On Tuesday, May 5th, students from our Animal Communication course taught by Dr. Roberta Salmi presented their cumulative projects on animal communication during a mini conference. From left to right: Lauren Silverman, Reese Tabler, Maxton Moreland, Olivia Stratigos The Animal Communication mini conference highlighted a semester of student-led research, with projects examining gorilla vocal exchanges, the effects of noise on killer whale…

The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) Student Paper Award is an annual honor recognizing outstanding conference papers based on original student research. Seungyeon Hong, a Ph.D. Candidate at department of anthropology, received this award at the Awards Ceremony during the 91st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (April 29-May 3, 2026), held in San Francisco. Graduate students from the University of Georgia…

James Strawn recently completed his Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Georgia and will join Troy University as an Assistant Professor and Archaeology Lab Manager in the Department of Anthropology, Sociology, and Criminology beginning this fall. His dissertation builds on growing work in archaeology that questions whether projectile point “types” reflect real cultural groups. He shows that the haft shape of stone tools preserves patterns…

The Environmental Archaeology class (ANTH 4290/6290) took a trip to the Old Athens Cemetery located next door to the department. Here they had the opportunity to core trees for dendrochronology. Photos include students coring a red cedar tree in the cemetery and a collection of the tree cores where you can see the tree-rings. One of the undergraduate students pictured below, Rosemarie Owens, said, "I had a lot of fun coring trees! We got to look…

On March 18th-21st, 2026, the American Association of Biological Anthropologists held their 95th annual meeting in Denver, Colorado. Anthropology undergraduate student Payton Gray, graduate student Tabitha Dentice, and professor Dr. Laurie Reitsema attended this conference to share their research, learned about emerging topics and trends in biological anthropology, and fostered their network! From left to right: Payton Gray, Tabitha…

Tuğçe Yalçın was selected for PhD Fellowship at ANAMED (Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations) to pursue her dissertation project. It is a 9-month fellowship that will run from September 2026 until June 2027. This fellowship will support her research by enabling her to reside in Istanbul, providing access to Koç University’s laboratories, and offering financial support for research-related expenses.  This photo was taken in 2019,…

Jacob “Jake” Holland-Lulewicz, an anthropology Ph.D. alumnus from the University of Georgia (UGA), shares insights into his graduate career and how it helped craft a path to achieving his dream role in academia!   During his time at UGA, Jake reflects on the faculty holding the biggest influence on where he is today. Jake emphasizes that it is hard for him to envision a path to where he is today without UGA and the Anthropology…

On January 23, 2026, political scientist Dr. Nathan Cook delivered a seminar and a workshop for graduate students and faculty of the Department of Anthropology and the Center for Integrative Conservation Research at the University of Georgia. Dr. Nathan Cook is an assistant professor at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, working on the intersections of public policy analysis, environmental policy, and…

University of Georgia (UGA) alumnus Jacob Estes reflects on both his undergraduate and graduate journeys and how his interdisciplinary path helped shape a dynamic career, leading him to where he is now! Originally from East Atlanta, Jacob began his college career playing basketball at a small school where he was awarded a full athletic scholarship to support his higher education. While he excelled academically, he was also recognized as…

PhD Student, Sarieh Amiribeirami, co-authored a paper published in the scientific journal, Nature. Read below for a brief description of the work and if you'd like to access the full paper follow this link. Dogs have been companions for humans for millennia. They were the first animal to be domesticated, and remains with possible dog morphology have been dated to at least 14,000 years ago. But the exact origins and nature of early dog remains a…