Department of Anthropology

Professor Emeritus Richard Feinberg shared images from his research expeditions to the Polynesian island of Anuta.

A new study led by Archaeologist Michelle Bebber, assistant professor in Kent State’s Department of Anthropology, has demonstrated that the atlatl (i.e. spear thrower) functions as an “equalizer,” a finding which supports women’s potential active role as prehistoric hunters.

For most, the craft known as flintknapping is a skilled hobby or art form that was thought to occasionally require bandages or stitches. However, new research suggests flintknapping is far more dangerous than previously understood.

Kent State University’s newest anthropologist, Assistant Professor Aldo Cimino, Ph.D., has made it his life’s work to understand the causes and consequences of hazing, including the possible generation of solidarity. He and his co-author recently published an article on this question in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. 

Sometimes it just takes a small spark to ignite a fire within you. For Anna Mika of Parma, Ohio, who started as a geology major her freshman year at Kent State University and switched to anthropology the following year, that spark came in 2017 while taking an anthropology course called North America’s Ice Aged Hunters, taught by Metin I. Eren, Ph.D., associate professor and director of archaeology in the College of Arts and Sciences. She said that course changed her perspective on everything.  

Kent State University’s season of giving launched on Nov. 1 with Giving Tuesday, a monthlong celebration of philanthropy. Now halfway through the campaign, the generosity of the Kent State community has already begun to shine. 

The Farris Family Innovation Awards support the research of tenure-track faculty members who are not yet tenured at Kent State and who have shown promising drive for their field of study. In May 2021, Faculty Affairs announced the recipients of this year's Farris Family Innovation Awards: Michelle Bebber, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, and Elda Hegmann, assistant professor in the Materials Science Graduate Program.