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That’s a wrap—2025
It’s almost hard to believe, but it’s coming up on ten years since the beginning of my PhD program—and five since my degree was officially conferred. And it has been a busy ten years to say the least. After passing my viva voce via Zoom during COVID-19 lockdowns, I had the privilege of lecturing for…
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Fieldwork Comes to an End
Hello anthropologists, I know it has been a while since my last post, and there is more to catch up on than I could ever cover. But I can say that I have officially finished my fieldwork in Guatemala now. It was nothing like I expected it to be, so many things went wrong I…
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Volcán Acatenango
Hola, chicos! As per a request from a follower, I’d like to spend some time today writing about my recent experience climbing my first mountain, Volcán Acatenango. As you may have guessed from its name, Acatenango is a stratovolcano in Guatemala which overlooks its more active sister Volcán Fuego. Stratovolcanoes are formed from layer upon layer…
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Fieldwork Entry 1: Antigua and Semana Santa
As some of you undoubtedly know, I’m now in the beautiful Guatemala for the first leg of my research–and honestly, the words to properly describe this place escape me. I’ve done quite a bit of traveling in my short life, but Guatemala is hands down the most beautiful country I have ever seen. The seismic…
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Archaeology – An Overview
For my final four-field overview post, I want to talk a little bit about archaeology. You can find some more specific information about bioarchaeology in my previous posts, but there’s far more to archaeology than just the bones! First and foremost, let’s clarify, archaeology is not the study of dinosaur fossils. That would be paleontology,…
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Linguistic Anthropology – An Overview
A similar subfield to Cultural Anthropology is Linguistic Anthropology. Contrary to popular belief, linguistics is not the study of languages for translation or speaking purposes, rather it is the study of how languages evolve and function within a cultural context. Some subfields of linguistics include: Linguistic Analysis – the technical study of language Sociolinguistics – how language…
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Who were the Neanderthals?
After several weeks of eager anticipation, yesterday was finally the day. Yesterday I received my results for 23andMe, the DNA analysis programme that gives you the lowdown on your ancestry and any genetic health risk factors you may carry. And while my results were pretty much as I suspected, I found out something pretty cool.…
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Cultural Anthropology – An Overview
When anthropologists study different societies and their cultures, we look at many different things. We study: Religion and mythology Art Food Interpersonal dynamics Dance Music Family structures Marriage Literature Economic structures Clothing and fashion Body modification Warfare And much much more And the way we study most of these things is through participant observation. This…
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Question re: Sticks and Stones
A good friend of mine, Nicole, has asked a great question about the post Sticks and Stones: Basics of Skeletal Trauma. She says: “Love this! Also if this is the superior view would you say that the trauma occurred along any suture lines? Also out of curiosity, which bone of the skull is pictured?” Thanks for…
The Brains and Bones Project 