Anthropology

A new study reveals details about the slaves who lived and died at Grassmere Plantation—now home to the Nashville Zoo. Read More

Looking at similarities between different cultures can tell us a lot about what "the good life" means for everyone, says anthropologist Ted Fischer. Read More

Five alumni will be inducted into the Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame during Homecoming/Reunion weekend. Read More

The Littlejohn Family Undergraduate Research Program enables Arts and Science undergraduates to conduct original research alongside faculty fellows. Read More

Some scholars still believe that romantic love was invented by European troubadours in the Middle Ages, and that people outside of the western tradition don’t really experience it. Ted Fischer, professor of anthropology, decided to test that theory. The verdict? Everybody loves. Read More

When an Aztec child was born, soothsayers would consult the birth almanacs contained in codices to determine the most auspicious date to initiate the child into the Aztec community. Read More

Vanderbilt University will celebrate the fall launch of Latino and Latina Studies, a new multidisciplinary program, with several events during Hispanic Heritage Month, including an Oct. 15 talk by author Joy Castro. Read More

The 25th Annual Southern Festival of Books will be held Oct. 11-13 at downtown Nashville’s Legislative Plaza. The event will feature several Vanderbilt faculty, staff, students and alumni, including: Stephen Doster, editor for the Institute of Chemical Biology, whose current… Read More

Carwil Bjork-James’ research pertains to South America, but on an August afternoon a week before the fall semester started, his thoughts were on Egypt, where the death toll was still rising after a violent crackdown on anti-government protestors in Cairo. Read More

Tiffiny Tung, associate professor of anthropology, is on familiar terms with the dead. She may not know their names, but she can tell you a surprising amount of information about how they lived—and even, on occasion, how they died. Read More

"Sacred Ecology: Landscape Transformations for Ritual Practice," a symposium that explores the various experiences of complex ritual sites around the world and across all periods of history, takes place Aug. 30 at the Sarratt Student Center. Read More

Economic prospects improved for small mountain farmers in Guatemala when consumers developed a taste for coffee brewed with beans grown at high altitude, according to a new study from the Vanderbilt Institute for Coffee Studies. Read More

Several events planned in conjunction with an upcoming exhibition at The Frist Center for the Visual Arts will feature lectures by Vanderbilt anthropologists and be co-sponsored by Vanderbilt's Center for Latin American Studies. Read More

A molecular anthropologist specializing in epigenetics, the study of how environment and behavior affect the expression of genes, Amy Non's work integrates genetics, anthropology and public health. Read More

Local food initiatives that view urban farming as a path toward a healthier community will be the focus of “Thinking Out of the (Lunch) Box: Conversations with a philosophical flavor with David Wood” on Dec. 5. The event, which is open to the public, takes place… Read More

Norma Franklin, a noted field archaeologist who recently launched the Jezreel Expedition in what was an ancient Israelite city and fortress, will lecture Nov. 5 at Centennial Park. Read More

Tom Dillehay (Vanderbilt) Tom Dillehay, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at Vanderbilt, is among three new trustees elected to the Mercyhurst University Board of Trustees, effective Feb. 23, 2013. The new board members were elected to four-year terms during the trustees’ fall meeting Sept. 29. Dillehay… Read More

Archaeological sites that currently take years to map will be completed in minutes if tests of the Semi-autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle system being developed at Vanderbilt University go well. Read More

Vanderbilt archaeologist Tiffiny Tung leads students to Peru where they assist in groundbreaking research into the Wari culture, a society that existed over 1500 years ago. Tung is the recipient of the 2011-12 Chancellor’s Cup.  The award is given annually for “the greatest contribution outside the classroom to undergraduate student-faculty… Read More

This Week on VUCast, Vanderbilt’s online newscast: How country music stars are “lifting lives“ Vanderbilt archaeologist leads students on skull sessions See what Vanderbilt is blowing up! [vucastblurb]… Read More