Tags: anthropology

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Four Franklin College Alums Awarded 2024 Graduate School Alumni of Distinction

In 2013, the UGA Graduate School’s Graduate Education Advancement Board (GEAB) established the Alumni of Distinction award to honor graduates who have achieved exceptional success in their professional careers and in service to their communities. More specifically, the Alumni of Distinction award recognizes achievements that exemplify UGA’s mission “to teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things” at local, regional, and global…

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Protecting India’s tigers and wolves through art, collaboration and conservation

Integrative conservation starts with a paintbrush and glides its way between India’s tiger reserves and its indigenous communities.  Amit Kaushik, a PhD student in the Integrative Conservation and anthropology, is working on tiger conservation in India. He presented his work earlier this month at an Arts Collaborative Conversation at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, "The Gond Art and the Tiger: A Dialogue on Conservation, Displacement, and…

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Franklin College departments advance their commitment to undergraduate writing

Over the course of the 2023-24 academic year, four departments in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences took writing in their programs of study to the next level. In collaboration with the Franklin College Writing Intensive Program (WIP), the departments of anthropology, mathematics, history, and philosophy developed plans that articulate characteristics of writing in the discipline. These include desired writing abilities of students in the…

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Brickman, Thompson elected to AAAS

Three University of Georgia faculty members – two from the Franklin College – have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the organization announced this week, bringing the university to 45 total members of the exclusive group. Fellows are elected each year by the AAAS Council to recognize achievements that lead to scientific progress. This year, UGA’s new Fellows are Victor Thompson and Marguerite…

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UGA's Warnock wins Inaugural Regents Cup Debate

Franklin College undergraduate student Ansley Warnock ('25) was the individual debate champion at the the University System of Georgia’s (USG) Regents Cup Debate Series. The Valdosta State University (VSU) debate team won the tournament over competitors from Georgia Tech, Georgia College, UGA and the University of North Georgia. In all, nine students from six USG institutions participated in the event, hosted on Middle Georgia State University’s…

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Climate change threatens archaeological heritage of coastal Georgia

A new study published February 28, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Matthew D. Howland of Wichita State University and Victor D. Thompson of the University of Georgia reports that thousands of historic and archaeological sites in Georgia are at risk from tropical storm surges, a number that will increase with climate change. Due to rising sea level and increasingly severe tropical storms, human-caused climate change poses a…

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Noted and Quoted, January 2024

Franklin faculty experts welcomed the New Year with advice, experience, perspective, and new research reported in media around the world. Take a journey with our well-versed and generous colleagues in a sample of January's noted and quoted: Next-gen Starlink dish offers more consistent higher speeds, say early users (John Gibbs) – PC Magazine The changing perceptions of what leadership means to people – Brian Hoffman, professor of psychology,…

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Divisional Spotlight: Social & Behavioral Sciences

In his Summa Theologica, St. Thomas Aquinas devised five arguments for the existence of God, known as the Five Ways, that subsequently proved highly influential. The Franklin College is comprised of five divisions that are also highly influential in the education of all students at the University of Georgia. We continue to welcome 2024 by highlighting the divisional nature of our organizational structure and the academic units contained in each…

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Bram Tucker prioritizes people in work to understand cultures

Bram Tucker is an associate professor in the University of Georgia’s Department of Anthropology, where his Behavioral Ecology and Economic Decisions Labstudies how people make decisions under risks, vulnerabilities and changes. He works primarily with Mikea hunter-gatherers, Masikoro farmers and Vezo fishers in southwestern Madagascar, and previously served as president of the Society for Economic Anthropology with the American…

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The First Kings of Europe: professor explores ancient hierarchies in Field Museum exhibit

Attila Gyucha, assistant professor of archaeology at the University of Georgia’s Department of Anthropology, and colleagues organized an exhibition at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History titled, “The First Kings of Europe”. Gyucha is the co-curator and leading editor of two books that accompany the exhibition, which runs through Jan. 28, 2024. It can be accessed by discovery or an all-access pass, and showcases more than 700…

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UGA students excavate Athens factory site

"Any understanding of the world must begin at home--or end there." --Siegfried Lenz, The Heritage, 1981. Faculty members at the University of Georgia have partnered with Sandy Creek Nature Center to create a field school to teach students in a hands-on environment.  “We wanted to establish a class that offers hands-on field experience to teach archaeological methods to students,” said Attila Gyucha, assistant professor in…

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UGA professor narrates a new 20-episode lecture series 

More than a year in the making, a new lecture series featuring University of Georgia faculty member Suzanne Pilaar Birch "Early Humans: Ice, Stone, and Survival" is now streaming on Wondrium. The 20-episode series tells the story of humanity's journey from our earliest origins in Africa to the emergence of agriculture, examines the role of climate and environmental change in driving these transitions, and how archaeological science is helping us…

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Moss, Wilkes named 2022 Marshall Scholars

