BYU Anthropology

It's almost been a month and we are still obsessed😍

Have you ever looked at ceramics and thought, how old is this? Where did it come from? How did someone make this? Are there any cultural significances to their designs? If this is you, check out Dr. Jim Alison's class this Fall!! Anthropology 490R: Archaeological Ceramics TTh 3:30-4:45pm! Sign up for this class before its too late!

Dr. Lynette S. Finau presents: ANTHR 390R: Oceanic Epistemologies and Dance

The studies of Oceania are vast and emerging. Explore the carrying forward of the social and natural history, religious beliefs, philosophy, literature, genealogy, and the scientific knowledge of the people of Oceania through Dance!

What is field school? Students have the opportunity to work with a professor to do their own ethnographic research. After their research is complete, students work on their thesis that they defend in order to graduate with their Bachelor Degree. We have been to amazing places such as: Jordan, Morocco, Japan, Ecuador, Korea, Thailand, China, Utah, and more! This upcoming year (2025) we have a lot of exciting places we are headed! In the winter, we have a local field school option in Provo, and Morocco. In the spring and summer we will be headed to Hawaii, Alaska, and Korea! Keep an eye out for more info on each of these field schools!

Join us for this exciting lecture by our very own Dr. Mike Searcy, next Tuesday, August 6th! 7pm at the BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures (MPC)! Be there or be square😤🤩

Dr. David Johnson recently received an award in Jordan for his years of service and archaeological research in Petra. Join us in congratulating Dr. Johnson on this prestigious award!

We'd like to congratulate all of our wonderful students who made the Dean's List this Fall. 🥳🤩👏
Camille Brown (bottom right corner)
Isabella Demartin (not pictured)
Isabel Emery (top right corner)
Emma Green (center right)
Matthew Griffin (not pictured)
Rachel Larson (not pictured)
Nathan Lund (top left corner)
Ellie Martin (not pictured)
Juliana Merkley (not pictured)
Jenna Norris (bottom left corner)
Keely Peterson (not pictured)
Ben Ridges (bottom center)
Katie Sant (top center)
Parker Skousen (not pictured)
Evelyn Thurgood (not pictured)
Orion Welling (not pictured)
And a special thanks to Dean Laura Walker (left center) for recognizing these students!

Sociocultural Anthropology is...🥳

Archaeology is... 🤩

Welcome to our page! We are BYU Anthropology! We are here to post the happenings of the department and highlight our amazing staff and students!

Take a Glimpse Behind the 📸 of our Hardworking Field School Students at the Stunning Site of Petra, Jordan!

A huge congratulations to the Fulton Conference winners from our department!!
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Jenna Norris
Rufus Pearce (not pictured)
Ashley Lundquist (not pictured)
Neal Anderson
Maya Watkins

We are so proud of our 2024 Graduates!! Congratulations you guys!!! 🥳

Congratulations to Jenna Norris who is our 2023-24 valedictorian!

Congratulations to graduate student Ashley Lundquist for winning out department's 3-Minute Thesis competition!

Several of our students participated in the Utah Conference of Undergraduate Research at UVU on February 16th. They were all presenting original research and did a great job representing BYU and our department!

Just a few weeks ago, the list of students who made the Dean's List in the Fall 2023 semester was released. Congratulations to these amazing students!

Our students and faculty had a great time in Toronto at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting last month. We had 18 anthropology students from our department presenting their research! Congratulations to these students for the great work they‘ve done. Thanks, too, to Drs. Schulthies, Thompson, Hickman, and Haug for mentoring these students.

Congratulations to all our Fulton Mentored Research Conference winners! Vanessa Lozano (1st Place-Undergraduate), Ellie Martin (2nd Place-Undergraduate), and Alyssa Merrill (1st Place-Graduate)

One of our graduate students, Alyssa Merrill, invited three fellow students to help with her thesis research collecting GPS coordinates for anthropomorphic rock art in Clear Creek Canyon in central Utah last week. Dr. Searcy, Alyssa's thesis committee chair, was able to tag along as well. Check out the fun they had in the snow.

We have one more exciting seminar speaker this fall semester. Dr. Frederick Hanselmann is an underwater archaeologist who has been conducting research on shipwrecks for over a decade. He is also a graduate of our sociocultural anthropology program. Dr. Hanselmann will be presenting about his research looking for the lost ships of Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conquistador most famously known for defeating the Aztec empire during the 16th century AD. Come join us to hear about some exciting adventures and yet another career path you can pursue with your degree in anthropology. Dec. 6, Wednesday, at 2 pm, 271 RB.

Ellie Martin, one of our undergraduate archaeology students, presented her research on pottery restoration using polymer bonding at the annual meeting of the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) in Chicago last week. Way to represent our department and BYU, Ellie!

Did you miss our Day of the Dead celebration at the Museum of Peoples and Cultures? If so, mark it on your calendars for next year on Nov. 1st.

Several of our students presented earlier this semester at the Utah Museums Association conference. Way to represent BYU and our museum program!

Come see Dr. Jacob Hickman present on his research at the BYU Kennedy Center on the spread of Hmong communities throughout the world and how this has manifest in their religious traditions. Friday, Oct. 13, 2-3 pm 238 HRCB

https://kennedy.byu.edu/restoring-that-which-has-never-been-hmong-millenarianism-and-the-reinvention-of-tradition-2023-10-13

Congratulations to Maya Watkins and Mason Lee for being on the Dean's List for the 2023 Spring/Summer semesters!

Next week we will be hosting Dr. Tanya Luhrmann from Stanford University who will be talking about how voices—the sense of being called by another—are at the heart of the human experience of mind. Join us on Sept. 20 at 2 pm - Reynolds Auditorium (1060 HBLL).

Another one from FOX 13:

Students dig to learn about ancient Native American village in Provo What exactly can you learn from a pile of dirt, collection of bones or thousand-year old burn marks?

Media day at the archaeology field school generated some great news stories. Check this one out from KSL: https://ksltv.com/559896/utah-archaeology-students-unearth-artifacts-in-1000-year-old-village/

Three students in our Northern Ireland Visual Anthropology Field School produced a short music video in the course of their ethnographic fieldwork on the local music scene in Belfast. AOIBHA posted that short video to her Youtube channel. Check out our students' side project here:

Take Me Home (Live at Sofar Belfast) - AOIBHA AOIBHA performing her original song 'Take Me Home' at Sofar Belfast in Tiny House Coffee, Antrim. 'Take Me Home' is available to listen to here: https://ditt...