Department of Anthropology
Despite the Dangers, Early Humans Risked Life-Threatening Flintknapping Injuries
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.
Groundbreaking Study of Fraternity Hazing Co-Authored by Kent State Researcher Reveals Little Connection to Group Solidarity
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.
Five Kent State Experimental Archaeology Graduates Earn Full Rides to Grad Schools
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’s Giving Tuesday Inspires Transformational Gifts Early in the Monthlong Campaign
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.
Excavations and Modifications: 2021 Farris Family Innovation Awards
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 …
Thesis Student Partners with the Cleveland Zoo
Sierra Duncan has been passionate about conservation since she first began volunteering at the Akron Zoo when she was fifteen years old. Now, a junior Honors College student with double-majors in psychology and environmental studies, as well as double-minors in anthropology and park management, Sier…
Anthropology Team Brings Home the 2020 Ig Nobel Award for Materials Science
In 2019, a team of researchers in Kent State’s Department of Anthropology published its “prize-winning” research article titled “Experimental replication shows knives manufactured from frozen human feces do not work” in the Journal of Archaeological Science. (Yes, the jokes are seemingly endless, but seriously folks, there is an important underlying message here about evidence-based research and fact-checking!)
Understanding What Makes Captive Gorilla Hearts Tick
Mary Ann Raghanti, Ph.D., anthropology professor and chair in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University, is involved in a collaborative research project to examine heart disease in gorillas.
