10 cemeteries annually. The project will start on July 1, 2024, with approximately $990,000 in expenditures for year one.

    • Dr. Kent Reilly

      The Department of Anthropology is saddened to share the news that Dr. Kent Reilly passed away on May 21, 2024. Dr. Reilly was an esteemed scholar of the art and archaeology of the Americas including the Olmec, Maya, and cultures of the Southeastern United States, and was especially known for his work on iconographic systems. He joined the Department of Anthropology at Texas State in 1992 and was a valued colleague, dedicated teacher, and an incredible mentor to numerous undergraduate and graduate students. We will miss him. 

    • The National Association for the Practice of Anthropology (NAPA) offers the annual Student Achievement Awards to recognize undergraduate and graduate student contributions in the area of practicing and applied anthropology. The awards recognize students within and outside the United States who have excelled in the field and provides opportunities for those who have conducted original research/projects in any applied context to be recognized during the American Anthropological Association (AAA) annual meetings and have their work considered for publication in the Annals of Anthropological Practice.

      The deadline for submission is June 15, 2023. Winners will be notified in early-to-mid October.

      To find out more about eligibility, submission requirements, and additional details about the prizes, visit the NAPA website.  

      Please share this opportunity with your students, networks, and anyone you know who might be interested!

    • Elisabeth Currier-Richer

      Elisabeth Cuerrier-Richer has been hired as the coordinator of the site for Research on Experimental and Social Thanatology (REST[ES]), Canada’s first human decomposition facility affiliated with the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. Located in Bécancour, Québec, REST[ES] is a high security outdoor facility primarily dedicated to the physical, chemical and biological study of human decomposition in a Northern cold climate. As part of her new role, Elisabeth will be in charge of developing training opportunities and workshops, coordinating internal and external researchers’ visits, and further expanding the site’s professional and academic network over the next three years.

      Professors and students interested in collaborating with the facility can contact her by email at Elisabeth.Cuerrier-Richer@uqtr.ca.  
       

       

    • From the Texas State Newsroom:
      Texas State Anthropology researchers are using grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Justice to examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and bone structure.

      Their research could have medical and forensic implications, including helping investigators identify human remains more easily.

      The team of researchers includes Danny Wescott, Deborah Cunningham, Elaine Chu, and Lauren Meckel from Texas State along with colleagues from Johns Hopkins University. 

      Their latest study examined 80 femur bone samples (40 male and 40 female) curated by TXST’s Donated Skeletal Collection. The samples were analyzed using X-ray imaging technology to examine their shape and structure. Results showed that BMI had a significant impact on the femur bones of males, but not for females.

    • Congratulations to Archaeology Ph.D. Student, Myriah Allen, who has been awarded two travel awards from the Center for International Studies to help fund her Ph.D. research. 

      Ms. Allen is investigating the initial acquisition of horses, cattle and other domestic stock by Native Americans in the Southern Plains. Spanish explorers and colonists brought domestic stock to Northern Mexico and New Mexico in the 16th and 17th centuries. Native American groups quickly acquired horses and began the transformation in the Plains Indian Bison Hunting Culture.

    • Anthropology faculty members (Christi Conlee, Jill Pruetz, Lise Byars George ) were joined by Anthropology alumni Abby Peyton (MA 2005), David Peyton (BA 2004), Sophia Mavroudas (Phd 2023), Jennifer Barron (PhD 2023), and Myriah Moe (Outstanding PhD student in Anthropology) at the annual Liberal Arts Distinguished Alumni Gala. One of three honorees was Dr. Jason Wiersema (BA 1997) who is the Director of Forensic Anthropology and Emergency Management at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences in Houston, Texas. 

    • Krysten Cruz

      PhD candidate in Applied Anthropology, Krysten Cruz (advisor Dr. Nick Herrmann), has been awarded the Jacob Hirsch Fellowship with the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for the 2024-2025 academic year. This fellowship will support her dissertation research on the early Mycenaean burial sample from Ancient Eleon in central Greece and provides funding for room, board, and membership and lab fees at the American School, as well as a stipend of $11,500.

       


    • Congratulations to undergraduate student, Angus Dunn, an Anthropology major and Geography minor, won an honorable mention for his poster presentation at the inaugural Center for the Study of the Southwest Undergraduate Research Conference. Angus’ work focused on experimenting with various small animal mandibles from Northern Mexico and West Texas in making tools.  His abstract can be viewed on the CSSW Conference website.  

    • Cultural Anthropology students Afsana Akhter, Ana Lozano, Anna Huntington, Edinah Casmir, Eric Gauldin, Karla Hernandez-Swift and Shelly White participated in the 2024 annual SfAA meeting in Santa Fe, NM. In addition to their presentations, the students explored the city and the surrounding area. Ana saw snow for the first time--and built a snowman!