Franklin College seniors Natalie Moss and Lauren Wilkes received the prestigious Marshall Scholarship, which funds graduate study in the United Kingdom at any institution and in any field of study. 2022 is the first time two University of Georgia students received the honor in the same year:   Honors seniors Natalie Moss of Norcross and Lauren Wilkes of New Orleans, Louisiana, will continue their studies in the U.K. next year through…

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Anthropology study on land use, herding in Bronze Age Cyprus

New research findings, the first comprehensive study of stable isotopes from both animal and plant remains on the island of Cyprus, expand the archaeological understanding of the dynamics of landscape management in Cyprus during the development of social complexity that led to the first cities on the Mediterranean island The new study, led by UGA associate professor Suzanne E. Pilaar Birch with colleagues Patricia Fall, Steven Falconer, and…

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Noted and Quoted, October 2022

From tempests in the physical world to the discovery of an ancient canal to the reintroduction of heritage apple crops, expertise from and research by Franklin faculty was present in media around the globe. A same of stories over the past month:    As moms return to the office, companies need to demonstrate empathy – Malissa A. Clark, associate professor of psychology, quoted at Indeed Historic storm surge. Record flooding.…

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Kudos, October 2022

Amid the turning of the season, October brought career milestones and the dedication the McBay Science Library, along with prestigious awards, grants, and new books from Franklin faculty. A sample of recent announcement – congratulations to all: UGA oceanographer Samantha Joye has been awarded the 2022 Captain Don Walsh Award for Ocean Exploration The University of Georgia has named nine faculty and academic leaders to the 2022-2023…

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Special issue focuses on growth of archeological science

Suzanne Pilaar Birch, associate professor of anthropology, served as co-editor of a special issue published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences featuring articles outlining the state of the art in archeological science. A collection of articles from the Recent Advances in Archaeological Science Techniques Special Feature explores developments in archaeological science, highlighting advancements in radiometric…

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UGA study away programs frame a global mindset

At the conclusion of the spring semester, many University of Georgia students and faculty will take a greatly earned break from classes and enjoy a more relaxed time, but others will begin new chapters in new places.   Facilitated through the Office of Global Engagement, nearly 3,000 UGA students study abroad each year, selecting from hundreds of programs, including about 100 faculty-led programs. Due to the pandemic, many…

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Research opens up new revelations about Ancient Greece

Thanks to trade and colonization, 1st millennium BCE Mediterranean was characterized by an unprecedented increase human mobility. New anthropology research co-led by the University of Georgia on the diverse genetic origins of the Classical period Greek army reveals a broad mix of ethnic identity within Greece and throughout the region – as well as the use of mercenaries in battle. Accounts by ancient historians Herodotus and Diodorus…

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Archaeologists collaborate with Tribal Nations to hone research methods

University of Georgia researchers recently co-authored an article with members of the Muscogee and Huron-Wendat Nations (HWN) to shine a light on the importance of meaningful collaboration between archaeologists and descendant communities and nations as a necessary component of archaeological practice in the 2020s and beyond. Jennifer Birch, associate professor and undergraduate coordinator in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and…

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New study shows resilience of early coastal communities in Georgia

Archaeologists have hypothesized that more than 4,500 years ago, communities on barrier islands along the southeastern coastlines of the North America were abruptly abandoned due to a sudden shift in climate. But new research from the University of Georgia Laboratory of Archaeology indicates that environmental change was happening both during the settlement of these island villages and—over centuries longer than previously…

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UGA collaboration weaves story of Indigenous environmental relationships in a new book

A new children’s book published in three languages focuses on the Wounaan, Indigenous people of Panama and Colombia, and their relationships with birds. A collaborative effort, the book results from two projects supported by the Global Environment Facility and UNDP Small Grants Program and the US-based non-profit Native Future on bird guiding, birds and culture, and forest restoration in Panama. The Wounaan National Congress and the Foundation…

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Noted and Quoted, October 2021

Franklin faculty members provided clarity and guidance in the media on a range of issues from climate change to workaholism over the course of October. As sampling of a few of the many recent stories: The “extra” Atlantic hurricane name list will likely be used soon — but not the Greek alphabet – Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of geography and atmospheric sciences Marshall Shepherd writing at Forbes Why Bezos,…

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Gorillas can tell human voices apart

Many animals recognize the voices of members of their own species, and some can even recognize those of other species, such as humans. But it turns out a few animals, such as gorillas, can not only recognize familiar voices but also connect those voices to pleasant or not so pleasant memories. A new study from the University of Georgia is the first to show that gorillas are able to recognize familiar human voices based on their relationship…

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Archeologists help quell COVID-19 in Madagascar

In times of the pandemic it's all hands on deck, including associate professor of anthropology Bram Tucker and other members of Pennsylvania State University’s Morombe Archaeological Project (MAP), which aims to reconstruct the impact of human settlement in the Velondriake area, a marine protected biodiversity hotspot on the southwest coast of Madagascar. The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 arrived in the fishing community of Andavadoaka, Madagascar…
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