      Santa Fe Art Santa Fe students Santa Fe Snowman

    • Shelby and Elisabeth

      Congratulations to Shelby Garza (advisor Dr. Kate Spradley) and Elisabeth Cuerrier-Richer (advisor Dr. Danny Wescott) who both received Dissertation Fellowships in the amount of $10,000 from Phi Kappa Phi. 

      This highly competitive, $10,000 national fellowship is awarded annually to only fifteen active Society members who are doctoral candidates and are completing dissertations. The award provides financial support during the dissertation writing process to candidates in all fields of study whose projects demonstrate a high degree of originality and significant potential for advancing knowledge in the candidates’ disciplines.  

      This year marks the second time that Texas State has had two Phi Kappa Phi Dissertation Fellowship recipients in a single year —13% of the 2024 awardee pool for this prestigious national award—and the third year in a row that Texas State doctoral students have received this award. 

    • Texas State University’s Ancient Southwest Texas Project (ASWT) has carried out archaeological research in Eagle Nest Canyon, Texas for over a decade. ASWT Directors Stephen Black and David Kilby, along with ASWT member Amanda Castañeda have published a sweeping collection of research papers as a special edited volume of the Journal of Texas Archeology and History (Special Volume #6). Dr. Black and Dr. Kilby are Anthropology faculty at Texas State University (TXST); Amanda Castañeda is a TXST alumnus who is now Assistant Director of the Center for Big Bend Studies at Sul Ross State University.

      The 28 research papers in The Archaeology of Eagle Nest Canyon, Texas: Papers in Honor of Jack and Wilmuth Skiles summarize ten years of archaeological investigations in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of southwestern Texas. It honors landowners and supporters, Jack and Wilmuth Skiles, their love of the land, and its rich human history. The extensively illustrated volume highlights state-of-the-art research at Eagle Cave and Bonfire Shelter, the best-known of the canyon’s well-preserved rockshelters, as well as seven other sites representing an archaeological record spanning over 13,000 years. While some papers focus on individual sites, others address canyon-wide or regional aspects of the archaeological record, ranging from rock art research, to specialized studies (e.g., zooarchaeology, paleobotany, radiocarbon dating), to collections-based research spanning from early prehistory through the historic railroad record. An introductory paper memorializes the Skiles and their stewardship of Eagle Nest Canyon.

      The Eagle Nest Canyon investigations were carried out by staff, professional collaborators, students, and volunteers under the auspices of ASWT and the Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center, both at TXST. The volume consists of papers by the directors and professional collaborators involved in the projects, as well as many papers that highlight the results of individual Master’s theses, doctoral work, and honors research authored by TXST students and alumni. Pages of crew photos and action images are interspersed throughout the volume. The journal is open access for all and printed versions are available for purchase. 

    • Meets the Professors Event

      Join us for the Meet the Professors lunch!  Get to know your faculty, find out about research and opportunities in the department, and learn about class options for the Spring!  

      Pizza provided.

      Friday, March 22, 2024 | 12:00 pm | ELA 245

    • Congratulations to Dr. Jill Pruetz who has been awarded the title University Distinguished Professor! This award is to honor individuals at the rank of tenured professor whose performance in teaching, research, and service have been exemplary and recognized at the state, national, and international levels. She will receive a $5000 stipend and will be nominated for the Regents’ Professor award.

    • Practicing Anthropology Journal

      The newly relaunched applied anthropology journal, Practicing Anthropology, has published its inaugural issue featuring a special section edited by Dr. Angela K. VandenBroek and Dr. Lora Koycheva (Technoscience Studies, Brandenburg Technical University). The section explores innovation sandboxes—how innovative practices are separated and nurtured within a confined, risk-controlled environment, akin to a child’s sandbox—and the impacts this has on innovation across entrepreneurship, UX, theater, policy, and applied anthropological consulting.

       

    • Silicon Island Project

      Texas State professor Angela K. VandenBroek has been appointed to the advisory board for the project "Silicon Island: Building Equitable Tech Futures in Out of the Way Places." The research project spearheaded by Dr. Samantha Breslin (Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen) was funded by the Independent Research Fund of Denmark for DKK 3.2 million in order to explore "What does it mean for 'out of the way' places to build technological futures, and how can these futures reproduce or reconfigure social and economic inequalities?" Dr. VandenBroek will share her expertise on the Swedish entrepreneurial ecosystem to support the project during this two-year appointment.

       

    • Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society announced its recipients of its Graduate Research Grant completion for career development. Hilda Torres, archaeology PhD student at Texas State, was among the 20 recipients nation-wide.

    • At the Texas Academy of Science meeting March 1 and 2, 2024, Bec Krolczyk presented their research and received the Undergraduate Anthropology section 1st Place poster award. 

      Doctoral students Stephanie Baker and Theresa De Cree both won $1000 in the Annual Student Research Award Competition to help fund their dissertation research.

    • Congratulations to Dr. Danny Wescott who is a Co-PI on a recently awarded National Science Foundation grant tilled "Developing a new method for the identification of cancer in archaeological populations." The grant is for $289,935 and Texas State will be receiving $37,450. The PI is Dr. Carina Marques from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Other collaborators include Dr. Jane Buikstra from Arizona State University and Drs. Maria Marques and Vitor Matos from the Universidade De Coimbra. Part of the project will involve the use of the Texas State Donated Skeletal Collection and the high-resolution computed tomography system in the Grady Early laboratory.

    • Congratulations to doctoral student Sameeha Vardhan (mentor Dr. Angela VandenBroek) who has received a Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Research Grant for $1500 in recognition of superior academic record and life/career ambitions.  The organization only gives out 20 of these annually. 

    • Anthropology Career Workshop | 2024

      Join the Department of Anthropology for our 2023 Career Workshop.  Students are invited to explore job prospects and career options with an Anthropology Degree. 

      Event Date | Thursday, April 4th, 2023  
      Event Time | 4:30pm – 5:30 p.m.  
      Target Audience | Current TXST undergraduate Anthropology majors and minors

      The workshop will consist of a 65 minute program featuring both faculty presentations a question and answer session.

      Registration Now Open

    • Dr. Wescott is a Co-PI on a National Science Foundation grant tilled "Developing a new method for the identification of cancer in archaeological populations." The PI is Dr. Carina Marques from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Other collaborators include Dr. Jane Buikstra from Arizona State University and Drs. Maria Marques and Vitor Matos from the Universidade De Coimbra. Part of the project will involve the use of the Texas State Donated Skeletal Collection and the high resolution computed tomography system in the Grady Early laboratory. 

    • Join us for the 2024 Texas State University Anthropology Research Conference to hear students share some of their research! 

      The Anthropology Student Research Conference, will be held in person and include morning and afternoon paper sessions and a poster session in between, and lunch will be provided.

      For more information or to register, visit the AASRC website. 

      Friday, April 5, 2024 | 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

    • Dr. Emily Brunson, Anthropology, has been appointed to the Executive Committee for the Societal Experts Action Network of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. During this 2-year appointment she will represent TXST, and anthropology, at a national level.

    • Coherence and Cohesion in Political Discourse in Togo

      Coherence and Cohesion in Political Discourse in Togo

      Dr. Palakyém Stephen Mouzou | Fulbright Visiting Scholar  
      12:00 - 1:00 PM, ELA 245 and via Zoom

    • Congratulations to Dr. Todd Ahlman and CAS for receiving an award in the amount of $1,155,893 from the Department of the Army Installation Management Command, for a project entitled “Intergovernmental Support Agreement Between Fort Leonard Wood and Texas State University”.   

      Dr. Ahlman and CAS were also just awarded two contracts from the City of New Braunfels in the amount of $138,561.

    • Brown Bag | Friday, February 9 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm | ELA 245 and Online via Zoom
      Speaker | Dr. Palakyém Stephen Mouzou | Fulbright Visiting Scholar
      Talk Title | Coherence and Cohesion in Political Discourse in Togo

      Brown Bag | Friday, March 1 | 12:00 - 1:00 pm | ELA 245 and Online via Zoom
      Speaker | Dr. Carolyn Boyd | Shumla Endowed Research Professor 
      Talk Title | Origins and Tenacity of Myth, Ritual, and Cosmology in Archaic Period Rock Art of Southwest Texas and Northern Mexico

      Speaker’s Series | Friday, April 12 | 3:00 - 4:00 pm | Online via Zoom
      Speaker | Dr. Servando Hinojosa | Professor of Anthropology, UT Rio Grande Valley
      Talk Title | Mexican American Folk Medicine in Local Perspective

      Speaker’s Series | Friday, April 26 | 3:00 - 4:00 pm | Online via Zoom
      Speaker | Dr. Lynn Stephen | Professor of Anthropology, Philip H. Knight Chair, University of Oregon
      Talk Title | Violence Against Indigenous Women and Girls: Insights from Guatemala

    • Congratulations to on graduate students, Petra Banks and Krysten Cruz (both mentored by Nick Herrmann) who are semi-finalists for the Fullbright Student Program.  As the flagship international exchange program sponsored by the United States government, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is highly competitive, and being selected as a semi-finalist is itself a noteworthy success.